In today’s episode of Longshore and McKnight, hosts John and Barry took a wide-ranging look at the college football landscape, led by ongoing concerns over NIL spending and scheduling politics in the SEC. Much of the conversation focused on Texas’ reported $35–40 million roster budget, prompting debates about fairness, sustainability, and how schools like Alabama and Auburn can keep pace. Guest analysts Kevin Scarbinsky, Jason Caldwell, and Rodney Orr joined throughout the show to unpack Texas’ rise, Alabama’s stability under Kalen DeBoer, and Auburn’s potential NFL talent pipeline. The trio also discussed recruiting trends, spring portal movement, and early SEC championship predictions, with Florida and LSU floated as dark horse contenders.

Catch live episodes of Longshore and McKnight daily on YouTube, Spotify, and on Yellowhammer News 

Beyond football, the show spotlighted Auburn’s No. 1-ranked men’s golf team ahead of NCAA regional play, with Caldwell offering insights into NIL’s impact on non-revenue sports and the Tigers’ strong postseason chances. They also covered Auburn baseball and softball’s postseason outlook, with RPI rankings and strength of schedule playing a key role. Other hot topics included NIL legislation for Alabama high school athletes, fan frustration with state lawmakers over missed revenue opportunities, and potential political interference in sports gambling and education funding.

A five-person committee is tasked with selecting the most competitive field of At-Large Teams to compete for both National Championships. The committees are made up of five voting members and one non-voting ICSA competition committee member. Automatic qualifications are awarded to conference champions and their runners-up, while the remaining berths are selected through a structured process by the committee.

The third-seeded women’s team earned automatic qualification to the competition after placing second at the NEISA Women’s Fleet Race Championship, which took place from Apr. 19-20 at Yale.

The fifth-seeded open team earned an At-Large berth after finishing third in the NEISA Open Fleet Race Championship back on Apr. 19-20 at Brown. 

Both teams earned top five seeding out of 36 selections in both disciplines. 

The ICSA Women’s Fleet Race Championship will take place from May 20-23, with the Open Fleet Race Championship from May 27-30. Both events will be hosted by St. Mary’s College of Maryland. 

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The Texas Longhorns are allegedly approaching an unheard of stratosphere for their 2025 football roster.

The football factory is spiking its budget for this upcoming season from $20 million to between $35 million-$40 million, the Houston Chronicle reported, although 247 Sports disputed that its roster will cost that much.

Texas is reportedly increasing its name, image, and likeness (NIL) budget, which will be a “one-time exorbitant expense” for what is set to be nation’s most expensive college football team.

This budget projection also includes a $20.5 million revenue-sharing allotment, per the outlet.

For reference, MLB’s Miami Marlins have spent $44.5 million on their entire active roster.

Star quarterback and projected first-time starter Arch Manning is “by far the highest paid Texas player,” according to the outlet, but none of his money comes from the school because “he and his family acquired all his deals on their own, with no help from the school.”

Texas does not disclose exact dollar figures for each player “because such transparency foments comparative discussions and locker-room chaos,” although Manning’s NIL valuation is roughly $6.6 million for this season, according to projections from On3.

That leaves plenty of budget to fill out the loaded roster that Texas will be putting on the field this upcoming season.

Texas has the No. 1 recruiting class for the class of 2025, with five five-star players committing to the school this year.

ESPN’s way-too-early college football rankings placed the Texas Longhorns as the country’s No. 2 team, behind only the reigning champion Ohio State Buckeyes.

The Ohio State athletics program spent an obscene $274.9 million during the 2022-23 academic year, and that number is expected to have increased to $300 million in 2023-24, although the school has not yet released its financials from that academic year.

Texas is the only academic program that is able to compete with them in terms of buying power, as Texas spent $232.3 million, the second-most in the 2022-23 timespan, according to Sportico.

The NIL model could be on its way out as a federal judge may approve a House vs. NCAA settlement that would allow schools to pay athletes directly, rather than through an NIL collective model that involves sponsors and brands.

“It’s just unsustainable,” a source told the Chronicle regarding high payouts. “The next season after this year, the whole world will be back to reality.” 

Texas had an uninspiring end to the season last year, going 13-3 and losing to Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl.

WESTVILLE, N.J. (WPVI) — The family called him John. It wasn’t until John Gaudreau played for Boston College that he picked up the “Johnny Hockey” nickname that followed him through 11 seasons in the NHL.

His mother, Jane, gleefully recalled the “Johnny Hockey” T-shirts and sing-song chants BC fans bestowed on their beloved wizard on the ice. At home in New Jersey, younger brother Matthew, who also played hockey for Boston College, and sisters Kristen and Katie couldn’t help but tease their brother with the nickname as his popularity and All-Star career grew through stops in Calgary and Columbus.

(The video above is from a previous report)

Take one night during the NHL Awards in Las Vegas, just one family story out of thousands of favorites, when Gaudreau tried to keep a low public profile on a family outing. Katie wasn’t having it out on the Strip, shouting for all to hear, “Johnny! Johnny Hockey!”

“I can see John’s face getting redder and redder and redder,” Jane Gaudreau said with a laugh. “You walk down the street and no one knows who you are until Katie started making this whole big thing.”

Everything was fine for the family when they gathered last August for Katie’s wedding. John and Matt were the groomsmen and Kristen the maid of honor. What happened next, the typhoon of shock and grief that rippled from New Jersey through the heart of the hockey community, has been well-documented over the last eight months.

The night before the wedding, John, 31, and Matt, 29, died after they were hit by a suspected drunken driver while riding bicycles in Salem County, New Jersey, leaving a family forever shattered, with not enough time to ever fully pick up all the pieces.

They try.

From births to hockey tributes, through Instagram pages dotted with photos from the family scrapbook and a new foundation, to a playground fundraising effort at the family’s beloved school, the Gaudreaus have pushed through dark days when even getting out of bed seemed impossible. They pull through, pull together, just as they did as a family of six in South Jersey, and try to focus on a simple mantra: Live their lives to the fullest in honor of Matt and John.

RELATED: Johnny Gaudreau’s widow welcomes 3rd baby: ‘Can’t wait to give you the best life’

There is more hardship ahead and dark days are going to come and go. The driver charged with killing the brothers, a man prosecutors described as having a history of alleged road rage and aggressive driving, still faces trial.

But as Jane Gaudreau details her dream of a new, adaptive playground for the special education students at the school where she works, it’s the good times that stir the most memories. Like when John playfully threatened to stab Katie with a fork at a restaurant for not finishing a stack of pancakes and surprisingly – and gently – followed through.

It’s the stories that lift the spirits of Jane, husband Guy and countless friends and teammates who went through their first hockey season in decades without two men who gave so much to their growing families and to the game.

“It’s great to keep their memories alive,” said their sister, Kristen Venello, who rocks her Blue Jackets hoodie as a speech assistant at Archbishop Damiano School. “It is sad. But you think about all the good things they did and that’s all you can think about. And how much they can help us still.”

The project

Archbishop Damiano School was founded in 1968 for children with Down syndrome and now provides services for 125 students with special needs from ages 3 to 21. Jane Gaudreau’s brother attended the school and their mother worked there for 44 years. Jane was hired in 1984 and is still a finance associate there. Kristen, the oldest daughter, has taught at the school for almost two decades. Katie used to assist with the kids when she could and the two Gaudreau boys volunteered at the school when they weren’t playing hockey.

In death, they can perhaps leave a permanent legacy at Damiano outside family and hockey.

RELATED: Gaudreau Family 5K honors hockey stars, raises funds for local school

Kelsie Snow lost her husband, Chris, a former assistant general manager with the Calgary Flames, in 2023 to Lou Gehrig’s disease. She called Jane with a suggestion on how to navigate life through perpetual grief: Keep busy. Find a project. Jane and Guy embraced the idea and searched for the right one, until they realized the answer was right there at Archbishop Damiano.

The Gaudreaus and the staff at Archbishop Damiano threw themselves into fundraising for a modern playground that allows for everything from basic wheelchair accessibility to ramps and transfer platforms for the students. Students tacked their wish list for the playground — wheelchair swings and even a sand box — to the walls inside the school.

The Gaudreau Family 5K set for May 31 is expected to bring needed cash to the initiative launched by principal Michele McCloskey in October 2020. Raising the necessary funds over the last five years had been a slow build. So many friends from the hockey world and others now inspired by the brothers and the cause have since rallied around the effort.

“I know the boys would be proud of us,” Jane said. “Both boys loved children, that’s why we thought the playground would be perfect.”

The Gaudreaus have another, more enduring project ahead of them as doting grandparents. Both widows have given birth since their husbands died. Meredith, who revealed during her tearful eulogy for John in August that she was pregnant, gave birth in April to the couple’s third child, Carter Michael Gaudreau. Madeline delivered her and Matty’s first baby, Tripp Matthew Gaudreau, in December.

Jane laughs when she describes how much the new additions resemble their fathers. Tripp has light hair like his dad; Carter looks like big sister Noa, and they both look like John.

“My husband keeps saying this,” Jane said, “‘I think God sent us John and Matty back.'”

Guy Gaudreu, a former hockey coach at Hollydell Ice Arena and Gloucester Catholic High School in New Jersey, had his sons on the ice at 2 years old and he’s already making plans for Carter and Tripp. Matthew played for the junior ice hockey Omaha Lancers for two years, and when the family was invited back last month for a tribute night, Guy amused the family as he gave baby Tripp an introduction.

“He was like, smell the ice, this is the locker room,” Jane said with a laugh. “We’re used to that. He’s just crazy like that. I was looking at (Madeline) and she was just laughing, shaking her head.”

The Gaudreaus have kept busy, with fundraising, teaching and various outings that celebrated their sons. Guy has perhaps been at the rink the most since losing the boys. He joined practices for the Blue Jackets and spent time as a guest instructor this season with the Flyers. He hit the ice in Montreal and helped out Team USA at the 4 Nations Face-Off. The Gaudreaus led the Blue Jackets out of the tunnel at Ohio Stadium in front of nearly 95,000 fans at the NHL Stadium Series.

“I know sometimes we’ll hear people, oh, this poor family, they have to go through this again,” Jane said. “But it’s been quite healing. Through this, I’ve had so many people tell stories of what Matthew or John has done for them, or a hospital, or other people. They appreciate everything the boys did. They were grieving, too. It was a way for us to get out there and talk to people, hear different stories.”

Jane needed a gentle nudge from some Blue Jackets to attend the team’s annual Moms’ Trip to a February game at Detroit. Defenseman Erik Gudbranson surprised Jane with a persuasive call for her attend the annual bonding trip. The other Blue Jackets moms were so supportive of her on the trip, she said, “they knew if I was going to get upset before I even knew.”

“We needed her there,” Gudbranson said. “It wouldn’t have felt right if she wasn’t there.”

On the ice

Sean Monahan and Gaudreau became tight when the stars played together in Calgary, one reason the Blue Jackets center was persuaded by his friend to sign with the team last summer.

Monahan and his family settled near the Gaudreaus in the same Columbus suburb of New Albany, so close as neighbors Monahan counted just 25 steps between the two houses. After Gaudreau’s death, Monahan couldn’t even drive by his friend’s house on his commute to the rink. He and his family have tried to serve as a steady source of support for Meredith and her three children. Monahan even met Carter Gaudreau the day he was born (“good looking little guy, just like John”).

The Blue Jackets dedicated the season to the Gaudreaus and raised John’s No. 13 to the rafters. There’s a patch on the jerseys and the Blue Jackets wore Avalon Surf Shop sweatshirts as part of their “Johnny fit” collection. The team never failed to hang Gaudreau’s jersey in a locker stall for every game, home or away.

“He’s supposed to be here with us,” Monahan said. “It’s just one other thing we can do to keep his name around, keep his legacy going for such a special person.”

Motivated by the memory of their friend, the Blue Jackets were in the hunt for a playoff spot until the final week of the season. They fell two points shy, leaving the team with a “what if?” feeling over missing the playoffs while hurting over Gaudreau.

“It’s something that weighs on my mind and it’s something I think about every day,” Monahan said. “There are no easy days, for sure. I try and live the way he did and it benefited me.”

Gudbranson also held Carter in the hospital and wrestled with the conflicting feelings of the joy over the birth with the sadness Gaudreau was not alive to meet his son.

“There’s a part of you that says this feels wrong that I’m holding my buddy’s son and he hasn’t met him,” Gudbranson said. “That’s hard to wrap your head around. Those kids will probably be 30 years old and I’ll be thinking the same thing. I don’t think that’s going anywhere.”

Gudbranson said that in large part because of Gaudreau’s influence, the season was a “a lot more joyous this year. We’ve enjoyed being teammates.” When the good times were rolling, the Blue Jackets tried to appreciate those moments just like Gaudreau did, the franchise player who was just one of the boys once the final horn sounded.

“Once the game was done, we were just buddies,” Gudbranson said. “He wasn’t necessarily Johnny Hockey to us. The personal side matters to us the most. But yeah, we’ve had conversations like, can you imagine if this guy was on our team this year? How good would he have been with us this year? Holy smokes.”

The road ahead

Guy and Jane, married 42 years, almost never go out to dinner, overwhelmed by feelings of guilt over enjoying themselves, and those emotions also run deep with Katie. She told her mom, yes, she wanted to marry her fiancé, Devin Joyce, but wasn’t sure a big wedding was the way to go. Jane said she simply told her there was no wrong decision, but to let the rage and sadness settle and take as much time as necessary make a decision.

The couple eventually rescheduled their wedding for July 11. Katie wrote on her Instagram post, “I guess this year has taught me to celebrate our love everyday, every minute.”

“You know the boys, they’ll be there with us that day,” Jane said. “They would want you to have fun.”

Jane added with resolve, “This guy already took two of the most important things away from us. Don’t let him take away your wedding.”

Katie reflected on that fateful night on an Instagram post how she had texted her fiancé “we forgot to practice our dip,” during rehearsal to how a “phone call later, our lives would forever change.”

The couple will get a second chance at a wedding, this one in memory of their brothers.

“I think we’ll all be able to get through the day,” Jane said. “I think it will be hard at first. We want to be there for her, support her. The other three had big weddings, it was so fun for our family to be together. I think it will be OK.”

The Gaudreaus want people to remember how the young men lived, not how they died. Sometimes that is difficult: In mid-April, there was a hearing for Sean Higgins, the man charged with reckless vehicular homicide in the Gaudreaus’ deaths, only a few hours before the Blue Jackets played the Flyers nearby. The family skipped the game for the Gloucester Catholic High School Hall of Fame banquet where Matthew was posthumously inducted.

The Gaudreaus have kept their thoughts about the court proceedings private, though Jane did write a pair of inspirational quotes on Instagram later that day, including one that said, “When you have a bad day – a really bad day – try and treat the world better than it treated you.”

A legacy of laughter

The 5K has filled its allotment of 1,000 runners for race day at a New Jersey park but anyone can contribute from home as a virtual participant. More than 700 people have already signed up, from New Jersey to Canada to Ireland, eager to help the cause, which includes an online memorabilia auction that stretches beyond hockey, with all proceeds donated toward the playground effort and its $600,000 goal.

Jane, 62, said it’s hard to remember much through the haze of heartbreak from the funeral and memorial reception, only that she figured more than 1,000 people stopped by the family home to pay their respects. With some distance, the family hoped it would be comforting to see everyone at the 5K and thank them for their love and comfort.

The current playground doesn’t meet the needs of its students in its current shape, there are gaping holes in the turf and the swings and slides were not designed for children with disabilities. If the goal is met, the school hopes to break ground this fall and complete the project next spring.

“As a school for serving people with multiple disabilities, we really don’t get a lot of traction,” said McCloskey, the school principal. “I think through all the media attention, I think people see it, they see why this is important.”

It seems trite to call it a silver lining but the family has searched in vain to find some meaning, some good out of the senseless deaths.

So they’ll run.

For John. For Matt. For a cause the boys so robustly supported in life.

“It’s not the way I’d want to build the playground, of course,” Jane said. “I tend to believe they’ll be up there, being able to listen to the children’s laughter. They’ll just really love the fact that the children will have a playground to play in.”

College football roster budgets have ballooned this offseason as teams prepare for a new era in which schools can compensate athletes directly. But could a championship team cost as much as $40 million?

That’s one high-end estimate of what Texas could be spending on its 2025 roster, according to a Houston Chronicle report from columnist Kirk Bohls. Bohls, who has covered the Longhorns for more than 50 years, reported Wednesday that the team’s roster budget currently sits somewhere “between $35 million and $40 million,” including the revenue the school will be able to share as a result of the House v. NCAA settlement.

If that budget range is accurate, it represents a significant leap from the previous highest known roster budget in the sport: Ohio State’s 2024 roster, which went on to win the national championship, cost around $20 million, athletic director Ross Bjork told the Columbus Dispatch and Yahoo! Sports last summer.

Is an estimate of as much as twice the Buckeyes’ figure realistic or far-fetched? The Athletic reached out to multiple Texas officials to confirm the veracity of the Chronicle’s report, but all declined comment. But after conversations with a dozen people elsewhere in college football with knowledge of roster budgets, including general managers, personnel directors and name, image and likeness collective heads, here’s what we know — and don’t — about Texas’ spending power and the state of roster budgets headed into the 2025 season. Each person was granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about team finances.

What we know

Team roster budgets are rarely officially confirmed.

Because schools won’t directly share revenue with players until the settlement is approved, compensation still runs through NIL collectives, which help shield contracts and records from scrutiny. But Texas Tech basketball star JT Toppin and quarterback Carson Beck, who transferred from Georgia to Miami, are just two examples from this year of player pay levels becoming public knowledge.

Some schools or collectives are more forthcoming than others. Walker Jones, executive director of The Grove Collective, which works with Ole Miss athletes, said last fall that the collective spent more than $10 million on NIL deals for the football roster. Texas Tech spent more than $10 million on just its transfer portal class this offseason, and Bjork opened eyes when he revealed Ohio State’s budget last year.

Most programs, however, prefer to keep those numbers close to the vest. An athletic director at a Power 4 program, when asked this week by The Athletic how much his school expected to allocate to the football program in revenue sharing, declined to specify, citing a “competitive advantage” of keeping it quiet.

Texas athletics has plenty of money.

The Longhorns consistently rank near the top of college athletics in annual revenue. In 2024, Texas pulled in $331.9 million in athletics revenue, No. 1 in the country according to the Knight-Newhouse College Athletics Database. In 2023, Texas was second in athletics revenue ($239.2 million) to only Ohio State ($251.6 million).

In addition, the Longhorns have operated at the forefront of the market since the NCAA started allowing athletes to be compensated for use of their NIL rights in 2021. In December of that year, the football program made waves with the “Pancake Factory,” an initiative that promised $50,000 annually to Texas offensive linemen in exchange for promoting Austin charities. That price seems quaint now; Power 4 teams may need 10 times that much to obtain a starting offensive lineman for a season.

Eventually, the five collectives that had sprung up to compensate Texas athletes across various sports merged into the Texas One Fund, which is now the school’s exclusive collective. The Texas One Fund spent more than $11 million compensating Longhorn athletes in 2023, according to a tax return obtained by Sportico.

At an alumni speaking engagement in 2022, Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte lauded the power of leveraging some of the school’s 500,000-plus living alumni, telling the crowd, “NIL is our game. When that basket passes around, I don’t need stuff that jingles, I need stuff that folds.”

Blake Lawrence, the CEO of Opendorse, a company that facilitates and manages NIL deals, told The Athletic in January that “Texas was one of the first to start to really lean into bringing consistent NIL opportunities to athletes across all sports.” He said of the roughly 50 collectives that Opendorse works with nationwide, Texas One Fund is near the top in just about every category.

“Texas is in the top three (nationally) of every measurable unit in NIL data: total NIL compensation, total NIL deals, total NIL deals to women, total commercial deals,” Lawrence said. “No matter what metric you pick … Texas is in the top three, if not No. 1 across the board.”

Texas football has excelled in retaining key players and acquiring new ones in the transfer portal, which are the two types of transactions that command the most dollars. When the Longhorns are in the mix for a player in the portal, their chances are usually strong because of their spending power.

Industry insiders don’t think a $35-40 million roster budget is out of the question for top programs.

A February survey of 13 coaches and personnel staffers on the transfer portal and player compensation contained a variety of answers on what it would take to build a championship roster in their conferences. But one Power 4 general manager offered this: “$40-50 million. That’s where I think it’s going to go.”

Asked about the Texas estimate today, several GMs, personnel directors and people in the NIL world believed the number.

“It doesn’t surprise me,” said the founder of a Power 4 collective. “Texas is a massive program and is obviously looking to win titles. (Athletic directors) and universities who don’t believe teams will go way above the (revenue sharing) cap, especially ones that want to compete for titles, are lying to themselves and their fan bases.”

Nearly everyone surveyed on Wednesday found a $35 million to $40 million roster to be realistic for Texas, with several suggesting only a small handful of schools can spend in that ballpark. A second Power 4 GM described Texas as paying some of its backup players like starters.

Pending revenue sharing is boosting everyone’s spending power.

Considering Texas spent eight figures to compensate athletes through its collective in 2023, it’s reasonable to assume that number went up in 2024, as team budgets at top programs increased. Add in at least $20 million to the athletics compensation pool via direct payments coming in the wake of the House settlement — the majority of which is ticketed for football at most P4 schools — and getting above $30 million isn’t unreasonable for a program like Ohio State or Texas.

In the February survey, starter-caliber players at multiple positions were said to have a market in the mid- to high six figures. Power 4 starting quarterbacks typically cost a minimum of $1 million. Defensive linemen, edge rushers, tight ends and receivers can all clear above $500,000, and some hovered close to $1 million in the winter portal window.

In this spring’s transfer portal window, the Longhorns landed a starting receiver (Stanford’s Emmett Mosley V) and a starting tight end (Cal’s Jack Endries) and two starting defensive linemen (Syracuse’s Maraad Watson and Maryland’s Lavon Johnson) from Power 4 schools. In the winter portal window, they landed three more defensive linemen.

“They got five defensive tackles in the portal,” a third Power 4 GM said. “That’s at least $500,000 per player for an average one. For an elite defensive tackle in the portal, it’s $700,000 to $800,000.”

But the bulk of the money, the third GM said, likely went toward roster retention. Texas is bringing back starters or elite talents at multiple positions, including edge rusher (Colin Simmons and Trey Moore), linebacker (Anthony Hill Jr.), safety (Michael Taaffe), receiver (DeAndre Moore and Ryan Wingo), running back (Quintrevion Wisner) and offensive line (DJ Campbell). That’s not to mention whatever quarterback Arch Manning is making, though the Chronicle reported that Manning doesn’t take money from the school and that he and his family “acquired all his deals on their own ‘with no help from the school.’”

“The market doubled this year because you have the rev share and the (collective) money,” the third Power 4 GM said. “You have people calling players on your roster saying, ‘We’ll give you this or that.’ They take it to Texas and say, ‘This is what I need for you to keep me.’

“Texas donors, boosters are not losing guys over money, so whatever it takes, make sure we keep ’em so we can keep this rolling. They’ve been to the final four two years in a row, so they’re not going to bow out over some dollars. … I bet they have at least 12 guys making right at a million dollars.”

What we don’t know

The exact math to get to a $35-40 million budget estimate.

Does that jaw-dropping number include just 2025 player salaries, or does it account for the total value of multi-year contracts? Most players sign one-year deals with collectives, but some — like former Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava — sign multi-year deals. Does that number include only what will be paid directly by Texas and its collective, or does it include outside NIL deals that were secured elsewhere, like Manning’s?

“That number does seem really high,” a fourth Power 4 GM said. “But at the end of the day, if the money works through collectives and other third-party deals, it’s hard to really say the exact amount that could’ve been produced by those teams.”

Though some schools are mum on what they will allocate to various sports via revenue sharing, some have offered a road map. Georgia, one of Texas’ SEC counterparts, plans to allocate 75 percent of its cap to football, and athletic director Josh Brooks said in February he expected many SEC peers to split their cap similarly. If Texas followed a similar path, that could account for at least $15 million of the high-end budget estimate. The other $20 million to $25 million would have to come from the Texas One Fund.

What the finalized revenue sharing caps will be.

The oft-cited $20.5 million revenue sharing “cap” coming for the 2025 season is simply an estimate. Multiple people briefed on their teams’ roster budgets emphasized that they don’t know the final number schools will be able to spend on their athletes, only that the House settlement calls for it to be set at 22 percent of the annual revenue for an average Power 4 team.

Revenue sharing, if the settlement is approved, is expected to begin July 1 and it’s possible that the final number is slightly higher than $20.5 million.

Whether Texas would be alone in pushing toward $40 million.

Multiple GMs believed that if Texas is spending at this reported level, the Longhorns aren’t the only one. Many blue bloods don’t seem to be blinking as college football’s roster investment battles enter new territory.

“I bet you there’s somebody out there that’s higher,” the third Power 4 GM said. “(Texas) is top five, for sure. But I bet it’s not the highest.”

(Photo: Ron Jenkins / Getty Images)

May marks Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, a time to recognize and celebrate the rich diversity and impact of AANHPI individuals across college sports. 

From record growth in student-athlete participation to increased leadership representation, here’s a look at the influence of AANHPI communities in NCAA sports — by the numbers. 

1) A growing presence in college sports

• 13,739 — Total AANHPI student-athletes competing across all NCAA divisions in 2023-24.
• 4% — Year-over-year increase from 2022-23 (484 student-athletes).
• 54% — Growth over the past decade (4,846 student-athletes).

2) Top sports for AANHPI student-athletes

The top five sports, by total number of AANHPI student-athletes in 2023-24, are the following:

Men 

1. Football — 1,302.
2. Outdoor track and field — 785.
3. Soccer — 706.
4. Indoor track and field — 678.
5. Baseball — 647. 

Women 

1. Soccer — 690. 
2. Tennis — 641.
3. Swimming and diving — 636.
4. Outdoor track and field — 624.
5. Indoor track and field — 579. 

While football and women’s soccer account for the highest number of AANHPI student-athletes, respectively, other sports stand out by the percentage of AANHPI student-athletes. Below are the top five sports for men and women by that metric. 

Men

1. Fencing — 23%.
2. Gymnastics — 11%.
3. Tennis — 9%.
4. Rifle — 7%.
5. Swimming and diving — 6%. 

Women 

1. Fencing — 30%.
2. Golf — 10%. 
3. Tennis — 8%. 
4. Rugby — 8%. 
5. Gymnastics — 8%. 

3) Sport growth in the AANHPI community 

Recent data shows that AANHPI representation is expanding across a wide range of sports, with significant gains in both total participants and percentage growth.

Highest percentage growth in the past 10 years (minimum 100 student-athletes)

Men: 

• Volleyball — 122%. 
• Lacrosse — 110%. 
• Soccer — 93%. 
• Indoor track and field — 91%. 
• Baseball — 78%. 

Women: 

• Lacrosse — 95%.
• Fencing — 87%.
• Golf — 82%.
• Gymnastics — 78%. 
• Field hockey — 73%. 

Largest numerical growth in the past 10 years 

Men: 

• Football — 388. 
• Soccer — 340. 
• Indoor track and field — 323.
• Outdoor track and field — 315.
• Baseball — 284. 

Women: 

• Golf — 258.
• Swimming and diving — 222. 
• Soccer — 215. 
• Indoor track and field — 201.
• Outdoor track and field — 181.

4) Leadership trends

AANHPI representation is growing in leadership roles, too.

• 49% — Increase in AANHPI head coaches across all NCAA divisions compared with a decade ago, going from 202 in 2014 to 301 in 2024. Division III accounted for 123 of the AANHPI head coaches in 2024.  
• 53% — Increase in AANHPI presidents/chancellors since 2017, when data on presidents/chancellors was first collected by the NCAA. The total number increased from 19 to 29. 

5) Academic excellence

Graduation data highlights how AANHPI student-athletes have increasingly succeeded in the classroom as well.

• Since 2002, Division I graduation rates for AANHPI student-athletes have increased from 72% to 93%. In Division I, AANHPI women student-athletes increased their graduation rates from 79% to 97% during that time, with AANHPI men going from 65% to 88%. 

(This summary includes the latest data on Asian American and Pacific Islander student-athletes and leadership in the NCAA for the 2023-24 academic year. The figures reflect individuals categorized as “Asian” and “Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander” in the NCAA Demographics Database.)