An Overview of Women’s High School and College Soccer Participation
Soccer participation in the United States has steadily increased over the last several decades. The sport has experienced notable increases at high school and collegiate levels, particularly women’s soccer.
Soccer is one of the most popular high school sports for girls in the United States. More than 390,100 female high school athletes played soccer in 2022, a significant increase from the 6,500 girls playing high school soccer in 1974, shortly after the passage of Title IX of the Civil Rights Act. Soccer ranks only behind volleyball and track and field in terms of participation and has surpassed basketball and softball in recent years. Soccer is the most-played sport for high school girls in nine states, especially in the New England region.
There are many reasons for the increase in participation, though the success of the US Women’s National Team (USWNT) is undeniably a factor. Participation has grown by approximately 282,500 athletes since the USWNT won the first Women’s World Cup in 1991.
As mentioned, Title IX is another contributing factor to the growth of women’s soccer in America. Written as part of the Education Amendments of 1972, the law prohibits education programs and other entities funded by Federal aid from denying services to a person due to their gender. Congressman John Tower attempted to add an amendment to the law that would exempt “revenue-generating” athletics from being included, which would have greatly undermined the law’s ability to protect and grow women’s sports, but the proposal was struck down.
The growth of women’s soccer at the high school and college levels is directly linked: high schools develop a hotbed of young talent ready to play at the college level, while many students make college decisions based on athletics and related scholarship opportunities. Data indicates that collegiate women’s soccer participation increased by 11 percent between 2015 and 2022.
Due to COVID restrictions, participation dipped during the 2020-2021 school year but surpassed 2019-2020 participation levels the very next year. The 2,030 players who joined women’s soccer programs between the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 school years represented an increase of seven percent. It was the largest growth of any women’s sport during that time regarding raw numbers.
Over 12,000 US colleges and universities have launched women’s soccer programs. Schools have every reason to draw more students in with a strong women’s soccer program. Soccer is one of the more affordable college sports per participant in terms of average expenses, at $15,298. Men’s basketball leads the way at $59,355, followed by men’s football at $47,097. While some may wonder if women’s soccer is underfunded, it should be noted that men’s soccer costs about $10,672 per participant and that Division I schools spend significantly more than the average, at more than $27,300.
Of course, talented high school players are more likely to enroll in programs that invest more in their soccer programs. The entirety of the 2023 USWNT World Cup roster attended a college in the 99th percentile of team expenses. Most players competed at colleges that spent between $60,000 and $80,000 per participant.
