The National Football Foundation counted 10 institutions taking the field with new or reinstated football programs in 2026, including junior-college and sprint-football transitions.
The Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) projects that U.S. high school graduates will decline from 3.9 million in 2025 to 3.4 million by 2041, a 13% drop. WICHE cited falling births, the pandemic’s effect on K-12 enrollment and graduation rates that have leveled off. WICHE President Demarée Michelau said, “There are still plenty of potential students out there.”
The National Football Foundation (NFF) says colleges cite enrollment, retention and campus engagement among their reasons for adding football. But a 2024 University of Georgia study found little evidence of a lasting enrollment advantage. Researchers examined 36 NCAA schools that added football and compared their enrollment with institutions that did not. Any enrollment bump was brief; later changes were not statistically distinguishable from those at comparison schools. The study did not find a statistically significant rise in tuition revenue per student. It also said football generally requires more spending on facilities, equipment and staff than most college sports.
Mount Mercy University said when it announced its program in 2024 that football would support enrollment growth and student life. In an October 2026 update, the university reported more than 100 student-athletes from 18 states, including 54 from Iowa. Mount Mercy said the Lavern T. and Audrey Busse Foundation provided a $2.1 million lead gift toward the Busse Football Center, with a $1.5 million matching-gift challenge included in the funding announcement.
Azusa Pacific University’s 2026 roster had 103 players, including 49 freshmen, after the school returned to competition following nearly seven years away. Whittier College played its first football game since 2022 on Sept. 5. The college said alumni raised more than $814,000 toward the program’s startup costs.
The NFF’s 2026 count was its highest annual total since 2013. It includes three former junior-college programs moving to four-year football, two programs returning after discontinuation and one transition from sprint football to traditional football. The NFF counted 62 programs added over the preceding decade and listed seven more institutions planning to begin play in 2027 or later. The study’s findings concern earlier program additions and do not establish the enrollment effects of the 2026 programs.
