The Value of Intercollegiate Athletics 

Over the past ten years, college admissions have been battling declining enrollment rates due to the rising costs of tuition, the looming enrollment cliff, the COVID-19 pandemic, and changing attitudes toward higher education, among many other factors. Because of this, institutions are consistently searching for opportunities to increase desirability among prospective students.   

While athletics is certainly not new to the enrollment equation, it can be a crucial tenant of growth and financial contribution for an institution.  

Since the 2017-2018 academic year, the NAIA has seen a 22 percent growth in student-athlete enrollment, with approximately 83,000 students participating in one of the NAIA’s 31 different sports. This upward trend equates to an approximate average of 340 student-athletes per institution. 

Furthermore, in 2018, 73 percent of surveyed NAIA student-athletes indicated that they would not have attended their specific institution if not for their sport, and 100 percent were accepted to at least one additional institution. This is especially impactful considering that, on average, student-athletes account for 39 percent of the total undergraduate population at NAIA institutions. 

There has been a similar upward trend in the financial contribution of an athletics department. Despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the average NAIA institution has realized incremental growth in both net return (the overall contribution athletics enrollment returns to the institution after expenses are applied) as well as net tuition revenue. 

For example, in the 2021-2022 academic year, the average NAIA athletics department contributed $4 million to its institution through enrollment. Although not every NAIA institution generates a $4 million net return, 94 percent of NAIA athletics departments generated more revenue than expense, and preliminary statistics from the 2022-2023 academic year show a very similar trend.  

Take NAIA member institution Dordt University, for example. Dordt University is a small liberal arts institution located in Sioux Center, Iowa. Since the 2016-2017 academic year, they have experienced a 56.38 percent increase in student-athlete enrollment, which has helped to contribute to a 30 percent increase in total enrollment.  

During that time, they added one sport, competitive cheer, ultimately leading to 28 new student-athletes who may have previously not considered the institution a prospective school. Additionally, Dordt University worked to incrementally increase several of its sports rosters, including football (an increase of 44 student-athletes), men’s soccer (an increase of 25 student-athletes), and men’s and women’s track (an increase of 60 – 74 student-athletes). Dordt University has done all this while growing its net return per student from $9.7K to $16.4K, culminating in an impressive example of increasing the value of athletics.  

Although headwinds facing higher education are stronger than ever, NAIA athletics provide a unique opportunity to increase an institution’s growth and financial contribution. Central Methodist University President Dr. Roger Drake further explained this sentiment during a NAIA University Business podcast when noting,  

“…NAIA athletics is a place where we can still—to a large degree—shape the incoming class. It is one of the rare areas where demand still exceeds supply. Some use that ability to attract the best athletes possible. Some use that ability to attract the brightest class with the greatest probability of retention and completion. Some of us try to do as much of both as we can.”