College rowing in the United States

Rowing is the oldest intercollegiate sport in the United States. The first intercollegiate race was a contest between Yale and Harvard in 1852. In the 2018–19 school year, there were 2,340 male and 7,294 female collegiate rowers (on 57 and 148 teams, respectively) in Divisions I, II and III, according to the NCAA. The sport has grown since the first NCAA statistics were compiled for the 1981–82 school year, which reflected 2,053 male and 1,187 female collegiate rowers (on 48 and 43 teams, respectively) in the three divisions. Some concern has been raised that some recent female numbers are inflated by non-competing novices.

Men's rowing has organized collegiate championships in various forms since 1871 but is not an NCAA sponsored sport. There are two national championships for men's rowing: the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) and the American Collegiate Rowing Association (ACRA). The IRA, founded in 1891, served as the unified national championship until 2008. In 2007, the IRA stewards voted to require all participating teams to have varsity status within their athletic departments. The ACRA, formed in 2008 by non-varsity and club teams, does not allow varsity teams to participate. As of 2026, there are 32 teams competing in Division I, 5 teams in Division II, and 26 teams in Division III. There are 143 registered men's club teams competing across all levels. While the IRA and ACRA each crown a men's national champion, both regattas are co-ed. The IRA sponsors lightweight women's rowing and the ACRA features both women's open and lightweight races. Men's rowing, like many Olympic Sports, has been impacted by the advent of NIL and the NCAA House Settlement.

Women's rowing initially competed in its intercollegiate championships as part of the National Women's Rowing Association Championship in 1971. From 1980 through 1996, the women's national championships races were conducted at the National Collegiate Rowing Championships in Cincinnati. In the 1996–98 season, many women's club rowing programs were elevated to compete in the newly NCAA sponsored "Championship" sport. Like the IRA, the NCAA requires all participating teams to have varsity status. Several women's club teams, like Vanderbilt and Purdue, compete successfully against varsity-sponsored teams during the regular season and race in the ACRA National Championship each May. Women's collegiate rowing has experienced enormous growth since 1997 which has helped grow the sport at the junior level and the speed of the Olympic level. As of 2026, there are 89 women's teams competing in Division I, 15 in Division II, and 34 in Division III. Many NCAA rosters and budgets have been impacted by the 2025 House Settlement.