Going for gold in Paris
The 2024 Paris Olympics are in full swing, and nearly 600 of the top U.S. athletes — the largest delegation — face elite competition. This year, 1,235 incoming, current and past NCAA athletes representing 253 different schools and 125 countries and teams are competing for summer Olympic gold in 20 NCAA-recognized sports. Track and field and cross country and swimming have the most collegiate athletes, with 409 and 223, respectively. Olympic sports not recognized by the NCAA, such as skateboarding and table tennis, were not included in calculations for this list, which is based on data provided to U.S. News by the NCAA. These numbers frequently but slightly change over the course of the games. As of 11 a.m. EST on Aug. 6, 2024, these are the top 15 U.S. News-designated national universities with the most Olympians competing in France.
Harvard University (MA)
Athletes in Paris: 18
U.S. News National Universities rank: 3 (tie)
Total fall 2023 enrollment: 24,596
Seven of Harvard University’s student-athletes are competing in fencing, followed by five in track and field and cross country. Harvard rising senior Lauren Scruggs earned a silver medal in fencing during her Olympic debut.
Texas Tech University
Athletes in Paris: 18
U.S. News National Universities rank: 216 (tie)
Total 2023-2024 enrollment: 40,944
Twelve of the Texas Tech athletes in Paris are competing in track and field and cross country. The school also sent three athletes to compete in golf, two in soccer and one in basketball. WNBA legend and three-time Olympic gold medalist Sheryl Swoopes is among Texas Tech’s alumni.
University of Washington
University of Washington
Athletes in Paris: 18
U.S. News National Universities rank: 40 (tie)
Total fall 2023 enrollment: 60,692
The University of Washington has seven athletes in Paris for rowing. UW rowers earned 11 Olympic medals in Paris, setting a school record for the sport. Eight UW alums won medals during the final day of the regatta. Only twice before — 1984 and 1936 — have Huskies won more medals in a single Olympiad.
Duke University (NC)
Athletes in Paris: 19
U.S. News National Universities rank: 7 (tie)
Total fall 2023 enrollment: 16,840
Duke University sent six student-athletes to compete in basketball and six for track and field or cross country. 2024 NBA champion Jayson Tatum and WNBA star Chelsea Gray, former Blue Devils, looked to secure their second gold medals. Duke freshman Khaman Maluach is representing South Sudan in basketball.
Indiana University—Bloomington
Athletes in Paris: 20
U.S. News National Universities rank: 73 (tie)
Total fall 2023 enrollment: 44,674
Indiana University has a strong showing in aquatic sports, sending 11 swimmers and three athletes each in water polo and diving. Since the Hoosiers began Olympic competition in 1904, athletes from the school have earned more than 50 gold medals and 20 silver.
Princeton University (NJ)
Athletes in Paris: 20
U.S. News National Universities rank: 1
Total fall 2023 enrollment: 8,973
Five Princeton University NCAA athletes are competing in rowing, along with five in fencing and four in track and field and cross country. 2017 Princeton graduate Nick Meade and his rowing team earned a gold medal in “men’s four,” marking the first time that the U.S. has secured a gold medal in the sport in 64 years.
University of Virginia
Athletes in Paris: 20
U.S. News National Universities rank: 24 (tie)
Total fall 2023 enrollment: Unavailable
The University of Virginia sent eight swimmers to compete in Paris. Rising senior Gretchen Walsh has earned a silver medal in women’s 100-meter butterfly and a silver in the 4×100-meter swim.
Arizona State University
Athletes in Paris: 26
U.S. News National Universities rank: 105 (tie)
Total fall 2023 enrollment: 145,655
Arizona State University sent eight golfers and six swimmers. Former ASU athlete Leon Marchand has won three gold medals in swimming: men’s 200-meter butterfly, the 200-meter fly and 200-meter breaststroke.
University of Oregon
Athletes in Paris: 26
U.S. News National Universities rank: 98 (tie)
Total fall 2023 enrollment: 23,834
Seventeen University of Oregon athletes are competing in track and field and cross country while eight are competing in basketball. Former University of Oregon golfer Wyndham Clark is one of four U.S. golfers to represent the country in Paris and is the fifth-ranked golfer in the world, according to the Official World Golf Ranking.
University of Arkansas
Athletes in Paris: 27
U.S. News National Universities rank: 178 (tie)
Total fall 2023 enrollment: 32,140
The University of Arkansas sent 23 track and field and cross country athletes, including Jamaican hurdler Omar McLeod, who won gold in the 110-meter hurdles during the 2016 Olympics. Arkansas volunteer track coach Ryan Crouser has won his third straight gold medal in the shot put.
Florida State University
Athletes in Paris: 28
U.S. News National Universities rank: 53 (tie)
Total fall 2023 enrollment: 43,701
Florida State University sent 11 track and field and cross country athletes and seven swimmers. Alonzo Russell was the last FSU athlete to medal in track and field, a bronze in 2016, and Stephen Parry was the last to medal in swimming — a bronze in 2004. In the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, two female FSU athletes medaled in softball and two women medaled in soccer.
Pennsylvania State University
Athletes in Paris: 28
U.S. News National Universities rank: 60 (tie)
Total fall 2023 enrollment: 87,903
Most of Penn State’s athletes are competing in swimming, six, and volleyball, five. Penn State’s Matt Anderson is competing in his fourth straight Olympic appearance after the London, Rio and Tokyo games. Among its previous 121 Olympic athletes, Penn State won 43 medals, including nine gold.
University of Georgia
Athletes in Paris: 28
U.S. News National Universities rank: 47 (tie)
Total 2022-2023 enrollment: 41, 615
Twenty of the University of Georgia’s 28 athletes are competing in track and field and cross country. Before these Olympics, UGA athletes had won 70 Olympic medals since 1936, mostly in swimming.
University of Texas at Austin
Athletes in Paris: 32
U.S. News National Universities rank: 32
Total fall 2023 enrollment: 51,913
The University of Texas sent 11 track and field and cross country athletes and 10 swimmers to Paris. Before the Paris Olympics, 162 University of Texas athletes had captured 156 medals, 89 of them gold.
Louisiana State University
Athletes in Paris: 33
U.S. News National Universities rank: 185 (tie)
Total fall 2023 enrollment: 39,419
Most of Louisiana State University’s athletes are from track and field and cross country, swimming and diving. LSU’s 2024 national championship gymnastics team is represented by Aleah Finnegan, LSU’s first active gymnast to become an Olympian and the first female Olympic gymnast to represent the Philippines.
University of Tennessee
Athletes in Paris: 33
U.S. News National Universities rank: 105 (tie)
Total fall 2023 enrollment: 36,304
University of Tennessee athletes represent 18 nations in the Paris Olympics, five competing on Team U.S.A. Seventeen of Tennessee’s Olympic athletes are competing in swimming and 13 in track and field and cross country. Erika Connolly has won a silver medal in swimming in the 4×100 freestyle relay competition after earning a silver and a bronze medal in 2020.
University of California, Los Angeles
Athletes in Paris: 34
U.S. News National Universities rank: 15 (tie)
Total 2023-2024 enrollment: 48,048
The most University of California, Los Angeles athletes competing in Paris represent water polo, eight, and basketball, five. Notable former UCLA athletes competing this time include two-time NBA champion Jrue Holiday and Jordan Chiles, a 2024 gold medalist in women’s team gymnastics.
University of Florida
Athletes in Paris: 40
U.S. News National Universities rank: 28 (tie)
Total fall 2023 enrollment: 60, 489
Former University of Florida Gator swimmer Caleb Dressel earned the first U.S. gold medal of the 2024 Paris Olympics. That medal gave Dressel his eighth gold as the anchor of the U.S. relay team.
University of California, Berkeley
Athletes in Paris: 41
U.S. News National Universities rank: 15
Total fall 2023 enrollment: 45,699
The University of California, Berkeley sent 19 swimmers and seven water polo athletes to compete in Paris. In April 2024, current student Mykolas Alekna set the world record for men’s discus at 74.35 meters. He also became the youngest World Championships discus medalist in 2022 at the age of 19.
University of Michigan–Ann Arbor
Athletes in Paris: 41
U.S. News National Universities rank: 21
Total fall 2023 enrollment: 51,823
From 1900 to 2022, University of Michigan–Ann Arbor athletes won 185 Olympic medals, including 86 gold. Among the 10 sports the school is representing, Michigan sent 15 swimmers and eight track and field and cross country athletes to Paris. Alumna Alena Olsen has become the university’s first rugby player ever to medal in the sport, clinching a bronze.
Stanford University (CA)
Athletes in Paris: 54
U.S. News National Universities rank: 3 (tie)
Total fall 2023 enrollment: 17,529
Most Stanford University Olympians in Paris represent the U.S. Likewise, a majority is competing in water polo, swimming, and track and field and cross country. Former Stanford Cardinal Katie Ledecky — who won four medals in 2020 — has earned her 13th medal, making her the most decorated woman in swimming history.
University of Southern California
Athletes in Paris: 59
U.S. News National Universities rank: 28 (tie)
Total fall 2023-2024 enrollment: 47,000
Since 1904, 512 University of Southern California Trojans have appeared in the winter or summer Olympics, earning 326 medals. Heading into Paris, Trojans had earned 153 Olympic gold medals. Seven former USC athletes have been inducted into the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Fame, including WNBA legend Lisa Leslie and swimming champion John Naber.
Colleges that sent the most Olympians to Paris in 2024
University of Southern California: 59
Stanford University: 54
University of California, Berkeley: 41
University of Michigan–Ann Arbor: 41
University of Florida: 40
University of California, Los Angeles: 34
Louisiana State University: 33
University of Tennessee: 33
University of Texas: 32
Florida State University: 28
Pennsylvania State University: 28
University of Georgia: 28
University of Arkansas: 27
Arizona State University: 26
University of Oregon: 26
Indiana University–Bloomington: 20
Princeton University: 20
University of Virginia: 20
Duke University: 19
Harvard University: 18
Texas Tech University: 18
University of Washington: 18
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22 Colleges With the Most Olympians in Paris in 2024 originally appeared on usnews.com
