Listing of College athletic teams dropped in 2020:
The following is our listing of Four year college (NCAA & NAIA) teams eliminated so far during the coronavirus pandemic. Teams were officially dropped due to school closures or budget cuts, and most if not all of these of these changes were likely in the works for some time. However the Covid-19 situation may have accelerated the decision making for many schools.
We have complied a list of 227 teams dropped so far in 2020. NCAA I is the division with the most teams cut (78 teams) and Tennis is the sport with the most cuts (49 teams). Tennis has the highest percentage of international players of any other NCAA sport which may be a contributing factor to why it’s at the top of the list:
| Teams Dropped by Sport 2020: | TOTAL | NCAA I | NCAA II | NCAA III | NAIA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tennis | 49 | 21 | 14 | 12 | 2 | |
| Golf |  | 26 | 7 | 6 | 11 | 2 |
| Cross Country | 20 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 4 | |
| Swimming | 17 | 11 | 4 | 2 | ||
| Soccer | 15 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 4 | |
| Basketball | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | ||
| Track & Field | 12 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| Lacrosse | 9 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 1 | |
| Volleyball | 8 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | |
| Rowing | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Baseball | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Softball | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| Squash | 5 | 5 | ||||
| Wrestling | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Gymnastics | 5 | 4 | 1 | |||
| Sailing | 4 | 3 | 1 | |||
| Fencing | 3 | 3 | ||||
| Bowling | 3 | 1 | 2 | |||
| Equestrian | 3 | 1 | 2 | |||
| Football | 3 | 2 | 1 | |||
| Skiing | 3 | 1 | 2 | |||
| Other Sports (2 or less teams cut) | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | ||
| Totals @ 10/25/20 | 227 | 78 | 60 | 62 | 27 |
35% of the reduction (80 teams) is due to the closing of six schools (see below) while 65% is attributable to budget cuts & program restructuring. While sports such as tennis and golf took hits due to budget cuts, sports such as basketball only lost teams due to school closings. And to put it in perspective, by our count there are still over 22,000 NCAA & NAIA varsity teams remaining, so the dropped teams – so far – represent around 1% of the total number of Four year college teams. However there will also likely be announcements of additional closures of smaller schools in the coming months.
Team eliminations by gender:
| Teams Dropped by Gender 2020: | TOTAL | NCAA I | NCAA II | NCAA III | NAIA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men's Teams | 116 | 47 | 28 | 29 | 12 | |
| Women's Teams | 108 | 30 | 32 | 31 | 15 | |
| Coed Teams | 3 | 1 | 2 | |||
| Totals | 227 | 78 | 60 | 62 | 27 |
Teams were dropped due to School Closures & Budget Cuts:
80 of the teams dropped were due to school closures , while 147 teams were cut due to budgetary & other issues. Stanford made the most cuts due to budgetary & program restructuring reasons (11) while U Mass Dartmouth (9), Brown (6) and George Washington (6) also made significant team reductions:
| Teams Dropped by School 2020: | TOTAL | NCAA I | NCAA II | NCAA III | NAIA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Urbana University | 18 | 18 | ||||
| Notre Dame de Namur University | 12 | 12 | ||||
| MacMurray College | 14 | 14 | ||||
| Johnson & Wales - Denver | 13 | 13 | ||||
| Johnson & Wales - Miami | 11 | 11 | ||||
| Holy Family College | 12 | 12 | ||||
| Sub-total - Closed or closing Schools | 80 | 30 | 27 | 23 | ||
| Stanford University | 11 | 11 | ||||
| Univ of Massachusetts-Dartmouth | 9 | 9 | ||||
| Brown University | 6 | 6 | ||||
| George Washington University | 6 | 6 | ||||
| Johnson & Wales - Providence | 6 | 6 | ||||
| Saint Edward's University | 5 | 5 | ||||
| East Carolina University | 4 | 4 | ||||
| University of Connecticut | 4 | 4 | ||||
| University of Iowa | 4 | 4 | ||||
| Dartmouth College | 4 | 4 | ||||
| University of Alaska Anchorage | 4 | 2 | 2 | |||
| Other Schools (3 or less teams dropped) | 84 | 37 | 23 | 20 | 4 | |
| Total | 227 | 78 | 60 | 62 | 27 |