Athletic injury statistics vary substantially by sport. In the NCAA Injury Surveillance Program report cited here, men’s wrestling recorded the highest listed injury rate at 13.1 injuries per 1,000 athlete-exposures, while men’s swimming and diving recorded the lowest at 1.7. The figures cover the 2009–10 through 2013–14 seasons and are legacy research reported by the CDC MMWR 2015 NCAA-ISP report; they were not independently verified for this article.
Contents
- How to read these athletic injury statistics
- The highest injury rates
- Football, soccer, basketball, and field sports
- Court, mat, and ice sports
- Track, cross country, swimming, and diving
- Baseball, softball, lacrosse, and tennis
How to read these athletic injury statistics
The dataset uses two different measures. Average annual injuries describe the estimated number of injuries per year for each sport during the five-season period from 2009–10 through 2013–14. The injury rate is expressed per 1,000 athlete-exposures. An athlete-exposure is the participation of one athlete in one practice or competition, so the rate helps compare sports with different participation volumes.
These measures answer different questions. Average annual injuries show the approximate scale of injuries associated with a sport. Injury rates show how frequently injuries occurred relative to recorded athlete-exposures. A sport can have a high annual injury count because it has many participants or exposures, even when its rate is lower than another sport’s rate.
All figures in this article come from the CDC MMWR 2015 NCAA-ISP report. The supplied source record is legacy research and was not independently verified. The measurement period is historical, not a current-season estimate or forecast.
The highest injury rates
Among the listed sports, men’s wrestling had the highest overall injury rate: 13.1 per 1,000 athlete-exposures. Its average annual injury count was 7,510 across the 2009–10 through 2013–14 seasons. Women’s gymnastics followed with a rate of 10.4 and 1,370 average annual injuries.
Men’s ice hockey had a rate of 9.5, with 3,684 average annual injuries. Men’s football had a rate of 9.2 and the largest annual injury count in the dataset, at 47,199. Women’s soccer recorded 8.4 injuries per 1,000 athlete-exposures and 15,113 average annual injuries, while men’s soccer recorded 8.0 and 13,435 average annual injuries.
The following comparison places the highest listed rates together. These are not forecasts and do not indicate that one athlete will experience the listed probability; they are sport-level rates per 1,000 athlete-exposures.
| Sport | Overall injury rate per 1,000 athlete-exposures | Average annual injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Men’s wrestling | 13.1 | 7,510 |
| Women’s gymnastics | 10.4 | 1,370 |
| Men’s ice hockey | 9.5 | 3,684 |
| Men’s football | 9.2 | 47,199 |
| Women’s soccer | 8.4 | 15,113 |
| Men’s soccer | 8.0 | 13,435 |
This ranking shows why counts and rates should be read together. Men’s football had more average annual injuries than every other listed sport, but men’s wrestling had the higher rate. The two statistics describe volume and exposure-adjusted frequency rather than the same aspect of injury burden.
Football, soccer, basketball, and field sports
Men’s football had 47,199 average annual injuries across the five-season period, with an overall injury rate of 9.2 per 1,000 athlete-exposures. The annual count is the largest in the supplied set. Women’s soccer had 15,113 average annual injuries and a rate of 8.4. Men’s soccer had 13,435 average annual injuries and a rate of 8.0.
Basketball also showed a difference between the men’s and women’s figures. Men’s basketball had 16,607 average annual injuries and an overall rate of 8.5 per 1,000 athlete-exposures. Women’s basketball had 10,858 average annual injuries and a rate of 6.5.
Field hockey and lacrosse provide additional comparisons. Women’s field hockey had 1,530 average annual injuries and a rate of 6.5. Men’s lacrosse had 5,545 average annual injuries and a rate of 6.5, while women’s lacrosse had 3,311 average annual injuries and a rate of 5.8.
The figures do not support a single explanation for differences between sports. They only report the injury counts and exposure-adjusted rates for the stated seasons. Because the source record does not provide additional detail here about injury type, playing position, or severity, those factors should not be inferred from these numbers.
Court, mat, and ice sports
The court and contact-sport figures span a broad range. Men’s wrestling had 7,510 average annual injuries, the highest rate in the dataset at 13.1 per 1,000 athlete-exposures. Women’s gymnastics had 1,370 average annual injuries and a 10.4 rate.
Men’s ice hockey had 3,684 average annual injuries and a 9.5 rate. Women’s ice hockey had 1,240 average annual injuries and a 6.1 rate. The two ice hockey figures are therefore distinct measures for the men’s and women’s sports during the same historical measurement period.
Men’s basketball had 16,607 average annual injuries and a rate of 8.5. Women’s basketball had 10,858 average annual injuries and a rate of 6.5. Women’s volleyball had 8,961 average annual injuries and a rate of 6.4.
Men’s tennis had 3,522 average annual injuries, with an overall injury rate of 5.7. Women’s tennis had 3,941 average annual injuries and a rate of 5.9. These tennis counts are lower than the basketball counts, while their rates are also lower than the listed basketball rates.
Track, cross country, swimming, and diving
The endurance and aquatic sports in the report generally had lower listed injury rates than football, wrestling, gymnastics, hockey, soccer, and basketball. Men’s swimming and diving had the lowest rate in the dataset at 1.7 per 1,000 athlete-exposures, alongside 2,177 average annual injuries. Women’s swimming and diving had a rate of 1.8 and 3,312 average annual injuries.
Men’s outdoor track had 4,284 average annual injuries and a rate of 2.7. Women’s outdoor track had 6,167 average annual injuries and a rate of 3.5. Men’s indoor track had 8,328 average annual injuries and a rate of 4.0, while women’s indoor track had 11,519 average annual injuries and a rate of 4.7.
Cross country figures were also below the highest contact-sport rates. Men’s cross country had 4,418 average annual injuries and a rate of 4.7. Women’s cross country had 5,723 average annual injuries and a rate of 5.3.
The track figures illustrate the distinction between annual counts and rates. Women’s indoor track had more average annual injuries than men’s indoor track, 11,519 compared with 8,328, and also had the higher listed rate, 4.7 compared with 4.0. In outdoor track, the women’s sport likewise had more average annual injuries and a higher rate than the men’s sport.
Baseball, softball, lacrosse, and tennis
Men’s baseball had 13,292 average annual injuries across 2009–10 through 2013–14. Its overall injury rate was 4.7 per 1,000 athlete-exposures. Women’s softball had 7,629 average annual injuries and a rate of 4.6.
The baseball and softball rates were close in the reported figures, while the average annual injury counts were different. As with every comparison in this article, the counts refer to the sport-specific annual average during the historical period, and the rates are tied to athlete-exposures rather than to a simple percentage of all athletes.
Lacrosse showed higher rates than baseball and softball in the listed data. Men’s lacrosse had 5,545 average annual injuries and a rate of 6.5. Women’s lacrosse had 3,311 average annual injuries and a rate of 5.8.
Tennis had 3,522 average annual injuries for men and 3,941 for women. The men’s rate was 5.7 per 1,000 athlete-exposures, and the women’s rate was 5.9. These values place both tennis rates below the listed men’s and women’s basketball rates, but above the listed swimming and diving rates.
Taken together, the available figures cover 25 men’s and women’s sport categories and provide two complementary views of athletic injuries: the average annual number recorded and the rate per 1,000 athlete-exposures. They describe NCAA sports during 2009–10 through 2013–14, as reported in the CDC MMWR 2015 NCAA-ISP report, rather than current injury conditions.