BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) released a graph detailing the median distance (in miles) between home and college for domestic first-year women in Division I. Women’s water polo ranks sixth on the list with an average of 506 miles between a first-year female student-athlete’s home and college/university.
Tennis leads the list at 667 miles, with beach volleyball (635), gymnastics (627), skiing (607) and volleyball (532) all rating in front of water polo (506). Ice hockey (502) and bowling (403) fall in at No. 7 and 8 as the first eight positions are dominated by sports with regional concentrations (California – beach volleyball, volleyball, water polo; New England/Upper Midwest – ice hockey, skiing; Midwest- bowling) of high school and club programs.
Swimming & diving (335) and basketball (313) complete the Top 10, with golf (311), rowing (304), softball (301), soccer (262), lacrosse (258), fencing (206), track & field (200), cross country (194) and field hockey (181) complete the list.
Distances for the NCAA study were estimated using zip codes of each domestic student-athlete’s high school and college for the 2015-16 freshmen class.
