Contributed
CHAPEL HILL – The North Carolina High School Athletic Association saw a 4.73 percent increase in overall participation during the 2023-2024 school from the previous year. Across all sports, 208,722 student athletes participated in NCHSAA sanctioned sports in 2023-2024, up from 198,025 in 2022-2023. This is based on information reported to the NCHSAA by its member schools.
Men’s and Women’s Indoor Track saw significant increases in participation this year as 21 schools added women’s programs and 14 schools added men’s programs. Women’s Golf participation increased 12 percent this year as 1,573 golfers were members of NCHSAA member school teams, up from 1,404 in 2022. In 2023, 282 schools fielded women’s golf teams compared to 270 in 2022.
The largest increase in reported participation was in Winter Spirit. There were 60 more reported teams in 2023-2024 leading to an increase of 1,628 athletes.
Every sport, except for baseball, saw an increase in participation. During the spring of 2024, 10,574 student athletes played baseball, down 153 (1.4 percent) from the previous year. Meanwhile, Men’s Golf and Men’s Lacrosse saw increases of 7 percent and 6 percent, respectively.
There were 436 member schools in the NCHSAA for the 2023-24 school year, up from 432 in 2022-2023, and 434 of those schools fielded a Men’s Basketball team; 432 fielded a volleyball team. There were 383 football playing schools in the Association, with 29,075 student athletes participating on the gridiron last fall.
In Women’s Wrestling, the first year as a sanctioned sport, there were 248 schools that participated, with a total of 1,432 female athletes. The wrestling participation numbers from 2022-2023 were not separated by gender; however, there were 9,988 total wrestlers in 2022-2023, compared to 11,317 (men and women) in 2023-2024.
Total participation numbers by sport for the last two years, are listed below:
2023-2024 School Year
Fall 2023
Sport, Total Participants, Schools With Program
Football, 29075, 383
Men’s Cross Country, 5821, 395
Men’s Soccer, 12916, 407
Spirit, 9776, 386
Volleyball, 10303, 432
Women’s Cross Country, 4279, 382
Women’s Golf, 1573, 282
Women’s Tennis, 4318, 340
Total Fall Sports, 78061
Winter 2023-2024
Sport, Total Participants, Schools With Program
Men’s Basketball, 11409, 434
Men’s Indoor Track, 7331, 304
Men’s Swimming, 3338, 305
Men’s Wrestling, 9885, 342
Spirit, 9709, 414
Women’s Basketball, 7663, 429
Women’s Indoor Track, 5912, 306
Women’s Swimming, 4487, 306
Women’s Wrestling, 1432, 248
Total Winter Sports, 61166
Spring 2024
Sport, Total Participants, Schools With Program
Baseball, 10574, 414
Men’s Golf, 3278, 371
Men’s Lacrosse, 4219, 121
Men’s Tennis, 3833, 319
Men’s Track, 15932, 408
Softball, 7017, 402
Women’s Lacrosse, 2726, 101
Women’s Soccer, 10507, 396
Women’s Track, 11409, 409
Total Spring Sports, 69495
2023-2024 Overall, 208,722
2022-2023 School Year
Fall 2022
Sport, Total Participants, Schools With Program
Football, 27809, 382
Men’s Cross Country, 5311, 385
Men’s Soccer, 11816, 402
Spirit, 9568, 382
Volleyball, 9779, 427
Women’s Cross Country, 4084, 377
Women’s Golf, 1404, 270
Women’s Tennis, 4006, 337
Total Fall Sports, 73777
Winter 2022-23
Sport, Total Participants, Schools With Program
Men’s Basketball, 11243, 431
Men’s Indoor Track, 6498, 290
Men’s Swimming, 3303, 300
Spirit, 8081, 354
Women’s Basketball, 7470, 425
Women’s Indoor Track, 5076, 285
Women’s Swimming, 4305, 304
Wrestling, 9988, 346
Total Winter Sports, 55964
Spring 2023
Sport, Total Participants, Schools With Program
Baseball, 10727, 409
Men’s Golf, 3062, 371
Men’s Lacrosse, 3976, 118
Men’s Tennis, 3750, 314
Men’s Track, 15911, 408
Softball, 6912, 398
Women’s Lacrosse, 2700, 99
Women’s Soccer, 10164, 389
Women’s Track, 11082, 409
Total Spring Sports, 68284
Overall 2022-2023, 198,025
About Author
