Three hundred and five cities in the United States are home to at least one Division-I university. There are small cities with populations barely over 2,000 like Itta Bena, Miss., home to Mississippi Valley State, and large cities with seven-figure populations like Chicago, home to four schools, including DePaul and Loyola Chicago.
Which large American cities don't have a Division-I university?
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As of 2018 estimates, the 26 largest cities have at least school, but there are still dozens of cities with hundreds of thousands of residents that aren't home to a D-I school.
A couple notes: It must be a full Division-I university, not a university with one or a few Division-I sports (e.g. Alaska-Anchorage). Also, in almost all cases, the university's official address is used, though there are clear exceptions, including Air Force, which uses "Air Force Academy, Colorado" as its official address but, for all intents and purposes, is located in Colorado Springs.
Here are the 10 largest American cities that aren't home to a Division-I school:
10. Plano, Texas
Closest Division-I School: SMU
The ninth-largest city in Texas (and fourth-largest in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metropolitan Area), Plano is a stone's throw from several Division-I schools, including North Texas and SMU.
9. Anchorage, Alaska
Closest Division-I School: Washington
Alaska-Anchorage has four Division-I sports, including hockey, but is a Division-II school and more than 2,000 miles away from the closest Division-I school, Washington.
8. Saint Paul, Minn.
Closest Division-I School: Minnesota
Saint Paul is a conundrum. The University of Minnesota-Twin Cities is split between Saint Paul and Minneapolis and some athletic facilities are located in Saint Paul, including the school's golf course and women's soccer stadium. However, the university's official address lists Minneapolis.
Also of note: St. Thomas (located in Saint Paul) has requested an immediate jump from Division III to Division I, which would officially remove Saint Paul from this list.
7. Henderson, Nev.
Closest Division-I School: UNLV
Only a few miles southeast of UNLV, Henderson is the state's second-largest city, just ahead of Reno, home of the state's only other Division-I school, Nevada.
6. Santa Ana, Calif.
Closest Division-I School: UC Irvine
Santa Ana is not home to one of California's 24 Division-I schools, though it's within 60 miles of eight full D-I members, including UC Irvine, UCLA, and USC.
5. Anaheim, Calif.
Closest Division-I School: UC Irvine
Also within 60 miles of eight schools, Anaheim is roughly equidistant from UC Irvine and Long Beach State.
4. Aurora, Colo.
Closest Division-I School: Denver
The third-largest city in Colorado, Aurora is home to the University of Colorado School of Medicine but not a Division-I school.
3. Virginia Beach, Va.
Closest Division-I School: Norfolk State
Virginia Beach is a 20-minute drive from Norfolk, which means it's about a 20-minute drive from Norfolk's two schools, Norfolk State and Old Dominion, the former of which is slightly closer.
2. Mesa, Ariz.
Closest Division-I School: Arizona State
The Phoenix Metropolitan Area is home to nearly five million people but only two Division-I universities: Arizona State and Grand Canyon. Just east of Tempe (and Phoenix), Mesa is a sprawling suburb of more than 500,000 people.
1. Oklahoma City, Okla.
Closest Division-I School: Oklahoma
Two of the state's four schools are in Tulsa (Oral Roberts and Tulsa), while the others, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, are 20 and 60 miles away, respectively.
Editor's Note: An earlier version of this article included Dallas, though SMU's official address is located in Dallas, not University Park.
