NCAA D2 track and field schools

How many D2 track and field schools are there?

There are 283 D2 schools on Streamline Athletes, in 24 conferences. 253 of them compete in indoor or outdoor track and field, and the rest are cross country only.

The number matters less than what is inside it. D2 includes small private colleges, large public universities, and schools where track and field is the strongest program on campus. A school's division is chosen by its whole athletic department, often because of football or basketball, so the label says little about how much a school invests in track. Some D2 programs would beat D1 programs in a dual meet, and some D3 programs would beat D2 programs.

What scholarships does D2 offer?

Each school can fund up to 12.6 scholarships for its men's team and 12.6 for its women's team, shared across track and field and cross country. Coaches almost always divide those across many athletes, so most D2 athletic awards are partial.

The 12.6 counts full scholarships, which coaches can cut into pieces. A full scholarship is the school's whole cost of attendance: tuition, housing, meals, and fees. A women's roster of 50 might have 30 athletes sharing those 12.6 scholarships. One coach might give two full scholarships to top recruits or seniors who have earned them and split the rest into 25%, 50%, and 75% awards. Another might give every recruit a small amount so the whole team is on scholarship, and keep larger awards for athletes who can score at conference or nationals right away.

Athletic and academic aid can be combined at most D2 schools. A few schools set their own rule against it, but the division allows it. For many families, academic money is what makes a D2 school affordable, so strong grades widen a D2 list more than almost anything else.

Not every D2 school funds all 12.6 scholarships. Some athletic departments budget far less, and a coach at one of those schools may only be able to offer a roster spot plus academic aid. That offer is about the school's budget. It says nothing about the athlete. If a D2 offer looks small next to the price of the school, the scholarship limit and the program's budget are usually why.

Can you get a full ride at D2?

A full athletic scholarship at D2 is possible but rare. It usually goes to an athlete who would be one of the team's top scorers in the conference from the first year.

More often, a D2 package comes close to full cost when athletic aid, academic aid, and other awards are added together. Some states and schools also give in-state tuition to athletes who receive athletic aid, which can lower the price a long way. Lead with your academics and your family's budget when money comes up, and let the coach build the package. Asking "what scholarship do I qualify for?" on a first call puts coaches off.

What times do D2 coaches look for?

D2 coaches look for athletes who can score at their conference championship in their first year or two. That line changes a lot from conference to conference, so the most useful number is the scoring line in each conference you're considering.

Two D2 conferences can sit far apart in the same event. In the men's shot put in spring 2026, the last scoring place was 16.02m in the NSIC and 14.33m in the CCAA. An athlete who would score in one conference might be a development recruit in the other. That is why we compare an athlete's PRs to each conference's results when we build a D2 list, and why the same athlete can be a scholarship recruit at one D2 school and a walk-on at another.

The top of D2 is fast. At the national championships, the men's 800m final is only a second or two slower in D2 than in D1. With D1 rosters now capped, more athletes who would once have gone D1 are choosing D2, and recruiting at every level below D1 has become more competitive.

Coaches compare track performances first, because cross country courses vary too much to compare one 5K with another. They use open results that are fully automatic timed (FAT). Relay splits carry little weight. Event range helps too: an athlete who can score in a second event is worth more to a coach.

For event-by-event ranges by division, see our college track and field recruitment standards and the Conference-Impact Lens, which shows how to match your PRs to a program.

How is D2 different from D1, D3 and NAIA?

The biggest differences are money and roster size. D1 has roster limits, D2 has a scholarship limit, D3 has no athletic scholarships, and NAIA sits between D2 and D3 in competition level.

D2 and D1

D1 schools are usually the biggest and best funded, and D1 nationals is the highest level of college track and field. Since 2025, most D1 schools can carry only 45 athletes per gender in track and field, counting every event group. They can give as much athletic aid as they can afford, but most track programs still work from budgets close to their old limits, so partial scholarships remain common. A D2 coach has a fixed number of scholarships and no roster limit, so D2 teams are often bigger than D1 teams. Some D2 rosters carry more than 100 athletes across the men's and women's teams. D2 is often described as more balanced between athletics and academics, but the only way to learn what a program expects is to ask its coach.

D2 and D3

The competition level is closer than most families expect: D3 national champions are only a touch slower than D2's. The difference is funding. D2 schools can give athletic aid and add academic aid to it. D3 schools give no athletic aid at all, so every dollar is academic or need-based. For a student with very high grades, a D3 school's merit and need-based awards can sometimes beat what a D2 school can put together.

D2 and NAIA

NAIA schools can also give athletic scholarships. In competition level, NAIA sits roughly between D2 and D3, with wide variation from school to school.

Where you fit matters more than the label

Many athletes go D1 and never once make a conference final. An athlete higher up a D2 roster gets more of the coach's attention, scores at conference, and may race at nationals every year. Explore D1 if D1 coaches want to talk to you, and keep D2 on your list.

For the full comparison, read D1 vs D2 vs D3: How the NCAA Divisions Differ and NCAA roster size and scholarship changes.

Is D2 a step down academically?

No. Division is an athletic choice, so it says nothing about a school's academics. D2 includes schools with strong programs in specific fields, such as aviation or engineering, and the right major at the right school matters more than the division.

D2 schools tend to have smaller student bodies than D1 schools, but some D1 schools have only a few thousand undergraduates. D1 schools are often the best funded, which can mean more money for research and special academic programs.

When do D2 coaches recruit?

D2 coaches can email, text, and call athletes at any age. Official visits and in-person contact away from campus can start on June 15 after Grade 10, the summer before junior year.

The rules allow early contact, but track recruiting happens late compared with other sports. Most coaches finish signing one class in the fall and start on the next after the holidays, during the indoor season of the athlete's Grade 11 year. Performances from the spring and summer after Grade 11 put athletes in front of coaches. Visits usually happen in the fall of Grade 12, and athletes can sign from mid-November.

Late in the cycle, money gets harder to find. By late June before a fall start, most athletic aid is already committed, so a late recruit's first year often relies on academic scholarships.

For dates by division, see key dates on the road to collegiate track and field and official and unofficial recruiting visits.

What academic requirements does D2 have?

To compete in your first year at a D2 school, you need 16 NCAA-approved core courses and a core-course GPA of at least 2.2. The NCAA no longer requires an SAT or ACT score.

The 16 core courses are three years of English, two of math (Algebra I or higher), two of science, three more of English, math, or science, two of social science, and four more in any core subject. Your core GPA uses only those approved courses, so it can differ from the GPA on your transcript. An athlete who falls short of full qualification can still be a partial qualifier at D2, which allows practice and an athletic scholarship in the first year, but no competition.

Create an account with the NCAA Eligibility Center if D1 or D2 is on your list. Eligibility and admission are separate steps: the school still has to admit you, and some schools ask for test scores or a higher GPA. Grades also set your academic aid, which is often the biggest part of a D2 package.

Requirements come from the NCAA Division II initial eligibility page. For more, see NCAA and NAIA eligibility centers and how college track coaches evaluate academic fit.

Can you start at D2 and move up to D1?

Yes, by transferring. Every team at a school competes in the same division, so moving up to D1 means changing schools. The one exception is a school whose whole athletic department moves from D2 to D1, which is rare.

Transferring is common, and it can be the right move depending on the athlete and their situation. We don't usually recommend planning on it from the start, for three reasons. Your recruiting should be about finding a school you would like to graduate from. Credits don't always transfer, so a move can cost time toward your degree. And an athletic scholarship is usually yours to keep unless you transfer out or fail your courses, so leaving means starting that conversation again with a new coach.