When you want to go to America as a student-athlete, you want to find an university which is highly ranked in athletics as well as academics. During your time in America, you are going to bring out the best in yourself and the universities are more than willing to help you achieve that goal! There is a lot of invested in the world of college sports, to get the best results as possible as an university.
So, which are the best college sport programs in the Unites States? This depends on how well the sports teams perform and how consistent they are in those performances. Curious yet? Let’s get to it! Here comes the top 10 of best college sport programs.
10- Duke University – Durham, North Carolina
Over the years, the Blue Devils have had the best results in basketball. The men’s basketball team has collected 19 tournament trophies, including 5 national titles! Besides basketball, something worth mentioning is the Duke golf team. With 8 NCAA championships they make sure that Duke is in this top 10. Slamstox athlete Eva Nunnink is getting the front row experience of this successful program. With her field hockey team, she is working hard on getting the best results!
9- University of Alabama- Tuscaloosa, Alabama
The American football program of the University of Alabama deserves a lot of credit. They have delivered 375 (!) players to the NFL, the highest level of football in the world. The Alabama Crimson Tide student-athletes perform well in other sports too. They became NCAA champions a total of 26 times. Besides that, the Crimson Tide have gathered over 100 conference titles and on top of that are 95 individual collegiate championship titles. Crazy right?! Do you want to know more about the University of Alabama’s athletics program? Click here.
8- University of Oklahoma – Norman, Oklahoma
One of the universities that has recently performed very well is Oklahoma. The Oklahoma Sooners’ teams put together 4 national titles in 2017 with golf, gymnastics and softball. Partly due to the football team’s success, the other sports received a larger budget to develop themselves. Compared to other American universities, the Oklahoma Sooners football team has won the most games since 1946. Currently they are in second place in their conference.
7- University of Arizona – Tucson Arizona
The most successful team at the University of Arizona is the softball team. In the last 30 years they have won the national title 8 times! You can say that they have one of the best softball programs in the country. The Arizona Wildcats can be proud of their baseball and basketball teams, which achieve consistent results year after year. With this, they have trained many athletes who have gone pro. 75 Basketball player were drafted for the NBA and 90 baseball players have played in the MLB. Our own Slamstox volleyball player Puk Stubbe is a proud Wildcat and together with her team she works hard to defend their 7th place in this top 10. Go Wildcats!
6- University of Oregon- Eugene, Oregon
Meanwhile, we have arrived at number 6 on this list. For one of the best track and field programs, we end up at the University of Oregon. The indoor, outdoor, and cross-country teams have put together 32 NCAA titles. Its nickname Track Town, USA is more than justified! The University of Oregon has trained numerous Olympic athletes. Together they won 13 golden, 12 silver and 7 bronze medals! Of course, these amazing athletes deserve an awesome track and field stadium as you can see in the picture below. In the Fall of 2019, our very own Slamstox student-athlete Myah Petchey went to go strengthen the Oregon Ducks tennis team. She can use all the amazing facilities the university has to offer.
5- The University of North Carolina at Chapel hill – Chapel hill, North Carolina
When you say University of North Carolina, you say Michael Jordan. The university’s legend. Its basketball program at the University of North Carolina was and still is, one of the best in the country. The North Carolina Tar Heels have had a really strong women’s soccer team as well. They have collected 21 national titels. 7 Tar Heels participated in the 2019 Women’s Soccer World Championships. Among those were 5 Americans, who actually won the world title!
One more program of the University of North Carolina that is worth mentioning, is the field hockey program. The last few years, the UNC field hockey team is the team to beat. They are back to back national champs for the last 3 years. Before that they have won the title 6 more times. Click here for the Tar Heels field hockey championship rewind video!
4- University of Connecticut – Storrs, Connecticut
One of the teams we have not mentioned before, is women’s basketball. For this, we are at the right place at the University of Connecticut. In the last 25 years, the women’s basketball team shas won 11 NCAA titles. Besides that, they have reached the final four 18 times. Besides the women, the men deserve a lot of credit too. They have put 4 national titles to their name. In 2014 both the men’s and women’s team became national champions and they were invited to the white house! They really are that good! In UCon history, 47 huskies have joined the NBA. Also, one of the UCon Huskies stars, is the field hockey team. With 5 national titles and competing in 15 final four games, they are one of the best college field hockey programs in the U.S. GO CHAMPS!
3- University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) – Los Angeles, California
It is no coincidence that the University of California is in our top 3. Why? UCLA has won 119 NCAA championships! They are second to only Stanford University in that area. UCLA does not get their success from one or two sports: they collected these titles with the entire student-athlete program! The UCLA Bruins have trained many Olympic athletes as well. Together, these Bruins athletes have won 125 golden, 65 silver and 60 bronze medals. Click here to see more of all the UCLA Bruins athletes in Instagram!
2- Stanford University – Stanford, California
Stanford owes their success to the collective as well. You don’t win 128 national titles with only one team (the most in America). The Stanford Cardinal tennis teams have contributed a large amount to that number. The male and female tennis players have put together 37 national titles. You can say this makes their tennis program one of the best in the U.S. Athletic success can also be rewarded with other prices. The ‘NACDA directors cup’ is a prize presented to the university the most success in collegiate athletics. Well… Stanford University has won that title 23 time in a row! Whut?! Yeah, I think that quite covers it. A well-deserved second place.
Below you can find a video of all the Standford succes of 2019!
1- University of Florida- Gainesville, Florida
There can be only one winner… the University of Florida! The Florida Gators might not have won the most national titles, but they do have the extraordinary achievements. They have been in the top 10 All-sport ranking for the last 30 years. Besides that, they have won the conference title 240 times. No other university has ever achieved these results, so you can say that makes the University of Florida stand out compared to the rest. The score phenomenal results in the individual championships, especially the swim and diving teams. They have achieved the exceptional result of 144 titles for the University of Florida. You can understand why our Slamstox student-athlete Bente Spee became a Florida Gator! She wanted to go for the highest achievable and where do you go to do that? At the number 1 university for college sport programs.
Below you can find the Florida Gator highlights of the 2020-2021 season!
To combine your sports and studies, America is the place to be. Do you want to become an American National Champion as well? We want to help you bring out the best in yourself!
