SEC Schools Ranked By Enrollment From US News And World Report

The collegiate experience is made better by athletics. No conference has been as successful over the last decade as the SEC. Though they haven’t won the national championship in either of the last two seasons, the conference has been the standard bearer in college football.

When you look across the SEC landscape, two programs rank in the top 10 in enrollment among national universities and they both reside in Texas. Texas A&M University has the third-highest enrollment in the nation, according to US News and World Report, and the Texas Longhorns are No. 8.

Interestingly, enrollment is down for 12 of the 16 programs in the SEC. Kentucky and Texas experienced the largest year-over-year enrollment drops, with a decrease of more than 10,000 students. Only two programs saw their enrollment increase, according to US News: Georgia and Florida. Two programs had the same enrollment year over year: Vanderbilt and Missouri. Two programs in the top five in enrollment actually ranked in the bottom five in US News and World Report’s academic rankings among SEC schools: Alabama and LSU.

On average, conference enrollment decreased by more than 4,000 students per school. If you only include the schools that had a reduction in their student body, the drop in enrollment increases to 6,458 students per institution.

Here’s a look at how the SEC ranks in enrollment according to US News and World Report.

Undergraduate enrollment: 59,933

Change: minus-9,765

2. Texas Longhorns

Undergraduate enrollment: 42,444

Change: minus-10,638

Undergraduate enrollment: 33,435

Change: minus-6,188

Undergraduate enrollment: 34,924

Change: plus-372

5. LSU Tigers

Undergraduate enrollment: 32,574

Change: Minus-92

Undergraduate enrollment: 31,554

Change: plus-1,388

7. Tennessee Volunteers

Undergraduate enrollment: 28,883

Change: minus-7,117

8. South Carolina Gamecocks

Undergraduate enrollment: 28,470

Change: minus-7,830

9. Arkansas Razorbacks

Undergraduate enrollment: 27,742

Change: minus-4,398

Undergraduate enrollment: 26,874

Change: minus-8141

11. Kentucky Wildcats

Undergraduate enrollment: 23,930

Change: Minus-10,070

12. Missouri Tigers

Undergraduate enrollment: 23,629

Change: No Change

13. Oklahoma Sooners

Undergraduate enrollment: 22,046

Change: minus-6,578

14. Ole Miss Rebels

Undergraduate enrollment: 19,094

Change: Minus-4,806

15. Mississippi State Bulldogs

Undergraduate enrollment: 18,230

Change: minus-3,668

16. Vanderbilt Commodores

Undergraduate enrollment in fall 2024: 7,152