Internespo > Guide > College Sports > College Sports Teams

College sports has a very unique status in the USA. In contrast to many other countries, sports are often played in high school teams, and then continue on at the college level. After college, some selected talents make it to the pros.

Key Takeaways

• The NCAA governs 24 sports, but not every sport is offered at every university
• Title IX has been established to provide equal opportunitiy in education and sports
• College football is a men sport only and has the most participants, as a result, other women sports are offered to provide the same number of spots on teams for women.

Teams in College Sports

The NCAA governs 24 different sport programs, however not every sport is represented in the university system in the US. You may notice that there are more sports recognized by the NCAA for women than men. This is the result of an article of the TItle IX. Read more about Title IX in this artcile.

Other International Sports: There may be a few sports international athletes partake in, such as handball or men’s rugby, that isn’t recognized.

Varsity Sports in the NCAA Division I, II, III, and NAIA and NJCAA:

Title IX

You may notice that there are more sports recognized by the NCAA for women than men. This is the result of an article of the TItle IX of the Education Amendments Act, which is a federal law passed in 1972 that states:

Equal opportunity for women: This amendment was enacted on the basis of giving women equal opportunity in education and sports, after a long journey of even allowing women to participate in collegiate athletics. There are more sports recognized by the NCAA for women because part of the title nine amendment is that women must have the same opportunity for participation as men do. Since football has the highest amount of participation in the NCAA, and is a male-only sport, there has to be other opportunities for women to participate, thus there are more sports to select from for women.

Why does my school not have Mens Soccer: Title IX is often the reason why a school does not have a mens soccer team. The school has to ensure to provide equal number of opportunities to women. When the school has a football team, it must ensure the amount of participants do not exceed the women’s offering. Sometimes, other sports (like mens soccer) are dropped as a consequence.

Additionally, each college and university has different NCAA varsity sports that they compete in. Not every school will have each sport, for example some schools don’t have football, but have very successful programs in other sports.

Club Sports: Keep in mind that there are additional club sports at colleges where students can voluntarily join a club team and play against other college club teams. This is an option for students attending college who may not be at the level to play varsity sports, or for those who want to continue playing a sport that is not recognized by the NCAA (such as men’s rugby).