The number of varsity athletes at a school can influence the school culture, but I don’t think they’re always influenced in the same way. At some schools I have heard of a big division between varsity athletes and non-athletes, whereas at other schools it’s really not a thing. I think this is one of those things where research on the specific school’s culture will be needed.
A little while back the percentage of athletes at smaller schools (I think I pulled schools with less than 5k undergrads) was discussed here: Rest in Peace: College Closings - #1840 by AustenNut. I pulled some data and provided the source and methodology in that other thread, but thought I would share the percentage of athletes at the schools mentioned in the thread so far.
In alphabetical order:
| School | Varsity Athlete Percentage |
|---|---|
| Beloit | 35% |
| Bucknell | 20% |
| Butler | 11% |
| Centre | 42% |
| Christopher Newport | 14% |
| Colgate | 19% |
| College of Wooster | 24% |
| Connecticut College | 32% |
| Davidson | 27% |
| Denison | 26% |
| DePauw | 33% |
| Dickinson | 25% |
| Earlham | 41% |
| Franklin and Marshall | 30% |
| Furman | 15% |
| Goucher | 24% |
| Grinnell | 25% |
| Gustavus Adolphus | 35% |
| Hamilton | 32% |
| Haverford | 32% |
| Kenyon | 26% |
| Lafayette | 21% |
| Lake Forest | 27% |
| Macalester | 19% |
| Middlebury | 26% |
| Oberlin | 14% |
| Randolph Macon | 35% |
| Rhodes | 26% |
| Roanoke | 30% |
| Shippensburg | 12% |
| St. Olaf | 19% |
| Susquehanna | 26% |
| U. of Mary Washington | 14% |
| U. of Mount Union | 47% |
| U. of Richmond | 14% |
| U. of the South | 31% |
| Ursinus | 41% |
| Vassar | 18% |
| Washington & Lee | 34% |
| Washington College | 41% |
| Williams | 35% |
| Wofford | 23% |
| Xavier | 7% |
In order from highest to lowest athlete percentage:
| School | Varsity Athlete Percentage |
|---|---|
| U. of Mount Union | 47% |
| Centre | 42% |
| Earlham | 41% |
| Ursinus | 41% |
| Washington College | 41% |
| Beloit | 35% |
| Gustavus Adolphus | 35% |
| Randolph Macon | 35% |
| Williams | 35% |
| Washington & Lee | 34% |
| DePauw | 33% |
| Connecticut College | 32% |
| Hamilton | 32% |
| Haverford | 32% |
| U. of the South | 31% |
| Franklin and Marshall | 30% |
| Roanoke | 30% |
| Davidson | 27% |
| Lake Forest | 27% |
| Denison | 26% |
| Kenyon | 26% |
| Middlebury | 26% |
| Rhodes | 26% |
| Susquehanna | 26% |
| Dickinson | 25% |
| Grinnell | 25% |
| College of Wooster | 24% |
| Goucher | 24% |
| Wofford | 23% |
| Lafayette | 21% |
| Bucknell | 20% |
| Colgate | 19% |
| Macalester | 19% |
| St. Olaf | 19% |
| Vassar | 18% |
| Furman | 15% |
| Christopher Newport | 14% |
| Oberlin | 14% |
| U. of Mary Washington | 14% |
| U. of Richmond | 14% |
| Shippensburg | 12% |
| Butler | 11% |
| Xavier | 7% |