2023/2024 Complete List of US Colleges with Fencing Teams (NCAA sanctioned and club level)

Includes Academic Statistics for the 45 Colleges with NCAA Fencing

Updated on December 17, 2023

NCAA Sanctioned Collegiate Fencing

In 2023/2024 academic year, 45 colleges in total have NCAA sanctioned fencing teams across Division 1, 2 and 3. 

There are 29 colleges in Division 1, 1 college in Division 2 and 15 college fencing teams in Division 3. Starting in the 2024/2025 season, Wheaton College will add NCAA men’s and women’s teams to their Division 3 NCAA program.

Here’s the list of the 45 colleges with NCAA Fencing

Division 1 Colleges with NCAA Fencing

Barnard College (women’s only)

Boston College

Brown University

Cleveland State University

Columbia University

Cornell University (women’s only)

Duke University

Fairleigh Dickinson University (women’s only)

Harvard University

Lafayette College

Long Island University

New Jersey Institute of Technology

Northwestern University (women’s only)

Ohio State University

Pennsylvania State University

Princeton University

Sacred Heart University

St Johns University

Stanford University

Temple University (women’s only)

United States Air Force Academy

University of California, San Diego

University of Detroit, Mercy

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

University of Notre Dame

University of Pennsylvania

University of the Incarnate Word

Wagner College

Yale University

Division 2 colleges with NCAA Fencing

Wayne State University

Division 3 Colleges with NCAA Fencing

Brandeis University

City College of New York (women’s only)

Denison University (women’s only)

Drew University

Haverford College

Hunter College

Johns Hopkins University

Lawrence University

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

New York University

Stevens Institute of Technology

Tufts University (women’s only)

Vassar College

Wellesley College (women’s only)

Yeshiva University

Wheaton College will host an NCAA fencing team starting in the 2024/2025 fencing season.

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Free Report

Fencing Athlete Recruitment Report 2023/2024

Find out the state of fencing recruitment at the 45 colleges in the 2023/2024 season. What academic and fencing performance is required to get recruited?

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The Differences Between the 3 Divisions

The main differences between the divisions are attributable to:

• the total amount of financial resources dedicated to promoting the sport within the school and the NCAA,

• the size of their teams,

• the commitment of the college to an active athlete recruitment program and

• the importance of fencing as a sport for the school.

Regardless of which division a college belongs to, their NCAA fencing teams regularly compete against each other during the season.

When deciding whether to attend a college Division 1 or Division 3, it is important to keep in mind that Division 3 schools have, typically, less demanding training schedules than Division 1 schools.

Many of the competitive Division 1 schools maintain rigorous fencing training schedules for their fencers, requiring mandatory training of up to 6 days a week.

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The academic standing of the fencing colleges in Division 1, 2 and 3

The academically elite colleges with Division 1 fencing teams include:

• 7 Ivy League universities (Brown University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Harvard University, Princeton University, University of Pennsylvania and Yale University)

• Barnard College

• Stanford University,

• Duke University,

• Northwestern University and

• University of Notre Dame

all of which field highly competitive fencing teams and are ranked within the top 30 of the US News and World Report College Rankings.

Among these academically elite colleges, Barnard College, Cornell University, Brown University and Northwestern University field women only teams.

Ohio State University and Pennsylvania State University, both known as fencing powerhouses also field large fencing teams in Division 1.

Division 2 comprises only one college this 2023/2024 season, Wayne State University.

Division 3 now has 15 colleges with NCAA fencing teams including the highly selective Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Johns Hopkins University, Tufts University and New York University.

The liberal arts colleges are also represented in Division 3 with Haverford, Vassar, Wellesley, Denison and Lawrence University fielding Division 3 NCAA teams. Wellesley and Denison field women’s only teams. Wheaton College will add both men’s and women’s teams in the 2024/2025 season.

Colleges with NCAA sanctioned fencing teams fill their rosters through a combination of athlete recruitment, and walk-on team members who are accepted to the college on their academic merits. There are, therefore, multiple ways that a fencer can join a NCAA fencing team , and fence through their college years if they so desire.

You can read more about how athlete recruitment works HERE

The highly competitive athlete recruitment process we hear so much about typically takes place at a select number of the academically elite colleges in Division 1, including 7 of the Ivy League colleges (Harvard, Columbia, Princeton, University of Pennsylvania, Cornell, Yale and Brown), Stanford University, Duke University, Northwestern University, and University of Notre Dame.

Pennsylvania State University and Ohio State University stand out as strong fencing schools that do not have as rigorous academic requirements for their athlete recruits.

Northwestern University Brown University and Cornell University stand out as having women only NCAA teams in Division 1.

Rules governing athlete recruitment are much stricter at the Division 1 level than at the Division 2 or Division 3 level.

See: A Fencer’s Guide to the NCAA Rules Governing Athlete Recruitment

See: How Do Ivy League Colleges Use the Academic Index in the Athlete Recruitment of Fencers

Whether your fencer aspires to be an athlete recruit, or would like to walk on to a NCAA fencing team in college, here's the list to keep in mind when applying. 

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Academic statistics of the Colleges with NCAA Division 1 fencing teams for 2023/2024

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2023/2024 EDITION

Guide to Elite University Recruitment for Fencers

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT FENCER RECRUITMENT IN ONE PLACE.

• Learn how athlete recruitment works.

• Access the searchable database of college fencing rosters at the 45 colleges.

• Get in-depth college profiles and fencer statistics at the 45 colleges at your fingertips.

• Get the recruitment hierarchies showing difficulty of recruitment amongst colleges with comparable academics.

• Get 70 minutes of private consultation

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Academic statistics of the colleges with NCAA division 2 and 3 fencing teams in 2022/2023

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can fencing help me get into college?

Find out how the athlete recruitment process works for fencers.

The diversity of colleges means that there is a place for those fencers determined to find a spot on an NCAA fencing team

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feeder clubs to highly selective colleges in division 1

CLUBS AND COACHES PLAY A VITAL ROLE IN PREPARING FENCERS FOR RECRUITMENT TO THE IVY LEAGUE AND ELITE COLLEGES.

Find out who these feeder clubs and coaches are to the most selective fencing colleges in Division 1.

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colleges with collegiate fencing clubs

USACFC Collegiate Fencing Clubs

The United States Association of Collegiate Fencing Clubs (USACFC)) is the largest association of collegiate fencing clubs that offers a competitive tournament structure. The USACFC holds its own annual inter-collegiate fencing championship. The next championship is scheduled for April 1- 2, 2023.

For fencers who do not want to engage in the rigorous training of an NCAA college fencing program , and who want to pursue their love of fencing on a recreational basis while in college, there is a large group of colleges who have USA Fencing and USACFC affiliated fencing clubs.

While US Fencing also offers membership to college fencing clubs, US Fencing does not currently offer a competitive inter-collegiate tournament structure to colleges, unlike the USACFC. There is substantial overlap between college clubs with USA Fencing membership and college clubs that belong to USACFC.

There are also smaller fencing leagues, like the Intercollegiate Fencing Conference of Southern California, which has overlapping membership with the USACFC and USA Fencing. A complete list of colleges with recreational fencing clubs for 2022/2023 is available below.

Take note that many of these collegiate fencing clubs are student organized, and are all recreational in nature.

There is no athlete recruitment to these collegiate fencing clubs.

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Here’s the 2022/2023 list of colleges with Collegiate Fencing clubs

USA Fencing College Clubs

1. Allegheny College

2. Appalachian State University, NC

3. Arizona State University

4. Binghamton University

5. Bryn Mawr College

6. Clemson University

7. College of William and Mary

8. Colorado Mesa University

9. Colorado School of Mines

10. DMACC Fencing Club

11. Drexel University

12. East Carolina University

13. Eastern Kentucky University Fencing

14. Emory University

15. Fencing Club at Auburn University

16. Fencing Club at Indiana University

17. Fencing Club at NC State

18. Fencing Club at Oregon State University

19. Fencing Club at University of Tennesee

20. Florida Atlantic University Fencing Club

21. Florida International University Fencing Club

22. Florida State University

23. George Washington University

24. Georgia Southern University

25. Georgia Institute of Technology

26. Indiana University of PA (IUP)

27. Iowa State University

28. James Madison University

29. Kennesaw State University

30. Keystone College

31. Marist Fencing Club

32. Miami University Fencing Ohio

33. Michigan State University

34. Middle Tennessee State

35. Murray State University

36. Northwestern University

37. Ohio University

38. Ohio State University

39. Penn State University Fencing Club

40. Pittsburgh Fencing Association College

41. Portland State University

42. Purdue University

43. Rice University

44. Rochester University of Technology

45. Rowan University Fencing Club

46. RPI College

47. Sewanee Fencing Society

48. Shippensburg University

49. St John’s College Fencing Union

50. Texas A&M

51. Texas State University

52. Tulane University

53. University of Alabama

54. University of Alabama in Huntsville

55. University Alaska Fairbanks

56. University of Idaho

57. University of Central Florida

58. University of Iowa

59. University of Texas at San Antonio

60. United States Military Academy

61. University of Alabama in Hunstville

62. University of Arizona

63. University of California, Davis

64. University of California, Santa Barbara

65. University of Cincinnati

66. University of Colorado, Boulder

67. University of Connecticut

68. University of Florida

69. University of Georgia

70. University of Maryland, Baltimore County

71. University of Maryland, College Park

72. University of Miami

73. University of Michigan

74. University of North Texas

75. University of Oklahoma

76. University of Rhode Island

77. University of Rochester

78. University of Pittsburgh

79. University of South Florida

80. University of Tennessee Knoxville

81. University of Texas, Dallas

82. University of Texas, Austin

83. University of Virginia

84. University of Wisconsin Whitewater

85. University of Wyoming

86. US Naval Academy

87. Virginia Tech Fencing Club

88. Washington University St Louis

89. Wildcat Fencing Club

90. Worcester Polytechnic Institute

91. Wright State University

92. Xavier University

US Association of Collegiate Fencing Clubs (USACFC)

1. Binghamton University

2. Brown University

3. Bryn Mawr

4. Clemson University

5. Cornell University

6. Dartmouth College

7. Denison University

8. Georgetown University

9. George Washington University

10. Georgia Tech

11. Michigan State University

12. Mt. Holyoke College

13. Northeastern University

14. Northwestern University

15. Rochester Institute of Technology

16. Rutgers University

17. Smith College

18. Stony Brook University 

19. Swarthmore College

20. Tufts University

21. United States Military Academy

22. United States Naval Academy

23. University of California, Berkeley

24. University of California, Davis

25. University of California - Santa Barbara

26. University of Chicago

27. University of Connecticut

28. University of Florida

29. University of Georgia

30. University of Maryland - Baltimore

31. University of Massachusetts

32. University of Michigan

33. University of New Hampshire

34. University of Pittsburgh

35. University of Rhode Island

36. University of Texas at Austin

37. University of Texas at Austin

38. University of Texas at Dallas

39. University of Virginia

40. William and Mary

41. Xavier University

Intercollegiate Fencing Conference of Southern California

Northern Division

1. California Institute of Technology

2. University of California, Los Angeles

3. University of California, Santa Barbara

4. University of Southern California

Southern Division

1. Arizona State University

2. University of California, Irvine

3. University of California, Riverside

Guest Schools

1. Pasadena City College (on break for 2018-2020 seasons)

2. Claremont Colleges

3. University of California, San Diego
   
   

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