What were the top sports in Colorado for boys in high school during the 2014 season?
Data from the National Federal of State High School Athletic Associations (NFHS), https://www.nfhs.org/, shows that the most popular sports, from an athletic director’s perspective, for boys are basketball, track and field, baseball, wrestling, and cross-country, and soccer. More than 300 Colorado schools have basketball programs. While just under 300 have track and field and baseball. If all levels of football (6, 8, and 11 player) are combined, then football is the third most popular sport.
| Sport | Number of Schools with Programs |
|---|---|
| Basketball | 330 |
| Track and Field — Outdoor | 299 |
| Baseball | 279 |
| Wrestling | 240 |
| Cross Country | 230 |
| Football — 11-Player | 211 |
| Soccer | 211 |
| Golf | 189 |
| Tennis | 130 |
| Swimming & Diving | 118 |
| Lacrosse | 113 |
| Ice Hockey | 64 |
| Football — 8-player | 49 |
| Football — 6-player | 35 |
| Skiing — Alpine | 14 |
| Skiing — Cross Country | 14 |
At the bottom of the list are alpine and cross-country ski programs.
From the athlete’s perspective the ranking is much different. Despite concerns about concussions, football is overwhelmingly the most popular sport. It is followed by track and field, basketball, baseball, and soccer. At that point there is a significant drop to wrestling, cross-country, and lacrosse.
| Sport | Number of Participants |
|---|---|
| Football — 11-Player | 14,917 |
| Track and Field — Outdoor | 9,597 |
| Basketball | 8,764 |
| Baseball | 8,248 |
| Soccer | 7,770 |
| Wrestling | 4,978 |
| Cross Country | 4,068 |
| Lacrosse | 3,787 |
| Tennis | 2,868 |
| Golf | 2,145 |
| Swimming & Diving | 2,066 |
| Football — 8-player | 859 |
| Ice Hockey | 644 |
| Football — 6-player | 453 |
| Competitive Spirit Squad | 172 |
| Skiing — Alpine | 140 |
| Skiing — Cross Country | 117 |
Competitive spirit squad and alpine and cross-country ski programs are clearly at the bottom.