The State of College Golf 2026
Published July 16, 2026 · Tessaira
Tessaira's directory tracks 1169 NCAA college golf programs across all 50 states, with Alaska the only state at zero, and 108 conferences. Division I accounts for 572 of those 1169 programs (48.9%). Pennsylvania and Texas lead every state with 85 and 76 programs respectively, and the top 10 states alone hold 48.9% of the entire directory. Only 32.6% of programs publish a recruiting questionnaire.
Cite this study
Tessaira. "The State of College Golf 2026." Tessaira, 2026-07-16. https://tessaira.com/data/state-of-college-golf.
One directory, every program.Here is what it actually shows.
The Landscape
Programs by division
The Tessaira directory tracks 1169 college golf programs: 452 men's teams and 717 women's teams, spread across three NCAA divisions. Division I is the majority of the directory by a wide margin, 48.9% of every program on file.
| Division | Programs | Men's | Women's | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NCAA Division I | 572 | 300 | 272 | |
| NCAA Division II | 272 | 80 | 192 | |
| NCAA Division III | 325 | 72 | 253 |
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The Map
Programs by state
Programs concentrate hard in a handful of states. The top 10 states, Pennsylvania, Texas, California, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, Illinois, Florida, South Carolina, hold 48.9% of every program in the directory. At the other end, Alaska is the only state with zero programs on file, and Delaware, Vermont, Wyoming, Montana have three or fewer.
| State | Programs | Concentration |
|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | 85 | |
| Texas | 76 | |
| California | 69 | |
| New York | 64 | |
| North Carolina | 56 | |
| Ohio | 56 | |
| Virginia | 45 | |
| Illinois | 42 | |
| Florida | 41 | |
| South Carolina | 38 | |
| Tennessee | 36 | |
| Minnesota | 35 | |
| Massachusetts | 33 | |
| Indiana | 32 | |
| Michigan | 31 | |
| Georgia | 27 | |
| Wisconsin | 26 | |
| Oklahoma | 22 | |
| Kentucky | 21 | |
| Missouri | 21 | |
| Alabama | 20 | |
| Colorado | 19 | |
| Connecticut | 19 | |
| Arkansas | 18 | |
| Maryland | 18 | |
| New Jersey | 18 | |
| Iowa | 17 | |
| Washington | 17 | |
| West Virginia | 15 | |
| Utah | 14 | |
| Louisiana | 13 | |
| Oregon | 11 | |
| Mississippi | 10 | |
| Nebraska | 10 | |
| South Dakota | 10 | |
| Kansas | 9 | |
| Maine | 9 | |
| Rhode Island | 9 | |
| New Hampshire | 8 | |
| Arizona | 7 | |
| North Dakota | 7 | |
| Idaho | 6 | |
| New Mexico | 6 | |
| District of Columbia | 5 | |
| Hawaii | 4 | |
| Nevada | 4 | |
| Montana | 3 | |
| Delaware | 2 | |
| Vermont | 2 | |
| Wyoming | 2 | |
| Alaska | 0 |
All 50 states plus DC. State names link to the full program directory for that state.
The Academic Reality
Admissions, testing, and cost by division
Institutional academics (admission rate, average SAT, tuition) come from the US Department of Education College Scorecard, joined to the 725 of 1169 programs (62%) where we have a matching institution on file. Figures describe the school as a whole, not a golf-specific admissions bar. The counterintuitive finding: Division III golf programs post the highest average SAT score and the lowest average admit rate of the three divisions, well ahead of Division I, because the D3 golf footprint leans heavily on academically selective private schools (NESCAC, UAA, and similar conferences).
| Division | Avg. admit rate | Avg. SAT | Avg. tuition (in-state) | Avg. tuition (out-of-state) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NCAA Division I | 67.9%(n=565) | 1239(n=473) | $26,486 | $36,555(n=568) |
| NCAA Division II | 79.1%(n=75) | 1124(n=55) | $26,484 | $29,991(n=80) |
| NCAA Division III | 45.3%(n=73) | 1377(n=65) | $58,108 | $58,108(n=72) |
“n” is the number of programs in that division with a verified value for that field. Coverage is not 100% for every field; SAT average is the least complete (many schools are test-optional and don't report a school-wide average).
The Access Layer
Which programs publish a recruiting questionnaire
381 of 1169 programs (32.6%) publish a recruiting questionnaire on their athletics site, the standard first self-serve contact point for a prospective recruit. Division I publishes the fewest by rate, not the most: D2 and D3 programs are meaningfully more likely to have one on file. That tracks with how each tier actually recruits. Power-conference D1 coaches build interest lists off rankings and tournament visibility and rarely need an inbound form; D2 and D3 coaches depend more on recruits finding them.
| Division | Programs | With questionnaire | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| NCAA Division I | 572 | 274 | 47.9% |
| NCAA Division II | 272 | 60 | 22.1% |
| NCAA Division III | 325 | 47 | 14.5% |
What it means for families: a program without a public questionnaire isn't unreachable, it just means direct email outreach (not a form) is the actual first move. Tessaira Premium surfaces the questionnaire link and verified coach emails where we have them, program by program.
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What this dataset is, and isn't
This study is computed directly from two tables Tessaira maintains for the coach directory: a program directory of 1169 college golf programs (name, division, conference, state, city, gender, head and assistant coach) last verified May 18, 2026, and a School Insights table (recruiting questionnaire, camps page, roster size, and institutional academics) collected July 16, 2026. Academics (admission rate, SAT average, tuition) are sourced from the US Department of Education College Scorecard, 2023-24 data year. Questionnaire, camps, and roster links are collected directly from official athletics websites.
What it covers: NCAA Division I, II, and III programs with a named coaching staff. 1169 programs, 452 men's and 717 women's, across 108 conferences, in 49 states plus DC.
What it does not cover: NAIA and NJCAA golf programs are not yet in this directory at the per-program level (they exist as conference/entry directories at /college/naia-njcaa, not full program rows). Division II and III women's golf is not yet represented, a real gap in the directory, not a claim that those programs don't exist. Academic figures describe the institution as a whole, not golf-specific admissions standards, and coverage is uneven by field (see the “n” counts in the tables above). This is not a performance or rankings dataset. It contains no team results, scoring averages, or win-loss records.
Every number on this page traces back to a row in one of those two tables. Nothing here is an estimate, an industry figure, or a number pulled from outside our own dataset.
Keep the full 2026 study
Download the same figures and methodology as a free, five-page PDF. No email or account required.