16.8% of DuPage County college students on collegiate teams in 2024

Matthew Burden, Vice President of Information and Technology and Chief Information Officer at North Central College
Matthew Burden, Vice President of Information and Technology and Chief Information Officer at North Central College | www.northcentralcollege.edu
By L. C. Ostrander

In 2024, 16.8% of DuPage County college students played sports on collegiate teams, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

The county’s universities were represented by 1,712 men and 920 women who played for one or more sports teams in 2024. This does not include students playing intramural sports.

The largest number of students per institution in DuPage County (795) played for North Central College during this period.

DuPage County paid a total of $1,089,516 in athletically-related financial aid during 2024.

Data shows that football was the most popular sport played, followed by soccer, and baseball.

Scholarship hopes are a major motivator for many young athletes, according to Archrival's Future Sport report. The firm said 71% of the student-athletes it surveyed reported playing competitive sports specifically to earn a college scholarship.

Number of Students on Collegiate Teams in DuPage County in 2024
InstitutionTotal EnrollmentStudent-athletes EnrollmentStudent-athletes ratio
North Central College2,3257952.9
Elmhurst University2,8905145.6
Benedictine University1,6445073.2
Wheaton College2,0434674.4
College of DuPage6,73734919.3

Information in this article was obtained from the U.S. Department of Education. The source data can be found here.