DeKalb Times

Northern Illinois University ranked No. 27 for student soccer participation in the state, according to a DeKalb Times analysis of college sports participation

Northern Illinois University's soccer program consisted of 52 players in 2016, according to federal athletics data.

The U.S. Department of Education Office of Postsecondary Education collects athletics data annually from all institutions with intercollegiate athletics programs that receive funding through federal financial aid programs. Data for 2016 – the latest year available – includes more than 2,000 schools nationwide.

In all, there are 3,650 students playing on 77 college and university soccer teams in the state.

College soccer participation rankings

Rank	Institution Name	Soccer Men's Team Participation	Soccer Women's Team Participation	Soccer Total Participation
1	Robert Morris University Illinois	93	66	159
2	McKendree University	42	43	85
3	Olivet Nazarene University	52	28	80
4	Illinois Wesleyan University	40	34	74
5	Judson University	49	25	74
6	Augustana College	42	30	72
7	Trinity Christian College	34	37	71
8	Knox College	35	33	68
9	North Park University	44	24	68
10	Eastern Illinois University	33	32	65
11	Millikin University	34	28	62
12	University of Illinois at Springfield	38	24	62
13	Dominican University	33	26	59
14	Elmhurst College	33	26	59
15	Monmouth College	31	28	59
16	University of Chicago	30	28	58
17	Wheaton College	32	26	58
18	University of Illinois at Chicago	26	31	57
19	Western Illinois University	28	29	57
20	North Central College	31	25	56
21	Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville	29	27	56
22	Aurora University	32	23	55
23	Northwestern University	26	29	55
24	Loyola University Chicago	27	27	54
25	Lake Forest College	28	24	52
26	Lewis University	27	25	52
27	Northern Illinois University	25	27	52
28	Quincy University	30	22	52
29	Trinity International University-Illinois	26	26	52
30	Benedictine University	28	23	51
31	Concordia University-Chicago	24	27	51
32	Triton College	32	19	51
33	Illinois Institute of Technology	29	21	50
34	Greenville College	21	28	49
35	William Rainey Harper College	33	15	48
36	DePaul University	25	22	47
37	Saint Xavier University	23	24	47
38	University of St Francis	28	19	47
39	Lewis and Clark Community College	27	19	46
40	Roosevelt University	28	18	46
41	Southwestern Illinois College	25	20	45
42	College of DuPage	27	17	44
43	Blackburn College	21	22	43
44	Illinois College	25	18	43
45	Moraine Valley Community College	26	17	43
46	Morton College	23	20	43
47	Waubonsee Community College	24	19	43
48	Parkland College	22	20	42
49	Rock Valley College	22	20	42
50	Rockford University	25	17	42
51	Oakton Community College	25	16	41
52	Heartland Community College	20	20	40
53	Bradley University	38		38
54	Illinois Central College	21	17	38
55	Illinois Valley Community College	24	13	37
56	Lincoln College	21	16	37
57	City Colleges of Chicago-Harry S Truman College	23	13	36
58	Joliet Junior College	17	19	36
59	South Suburban College	20	16	36
60	Prairie State College	21	14	35
61	Eureka College	20	14	34
62	University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign		34	34
63	College of Lake County	18	15	33
64	MacMurray College	17	16	33
65	Lincoln Christian University	20	12	32
66	Elgin Community College	18	13	31
67	Illinois State University		29	29
68	Chicago State University		25	25
69	McHenry County College	23		23
70	Moody Bible Institute	23		23
71	Kankakee Community College	22		22
72	Carl Sandburg College	21		21
73	Lincoln Land Community College	21		21
74	City Colleges of Chicago-Richard J Daley College	19		19
75	Kaskaskia College		18	18
76	City Colleges of Chicago-Kennedy-King College	16		16
77	City Colleges of Chicago-Malcolm X College	16		16

Source: U.S. Department of Education Office of Postsecondary Education