Participation in high school sports eclipsed 7.8 million players in the 2022/23 school year, reflecting a sharp increase from the previous year as the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) completed its High School Athletics Participation Survey for a second time after the pandemic interrupted its data collection.
A total of 7.86 million kids competed in high school sports in 2022/23, an increase of nearly 240,000 and up more than three percent from 2021/22. The total includes 4.53 million boys and 3.33 million girls, according to figures from the 51 NFHS member state associations, including the District of Columbia.
The 2022/23 total marks the first upward participation trend since the record high of 7.98 million in 2017/18, followed by the first decline in 30 years in 2018/19 and the two-year halt in data collection stemming from the pandemic.
“We were optimistic that the trends we saw in 2021/22 would continue, and our dreams were realized this past year as more and more students continued to pursue opportunities in education-based sports in our nation’s schools,” said Dr. Karissa Niehoff, NFHS CEO. “Perhaps the most encouraging news with this year’s survey is that almost every sport for boys and girls registered an increase from the previous year. Certainly, that is the goal of these programs—to meet the needs of as many students as possible. We salute coaches, administrators and everyone involved in school-based sports the past few years for their efforts in keeping these programs alive.”
The Top 10 sports remained the same for both boys and girls, with boy’s tennis leapfrogging boy’s golf as the eighth-most popular sport, and girl’s basketball and girls’ competitive spirit each moving up a spot. Eight of the Top 10 sports registered increased participation on the boy’s side, while nine of the top 10 sports on the girl’s side added participants.
One of the most significant increases in participation for boys and girls was in the sport of wrestling. Boys wrestling jumped 10 percent, adding nearly 25,000 players to more than 256,000, the largest total since 258,208 in 2014/15.
The increase in girl’s wrestling was greater, with 17,473 additional players, a 55 percent increase from 2021/22, for a record total of 49,127. Ten years ago, fewer than 10,000 girls participated in high school wrestling. In addition, 36 states now offer separate state wrestling championships for girls.
Eleven-player football remained the most popular boy’s sport, with the total climbing back over 1 million participants—the total of 1.03 million marks an increase of 54,969 and 5.6 percent from the previous year. Not only did 11-player football top the 1 million mark, but this year’s growth was the first in the sport since 2013 and the second increase since the all-time high of 1,112,303 in 2008-09. There also was a slight gain (34,935 to 35,301) in the number of boys in 6-, 8- and 9-player football.
The number of girls playing football, particularly flag football, continued to climb, too. A total of 20,875 girls played in flag football in 2022/23—an increase of 32 percent. Seven states now sponsor a state championship for girl’s flag football, with more in the planning stages. The number of girls in 11-player football increased by 18 percent, with 3,654 participants.
Boys’ and girls’ participation in all versions of football increased from 1.03 million to 1.09 million for an increase of 6 percent.
Girls outdoor track and field (+6.5 percent) and volleyball (+3.6 percent) remained in the top two spots, while basketball reclaimed the third position from soccer, jumping 3.5 percent and adding 12,896 participants. Girls competitive spirit added 9,142 participants, an increase of 6.5 percent.
This year’s survey also captured Esports participation data for the first time, with 20,001 boys and 3,921 girls recorded. Eighteen states reported Esports participation, with Illinois and California leading the way, with more than 3,000 participants.
Texas remained at the top of the list of state participation with 827,446. California was second, adding 25,000 participants to climb to 787,697. New York was third with 356,803, followed by Illinois (335,801), Ohio (323,117), Pennsylvania (316,587), Florida (297,389), New Jersey (272,159), Michigan (268,070), and Minnesota (219,094), which climbed into the Top 10 passing Massachusetts.
The NFHS High School Athletics Participation Survey was first conducted in 1971 and was compiled in its current form through the 2018/19 school year, resuming annually last year with its 2021/22 survey. For more information, go here.
Photo courtesy Iowa City Press-Citizen
