Central OC Times

In 2022, 5% of Orange County students played sports on collegiate teams, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

The county’s universities were represented by 3,094 men and 2,084 women who played for one or more sports teams in 2022. This does not include students playing intramural sports.

The largest number of students per institution in Orange County (551) played for Chapman University during this period.

Orange County paid a total of $20,074,309 in athletically-related financial aid during 2022.

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

Students who play sports often have higher graduation rates than non-athletes. More female than male athletes graduate.

The average institutional gift aid for student-athletes is $17,000, with 80% of them receive some kind of academic grant or need-based scholarship.

Institution	Total Enrollment	Student-athletes Enrollment	Student-athletes ratio
Chapman University	7,148	551	13.0
Orange Coast College	6,139	472	13.0
Concordia University-Irvine	1,482	418	3.5
Fullerton College	6,528	414	15.8
Vanguard University of Southern California	1,777	398	4.5
California State University-Fullerton	27,848	397	70.1
Saddleback College	5,173	373	13.9
University of California-Irvine	28,742	359	80.1
Golden West College	2,903	351	8.3
Santa Ana College	3,645	339	10.8
Hope International University	516	269	1.9
Cypress College	4,507	225	20.0
Irvine Valley College	3,735	196	19.1
Bethesda University	218	191	1.1
Santiago Canyon College	2,202	127	17.3
Soka University of America	435	98	4.4