NEW RESEARCH:
Women in NCAA Intercollegiate Athletics: A National Study Revisited
A landmark update to the legendary Acosta–Carpenter Report, a long-running national study examining gender equity trends in women's intercollegiate athletics within the NCAA.
DOWNLOAD THE REPORTS
For more than 40 years, the Acosta–Carpenter study served as the definitive record of women’s progress in college athletics. After a decade-long pause, The Collective® Think Tank has revived and extended this critical research to examine where women’s college sports stand today and what is at stake next.
Drawing on federally mandated Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act (EADA) data and NCAA participation records from 1,055 institutions, this report provides the most current and comprehensive system-level view of women’s participation, coaching, and leadership across NCAA athletics.
Here’s
What’s
Inside the
Report
HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE REPORT
43%
Women account for 43% of NCAA varsity athletes since the 1990’s but proportionally remain underrepresented as women makeup 55% of the entire student body. (2024)
46%
In 2024, women coach 46% of women’s teams. The last time women were in the majority was in the 1980’s; illustrating that men are continuously hired over women to coach women’s teams.
64%
Women make up 64% of women’s teams full-time assistant coaches, demonstrating robust female pipelines at the entry and mid‑levels of coaching.
Emerging sports, triathlon, wrestling, acrobatics & tumbling, rugby, equestrian have become important drivers of growth in women’s athletics.
NIL, revenue sharing, and roster caps create systemic pressures that disproportionately affect women’s sports.
