Basketball is one of the most popular sports in the United States. Each year, thousands of college basketball players compete in the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament, often referred to as “March Madness.” But how many college basketball players are there in Division I? And what is the breakdown of players by conference? Let’s take a look.
Overall Breakdown of D1 Men’s Basketball Players
According to the NCAA, there are a total of 6,851 Division I men’s basketball players in the United States. This includes all levels of play, from the NCAA Tournament to regular season games. Of this number, 5,121 players are on Division I teams in the United States, while the remaining 1,730 players are on international teams.
Breakdown by Conference
The NCAA divides Division I men’s basketball teams into 32 conferences. The largest of these conferences is the Big Ten, which has a total of 2,062 players. The second-largest is the Big 12, with 1,931 players. The other major conferences, the ACC and the Pac-12, have 1,602 and 1,568 players, respectively.
The remaining conferences have significantly fewer players. The American Athletic Conference, for example, has 891 players, while the Mountain West has 856 players. The other 25 conferences have fewer than 800 players each.
Breakdown by School
The University of Kentucky leads the way with the most Division I men’s basketball players, with a total of 368. This is followed by the University of North Carolina (346) and Duke University (337). The next two schools, the University of Louisville and the University of Kansas, have 313 and 305 players, respectively.
The rest of the top 10 schools in terms of number of players are the University of Michigan (294), the University of Arizona (292), Indiana University (282), the University of Virginia (277), and the University of Wisconsin (273).
Conclusion
In conclusion, there are a total of 6,851 Division I men’s basketball players in the United States. This includes 5,121 players in the United States and 1,730 international players. The Big Ten has the most players, with 2,062, while the Big 12 has the second-most with 1,931 players. The University of Kentucky leads all schools with 368 players, followed by the University of North Carolina with 346 players.