Men's Rowing Colleges: A Complete List (2023)
Matthew Barrera
Published Mar 15, 2026
Men’s college rowing is a sport that is experiencing growth, especially at the club level. However, it is not an NCAA sanctioned sport, and college rowing teams compete and organize under different ruling bodies, with the majority of varsity programs being part of the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA), which organizes six different qualifying regattas throughout the year in advance of the IRA national championship regatta. There is also a portion of varsity programs that are not organized by the IRA and end their season with a regional championship, such as the National Invitational Rowing Championship (NIRC). Additionally, a large number of college rowing teams are club teams, most of which compete in the American Collegiate Rowing Association (ACRA). These teams range from recreational on the bottom end to competing against strong varsity programs at championship regattas, rostering future Olympic rowers and receiving invitations to the Henley Royal Regatta at the high end. College rowers competing on a varsity team do not have to pay for most expenses, but club rowers have to fund their team with fees. In this section, we break down how many men’s rowing teams there are.
How many colleges have men’s rowing teams?
There are currently around 84 varsity programs competing in college men’s rowing, with 50 competing in the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA). Meanwhile, according to the cMax in-season rankings, there were 59 American College Rowing Association (ACRA) teams competing during the 2022–23 season. Rowing is an expensive sport and team budgets and roster numbers may go up and down from year to year, making it difficult to get a competitive boat on the water in certain years, which partially explains the fluctuating number of men’s college rowing teams from season to season.
How many Division 1 rowing colleges are there?
There are currently 39 Division 1 colleges with rowing teams, the majority of which compete in the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) and follow most NCAA recruiting rules. To see a list of Division 1 rowing colleges, check out the NCSA Power Rankings of the Best Men’s Rowing Colleges.
Men’s college rowing rankings: What are the best colleges for men’s rowing?
There are several different men’s college rowing rankings that readers can reference in order to see how rowing teams are performing. In American rowing, the most important measurement of a program is the success of their varsity eight boat.
To see a ranking of college rowing teams that takes into consideration athletic and academic fit, you can check out NCSA Power Rankings of the Best Men’s Rowing Colleges. To see how the top varsity teams in the country stack up, check in on the IRA/USRowing varsity eight coaches’ poll. To see a relative estimate of how fast college rowing teams are, including both varsity and club teams, visit the cMax rankings page.
NCSA Power Rankings
- Stanford University
- Princeton University
- University of California – Berkeley
- Harvard University
- Yale University
- University of Pennsylvania – Penn
- Columbia University
- University of Wisconsin
- Georgetown University
- University of Washington
Full list of Men’s Varsity Rowing Colleges
School
City and State
Type
Conference
Division
Adrian, Michigan
Private
Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association
NCAA D3
Lewiston, Maine
Private
New England Small College Athletic Conference
NCAA D3
Boston, Massachusetts
Private
Patriot League
NCAA D1
Providence, Rhode Island
Private
Ivy League
NCAA D1
Vallejo, California
Public
California Pacific Conference
NAIA
Washington, District Of Columbia
Private
New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference
NCAA D3
Waterville, Maine
Private
New England Small College Athletic Conference
NCAA D3
Hamilton, New York
Private
Patriot League
NCAA D1
Worcester, Massachusetts
Private
Patriot League
NCAA D1
New York, New York
Private
Ivy League
NCAA D1
New London, Connecticut
Private
New England Small College Athletic Conference
NCAA D3
Ithaca, New York
Private
Ivy League
NCAA D1
Hanover, New Hampshire
Private
Ivy League
NCAA D1
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Private
Colonial Athletic Association
NCAA D1
Fairfield, Connecticut
Private
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
NCAA D1
Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Private
Centennial Conference
NCAA D3
Washington, District Of Columbia
Private
Patriot League
NCAA D1
Spokane, Washington
Private
West Coast Conference
NCAA D1
Clinton, New York
Private
New England Small College Athletic Conference
NCAA D3
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Private
Ivy League
NCAA D1
New Rochelle, New York
Private
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
NCAA D1
Ithaca, New York
Private
Liberty League
NCAA D3
Jacksonville, Florida
Private
Atlantic Sun Conference
NCAA D1
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Private
Atlantic 10 Conference
NCAA D1
Lake Forest, Illinois
Private
Midwest Conference
NCAA D3
Portland, Oregon
Private
Northwest Conference
NCAA D3
Long Island, New York
Private
Northeast Conference
NCAA D1
Los Angeles, California
Private
West Coast Conference
NCAA D1
Baltimore, Maryland
Private
Patriot League
NCAA D1
Poughkeepsie, New York
Private
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
NCAA D1
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Private
Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference
NCAA D3
Boston, Massachusetts
Private
Colonial Athletic Association
NCAA D1
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Private
Sooner Athletic Conference
NAIA
Corvallis, Oregon
Public
Pacific-12 Conference
NCAA D1
Princeton, New Jersey
Private
Ivy League
NCAA D1
Rochester, New York
Private
Liberty League
NCAA D3
Piscataway, New Jersey
Public
Big Ten Conference
NCAA D1
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Private
Atlantic 10 Conference
NCAA D1
Santa Clara, California
Private
West Coast Conference
NCAA D1
Saratoga Springs, New York
Private
Liberty League
NCAA D3
Rochester, New York
Private
Empire 8 Athletic Conference
NCAA D3
Canton, New York
Private
Liberty League
NCAA D3
St. Mary's City, Maryland
Public
Capital Athletic Conference
NCAA D3
Stanford, California
Private
Pacific-12 Conference
NCAA D1
Deland, Florida
Private
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
NCAA D1
Throggs Neck, New York
Public
Eastern Collegiate Football Conference
NCAA D3
Syracuse, New York
Private
American Athletics Conference
NCAA D1
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Public
American Athletic Conference
NCAA D1
Medford, Massachusetts
Private
New England Small College Athletic Conference
NCAA D3
Schenectady, New York
Private
Liberty League
NCAA D3
New London, Connecticut
Public
New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference
NCAA D3
Annapolis, Maryland
Public
Patriot League
NCAA D1
Berkeley, California
Public
Pacific-12 Conference
NCAA D1
Irvine, California
Public
Big West Conference
NCAA D1
La Jolla, California
Public
Big West Conference
NCAA D1
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Private
Ivy League
NCAA D1
Tacoma, Washington
Private
Northwest Conference
NCAA D3
San Diego, California
Private
West Coast Conference
NCAA D1
Seattle, Washington
Public
Pacific-12 Conference
NCAA D1
Madison, Wisconsin
Public
Big Ten Conference
NCAA D1
Chestertown, Maryland
Private
Centennial Conference
NCAA D3
Boston, Massachusetts
Private
Commonwealth Coast Conference
NCAA D3
Middletown, Connecticut
Private
New England Small College Athletic Conference
NCAA D3
Williamstown, Massachusetts
Private
New England Small College Athletic Conference
NCAA D3
Worcester, Massachusetts
Private
New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference
NCAA D3
New Haven, Connecticut
Private
Ivy League
NCAA D1
