It's not easy to decide which college to attend when there are so many options available for student athletes. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our Best Colleges for Division I Men's Football in Pennsylvania ranking is part of that endeavor.
We analyzed 8 colleges and universities across Pennsylvania to determine which were the best for D1 Men's Football athletes in Pennsylvania. Our ranking is based on several objective factors, including the school's overall quality and the athletic competitiveness of the school. We steer clear of subjective measures since they don't give a clear picture when determining how one school compares to another. So, even if a school has a great team, it won't place well if it is also considered a low quality college or university.
We know that one set of rankings doesn't always help you determine the best school for you, so we've created the ability to narrow your list by location as well as alternative rankings that prioritize different factors such as those of importance to online students or returning adults or those who value diversity and value for your money.
You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. If you're torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.
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Top Colleges in Pennsylvania for D1 Men's Football athletes in Pennsylvania
Our 2023 rankings named Lehigh University the best school for D1 Men’s Football athletes in Pennsylvania working on their bachelor’s degree. This medium-sized private not-for-profit school is located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and it awarded 1,426 bachelor’s degrees in .
On the financial side of things, the FCS Men’s Football team at Lehigh made $6,163,858 in revenue. The team has a respectable academic progress rate of 972.
With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. Lehigh not only placed well in this ranking, but it is also #4 on our overall quality list.
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The excellent sports programs at Villanova University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools for D1 Men’s Football athletes in Pennsylvania. Villanova is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It awarded 2,165 bachelor’s degrees in .
Speaking financially, the FCS Men’s Football team at Villanova took home $7,619,794 in revenue. The team members aren’t slouches in the classroom either, since the team academic progress rate is an excellent 983.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. Villanova excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our overall quality list.
Read full sports report on Villanova University
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Pennsylvania. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Colleges for D1 Men’s Football athletes in Pennsylvania list. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 3,554 students in .
Speaking financially, the FCS Men’s Football team at UPenn took home $2,991,947 in revenue. The team has a great academic progress rate of 992, signifying that team members care about their grades.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 98%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. UPenn also made our overall quality list, coming in at #1.
Full University of Pennsylvania Sports Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Duquesne University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Colleges for D1 Men’s Football athletes in Pennsylvania list. This medium-sized private not-for-profit school is located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and it awarded 1,554 bachelor’s degrees in .
Speaking financially, the FCS Men’s Football team at Duquesne took home $4,024,032 in revenue. The team has a respectable academic progress rate of 943.
On top of its placing in this ranking, Duquesne also did well on our overall quality list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
Read full sports report on Duquesne University
Out of the 8 schools in Pennsylvania that were part of this year’s ranking, Bucknell University landed the #5 spot on the list. Located in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, the small private not-for-profit school handed out 1,086 bachelor’s degrees in .
On the financial side of things, the FCS Men’s Football team at Bucknell made $6,319,656 in revenue. The great academic progress rate of 987 shows that team members perform well in the classroom, too.
Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, those pursuing a bachelor’s degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. Bucknell also made our overall quality list, coming in at #5.
Full Bucknell University Sports Report
Lafayette College came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Division I Men’s Football in Pennsylvania ranking. Lafayette is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Easton, Pennsylvania. It awarded 851 bachelor’s degrees in .
The FCS Men’s Football team at Lafayette brought home $7,628,759 in revenue in a single year. The team has a great academic progress rate of 987, signifying that team members care about their grades.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. Lafayette excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our overall quality list.
Read full sports report on Lafayette College
Saint Francis University landed the #7 spot on the 2023 Best Colleges for Division I Men’s Football in Pennsylvania ranking. Saint Francis University is a small private not-for-profit school located in Loretto, Pennsylvania that handed out 369 bachelor’s degrees in .
The FCS Men’s Football team at Saint Francis brought home $3,714,987 in revenue in a single year. The team has a respectable academic progress rate of 945.
Read full sports report on Saint Francis University
Robert Morris University landed the #8 spot on the 2023 Best Colleges for Division I Men’s Football in Pennsylvania ranking. RMU is located in Moon Township, Pennsylvania and, has a small student population. In , this school awarded 724 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergraduates.
On the financial side of things, the FCS Men’s Football team at RMU made $3,272,520 in revenue. The academic progress rate of the team is 943.
Read full sports report on Robert Morris University
Best Colleges for FCS Men's Football in the Middle Atlantic Region
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Notes and References
Footnotes
*Avg Tuition and Fees and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate are for the top 8 schools only.
References
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
The academic progress rate (APR) of each team was made available by the NCAA.
Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
