CHAPEL HILL — The North Carolina High School Athletic Association saw a 4.73% 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 Cheerleading. 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:
2023-24 School Year
Fall 2023 SportsTotal Participants Schools w/Program Football29,075 383Men's Cross Country 5,821 395 Men's Soccer 12,916 407 Cheerleading 9,776 386 Volleyball 10,303 432 Women's Cross Country 4,279 382 Women's Golf1,573 282 Women's Tennis 4,318 340 Total Fall Sports 78,061
Winter 2023-24 SportsTotal Participants Schools w/Program Men's Basketball11,409434 Men's Indoor Track 7,331 304 Men's Swimming 3,338 305 Men's Wrestling 9,885 342 Cheerleading 9,709 414 Women's Basketball 7,663 429 Women's Indoor Track 5,912 306 Women's Swimming 4,487 306 Women's Wrestling 1,432 248 Total Winner Sports 61,166
Spring 2024 SportsTotal Participants Schools w/Program Baseball10,574414Men's Golf 3,278 371 Men's Lacrosse 4,219 121 Men's Tennis 3,833 319 Men's Track 15,932 408 Softball 7,017 402 Women's Lacrosse 2,726 101 Women's Soccer 10,507 396 Women's Track 11,409 409 Total Spring Sports 69,495
2023-24 Overall Participants - 208,722
2022-23 School Year
Fall 2022 Sport Total Participants Schools w/Program Football27,809382 Men's Cross Country 5,311385Men's Soccer 11,816402 Cheerleading 9,568 382 Volleyball 9,779 427 Women's Cross Country 4,084 377 Women's Golf1,404 270 Women's Tennis4,006 337 Total Fall Sports73,777
Winter 2022-23 SportsTotal Participants Schools w/Program Men's Basketball11.243431Men's Indoor Track 6.498 290 Men's Swimming 3.303 300 Cheerleading 8.081 354 Women's Basketball 7.470 425 Women's Indoor Track 5.076 285 Women's Swimming 4.305 304 Wrestling 9.988 346 Total Winter Sports 55,964
Spring 2023 SportTotal Participants Schools w/Program Baseball10,727 409Men's Golf 3,062 371 Men's Lacrosse 3,976 118 Men's Tennis 3,750 314 Men's Track 15,911 408 Softball 6,912 398 Women's Lacrosse 2,700 99 Women's Soccer 10,164 389 Women's Track 11,082 409 Total Spring Sports 68,284
2022-23 Overall Participants - 198,025
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