The NCAA has a lasting and growing impact on the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Each Olympic and Paralympic cycle, hundreds of current and former NCAA student-athletes represent their nations on the world stage. At the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, over 1,300 athletes with ties to nearly 300 NCAA schools across all three divisions competed for 125 countries. Together, they brought home more than 380 medals, including 148 golds. In total, over 300 NCAA-affiliated athletes stood on the podium at the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics.
For Team USA, the NCAA’s influence is profound. At the Paris 2024 Olympics, 65% of the U.S. team had connections to an NCAA championship or emerging sport.
This enduring relationship is strengthened by a cooperation agreement between the NCAA and the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee established in 2019. The agreement continues to drive collaborative initiatives that support Team USA athletes while enhancing collegiate sports for future generations.
Through this partnership, the Olympians & Paralympians Made Here campaign was created to promote Olympic and Paralympic sports on campuses across the country. Developed in collaboration with the USOPC Collegiate Advisory Council, this campaign aims to build national awareness and support for Olympic and Paralympic opportunities within college sports.
In 2022, this collaboration led to the launch of the Para-College Inclusion Project, designed to foster greater awareness and participation in adaptive sports across the collegiate landscape. This initiative evolved into an awareness committee and three tactical teams dedicated to wheelchair basketball, wheelchair tennis, and para track and field. These teams identified key areas for improving para sports infrastructure, such as shared operations, formal partnerships and increased cooperation.
Learn more about the USOPC Paralympic Sport Development program and Olympians and Paralympians Made Here campaign or explore the journey to becoming an NCAA student-athlete.
