Does it seem like college football Saturdays and college hoops seasons are busy in North Carolina? That’s because our state has 18 Division-I (D1) schools, the fourth most in the nation.
Only three states have more D1 schools than North Carolina’s 18. With an estimated 10.8 million citizens as of December 2023, according to the Census Bureau, the Tar Heel State has one D1 school per approximately 601,000 people, which ranks 14th nationally among the 49 states with at least one D1 school.
North Carolina’s 18 D1 Schools:
- Appalachian State University.
- Campbell University.
- Davidson College.
- Duke University.
- East Carolina University.
- Elon University.
- Gardner-Webb University.
- High Point University.
- North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.
- University of North Carolina at Asheville.
- North Carolina Central University.
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
- University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
- University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
- North Carolina State University.
- University of North Carolina at Wilmington.
- Wake Forest University.
- Western Carolina University.
Why does North Carolina have so many D1 colleges? It helps that North Carolina is such an old state: admitted as the 12th “state” before there was a United States of America, on Nov. 21, 1789. Many of the state’s colleges and universities trace their history to the 19th century, but the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was founded in 1789.
Most D1 schools by state, per capita
Only California, New York, and Texas have more D1 schools than North Carolina. Those states rank 1st, 2nd, and 4th in population, respectively. However, they sit far lower on the list of D1 schools per capita than the Tar Heel State.
| STATE | D1 SCHOOLS | POPULATION | PER CAP | NOTABLE SCHOOLS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 9 | 5,108,468 | 56,7607.6 | Alabama, Auburn, UAB |
| Alaska | 0 | 733,406 | NA | NA |
| Arizona | 3 | 7,431,344 | 2,477,114.7 | Arizona, Arizona State |
| Arkansas | 5 | 3,067,732 | 613,546.4 | Arkansas, Arkansas Little Rock |
| California | 24 | 38,965,193 | 1,623,549.7 | USC, Stanford, UCLA, Cal, UCSB, Loyola, San Jose State |
| Colorado | 5 | 5,877,610 | 1,175,522.0 | Colorado, Colorado State, Air Force |
| Connecticut | 7 | 3,617,176 | 516,739.4 | UConn, Yale, Sacred Heart |
| Delaware | 2 | 1,031,890 | 515,945.0 | Delaware, Delaware State |
| Florida | 13 | 22,610,726 | 1,739,286.6 | Florida, Florida State, Miami |
| Georgia | 7 | 11,029,227 | 1,575,603.9 | Georgia, Georgia Tech, Kennesaw State University |
| Hawaii | 1 | 1,435,138 | 1,435,138.0 | Hawaii |
| Idaho | 3 | 1,964,726 | 654,908.7 | Idaho, Boise State, Idaho State |
| Illinois | 13 | 12,549,689 | 965,360.7 | Illinois, Northwestern, Loyola, DePaul |
| Indiana | 10 | 6,862,199 | 686,219.9 | Indiana, Notre Dame, Purdue, Ball State |
| Iowa | 4 | 3,207,004 | 801,751.0 | Iowa, Iowa State, Drake |
| Kansas | 3 | 2,940,546 | 980,182.0 | Kansas, Kansas State, Wichita State |
| Kentucky | 7 | 4,526,154 | 646,593.4 | Kentucky, Louisville, Murray State, Eastern Kentucky |
| Louisiana | 12 | 4,573,749 | 381,145.8 | LSU, Louisiana Tech, Tulane |
| Maine | 1 | 1,395,722 | 1,395,722.0 | Maine |
| Maryland | 9 | 6,180,253 | 686,694.8 | Maryland, Navy |
| Massachusetts | 6 | 7,001,399 | 1,166,899.8 | UMass, Harvard, Boston College |
| Michigan | 7 | 10,037,261 | 1,433,894.4 | Michigan, Michigan State, Western Michigan |
| Minnesota | 1 | 5,737,915 | 5,737,915.0 | Minnesota |
| Mississippi | 6 | 2,939,690 | 489,948.3 | Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Alcorn State |
| Missouri | 5 | 6,196,156 | 1,239,231.2 | Missouri, Missouri State |
| Montana | 2 | 1,132,812 | 566,406.0 | University of Montana, Montana State |
| Nebraska | 3 | 1,978,379 | 659,459.7 | Nebraska, Creighton |
| Nevada | 2 | 3,194,176 | 1,597,088.0 | UNLV, Nevada |
| New Hampshire | 2 | 1,402,054 | 701,027.0 | New Hampshire, Dartmouth |
| New Jersey | 8 | 9,290,841 | 1,161,355.1 | Princeton, Rutgers, Seton Hall, Monmouth |
| New Mexico | 2 | 2,114,371 | 1,057,185.5 | New Mexico, New Mexico State |
| New York | 22 | 19,571,216 | 889,600.7 | Syracuse, St. John's, Colgate |
| North Carolina | 18 | 10,835,491 | 601,971.7 | UNC, Duke, NC State, Wake Forest, UNC at Charlotte |
| North Dakota | 2 | 783,926 | 391,963.0 | UND, North Dakota State |
| Ohio | 13 | 11,785,935 | 906,610.4 | Ohio State, Cincinnati, Xavier, Bowling Green |
| Oklahoma | 4 | 4,053,824 | 1,013,456.0 | Oklahoma, OK State, Tulsa |
| Oregon | 4 | 4,233,358 | 1,058,339.5 | Oregon, Oregon State |
| Pennsylvania | 14 | 12,961,683 | 925,834.5 | Penn State, Pitt, Temple, Villanova |
| Rhode Island | 4 | 1,095,962 | 273,990.5 | Rhode Island, Providence, Brown |
| South Carolina | 12 | 5,373,555 | 447,796.3 | Clemson, SC State, South Carolina, Coastal Carolina |
| South Dakota | 2 | 919,318 | 459,659.0 | South Dakota, SD State |
| Tennessee | 12 | 7,126,489 | 593,874.1 | Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Memphis, Middle Tennessee State |
| Texas | 21 | 30,503,301 | 1,452,538.1 | Texas, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, SMU, Houston, Baylor |
| Utah | 6 | 3,417,734 | 569,622.3 | Utah, Brigham Young, Weber State |
| Vermont | 1 | 647,464 | 647,464.0 | Vermont |
| Virginia | 14 | 8,715,698 | 622,549.9 | Virginia, Virginia Tech, Old Dominion, University of Richmond |
| Washington | 5 | 7,812,880 | 1,562,576.0 | Washington, Washington State, Gonzaga |
| West Virginia | 2 | 1,770,071 | 885,035.5 | West Virginia, Marshall |
| Wisconsin | 4 | 5,910,955 | 1,477,738.8 | Wisconsin, Marquette |
| Wyoming | 1 | 584,057 | 584,057.0 | University of Wyoming |
Sports betting on D1 schools in NC, an opportunity and a challenge
We’ll see legal online sports betting in North Carolina debut in 2024.
The NC State Lottery Commission has announced that betting will not be ready by Jan. 8 (the same day as the College Football Championship game). Instead, we expect the state to launch its sports betting market in the spring, perhaps as soon as the 2024 March Madness tournament, which begins on March 19.
This represents a major opportunity for NC sportsbooks to capitalize on North Carolina’s rich collegiate athletics culture. It also means that operators, regulators and bettors will all need to do their due diligence to protect against such pernicious sports betting byproducts as match fixing and betting-related harassment.
For the latest NC sports betting news, bookmark NCSharp.com. Here, you can follow our reporters covering the regulatory process and stay apprised of the NC sportsbook promos and offers from sports betting operators.
Image Credit: Gerry Broome / AP Images
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