Ranked by participation
Top colleges for Softball scholarships
The 50 U.S. colleges with the largest softball programs by athlete participation — each shown with its school-level athletic-aid context.
Quick answer
Among schools that sponsor softball, Stanford University in California tops our list — a NCAA Division I-FBS program with one of the largest athletic-aid budgets and 22 softball athletes. We rank scholarship-awarding schools (NCAA Division I/II & NAIA — Division III awards no athletic aid) by division tier, then by the school’s overall athletic-aid scale, then by softball roster size — because EADA reports athletic aid only school-wide (men’s/women’s totals), never per sport.
About these aid figures
The athletic-aid columns below are school-level totals (all sports combined, split men’s/women’s) straight from EADA. They are not the amount awarded to softball athletes specifically — EADA does not publish per-sport aid. Use them only as a signal of how much a school invests in athletics overall.
| # | School | Division | Softball athletes | Men’s aid school-wide, all sports | Women’s aid school-wide, all sports |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Stanford, CA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 22 | $19,645,560 | $20,055,491 |
| 2 |  Ann Arbor, MI | NCAA Division I-FBS | 25 | $17,359,163 | $13,811,731 |
| 3 |  Notre Dame, IN | NCAA Division I-FBS | 21 | $18,224,011 | $12,830,979 |
| 4 |  Durham, NC | NCAA Division I-FBS | 20 | $15,690,493 | $14,408,801 |
| 5 |  Columbus, OH | NCAA Division I-FBS | 22 | $15,234,454 | $13,816,950 |
| 6 |  Evanston, IL | NCAA Division I-FBS | 20 | $14,880,630 | $13,049,548 |
| 7 |  Chestnut Hill, MA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 26 | $14,106,996 | $12,962,005 |
| 8 |  Charlottesville, VA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 23 | $14,175,770 | $11,154,557 |
| 9 |  New Brunswick, NJ | NCAA Division I-FBS | 20 | $13,653,780 | $11,643,557 |
| 10 |  University Park, PA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 21 | $14,065,058 | $10,299,943 |
| 11 |  Knoxville, TN | NCAA Division I-FBS | 29 | $12,260,488 | $11,447,980 |
| 12 |  Syracuse, NY | NCAA Division I-FBS | 23 | $12,255,855 | $11,189,256 |
| 13 |  Berkeley, CA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 23 | $12,306,273 | $10,832,606 |
| 14 |  Blacksburg, VA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 22 | $12,472,888 | $8,380,411 |
| 15 |  Waco, TX | NCAA Division I-FBS | 27 | $11,199,854 | $8,961,215 |
| 16 |  Pittsburgh, PA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 25 | $11,887,217 | $8,225,423 |
| 17 |  Norman, OK | NCAA Division I-FBS | 22 | $10,356,127 | $9,262,904 |
| 18 | NCAA Division I-FBS | 20 | $10,976,181 | $8,596,399 | |
| 19 |  East Lansing, MI | NCAA Division I-FBS | 24 | $11,243,351 | $8,241,631 |
| 20 |  Bloomington, IN | NCAA Division I-FBS | 19 | $10,607,303 | $8,778,138 |
| 21 |  Los Angeles, CA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 23 | $9,893,320 | $9,235,885 |
| 22 |  Minneapolis, MN | NCAA Division I-FBS | 20 | $9,757,332 | $9,264,581 |
| 23 |  Auburn, AL | NCAA Division I-FBS | 25 | $10,416,469 | $8,415,182 |
| 24 |  Madison, WI | NCAA Division I-FBS | 27 | $10,704,429 | $7,924,356 |
| 25 |  Seattle, WA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 20 | $10,619,493 | $7,984,481 |
| 26 |  College Park, MD | NCAA Division I-FBS | 20 | $10,293,805 | $8,222,557 |
| 27 |  Tulsa, OK | NCAA Division I-FBS | 22 | $10,173,077 | $7,886,717 |
| 28 |  Tuscaloosa, AL | NCAA Division I-FBS | 21 | $9,257,661 | $7,931,284 |
| 29 |  Iowa City, IA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 26 | $7,802,248 | $9,371,272 |
| 30 |  Lexington, KY | NCAA Division I-FBS | 21 | $9,552,135 | $7,404,713 |
| 31 |  Chapel Hill, NC | NCAA Division I-FBS | 26 | $9,121,336 | $8,028,006 |
| 32 |  Salt Lake City, UT | NCAA Division I-FBS | 21 | $9,858,505 | $6,785,141 |
| 33 |  Gainesville, FL | NCAA Division I-FBS | 25 | $8,560,624 | $7,735,235 |
| 34 |  Austin, TX | NCAA Division I-FBS | 20 | $8,766,679 | $7,450,570 |
| 35 |  Louisville, KY | NCAA Division I-FBS | 22 | $8,893,178 | $7,003,358 |
| 36 |  Eugene, OR | NCAA Division I-FBS | 23 | $8,451,656 | $6,692,741 |
| 37 |  Champaign, IL | NCAA Division I-FBS | 27 | $8,613,622 | $6,396,796 |
| 38 |  Lawrence, KS | NCAA Division I-FBS | 23 | $7,519,848 | $7,211,641 |
| 39 |  Clemson, SC | NCAA Division I-FBS | 23 | $7,600,229 | $7,089,086 |
| 40 |  Boise, ID | NCAA Division I-FBS | 24 | $7,557,561 | $7,039,372 |
| 41 |  Storrs, CT | NCAA Division I-FBS | 19 | $7,415,129 | $6,962,175 |
| 42 |  Columbia, SC | NCAA Division I-FBS | 27 | $6,953,077 | $6,806,841 |
| 43 |  Amherst, MA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 18 | $6,993,887 | $6,591,712 |
| 44 |  Atlanta, GA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 25 | $8,688,387 | $4,662,610 |
| 45 |  College Station, TX | NCAA Division I-FBS | 31 | $7,407,229 | $5,914,617 |
| 46 |  West Lafayette, IN | NCAA Division I-FBS | 24 | $7,893,890 | $4,937,179 |
| 47 |  Athens, GA | NCAA Division I-FBS | 21 | $6,695,845 | $6,116,334 |
| 48 |  Tucson, AZ | NCAA Division I-FBS | 22 | $6,425,554 | $6,336,173 |
| 49 | NCAA Division I-FBS | 26 | $6,677,501 | $6,073,856 | |
| 50 |  Lincoln, NE | NCAA Division I-FBS | 27 | $7,103,791 | $5,591,586 |
How we ranked this
Schools are ranked by NCAA/NAIA division tier (Division I-FBS and I-FCS first), then by the school’s overall athletic-aid scale, then by softball roster size (men + women), all reported to the U.S. Department of Education under the Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act (EADA). Division III schools are excluded because they do not award athletic scholarships. The athletic-aid columns are the school’s men’s and women’s aid totals across all sports, shown for context; they are not allocated to softball — EADA reports aid only school-wide, never per sport. Only schools that can be matched to a named institution and report at least one softball participant are listed (minimum 5schools to publish a page). Empty cells (“—”) mean the school reported no value; we never estimate.
Frequently asked questions
Does EADA data show softball scholarship amounts per sport?+
No. The federal Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act (EADA) reports athletic student aid only as a school-level total, split into men’s and women’s totals — it does not break aid down by individual sport. This page therefore ranks schools by their participation in softball and shows the school’s overall athletic-aid totals as context only. We never present a per-sport aid figure.
Which colleges rank highest for softball scholarships?+
Stanford University (California), a NCAA Division I-FBS program, leads our ranking of scholarship-awarding softball schools. We rank by division tier and the school's overall athletic-aid scale (athletic aid is reported school-wide, not per sport), then by softball roster size.
Do all softball programs offer athletic scholarships?+
No. NCAA Division III and some other associations do not award athletic scholarships at all, while Division I, Division II and NAIA schools may. A school showing $0 in athletic aid in our table typically does not offer athletic scholarships. Always confirm with the program directly.
How are these softball colleges ranked?+
By the number of student-athletes participating in the sport (men plus women) as reported to EADA — the only per-sport signal the dataset provides. A larger program generally means more roster spots and recruiting activity, but it does not guarantee a larger scholarship.
Keep exploring
Data sources: U.S. Dept. of Education EADA (Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act) · IPEDS · College Scorecard. Figures are the most recent values published in each federal dataset; cells with no published value are shown as “—” and never estimated. Education does not sell rankings or accept placement fees.