Over 11,000 athletes will represent 206 nations in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro this month. Of this group of the world's finest athletes, nearly one in ten has represented or will represent and NCAA institution at some point in their athletic careers.
By our count, 971 current Olympians have attended or will attend an NCAA institution. We already talked about which schools produced the most Olympians, so now let's break it down at the conference level. If you're interested in who these athletes are, check out our master list of all 971 Olympians with NCAA ties.
| Rank | Conference | 2016 Olympians |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pac 12 | 231 |
| 2 | SEC | 177 |
| 3 | ACC | 115 |
| 4 | Big Ten | 105 |
| 5 | Big 12 | 69 |
| 6 | Ivy League | 38 |
| 7 | WCC | 21 |
| 8 | Mountain West | 19 |
| 9 | American | 16 |
| 9 | C-USA | 16 |
| 11 | Big West | 13 |
| 12 | Missouri Valley | 11 |
| 13 | Big East | 10 |
| 14 | RMAC | 7 |
| 15 | Mid-American | 6 |
| 15 | Summit League | 6 |
| 15 | MIAA | 6 |
| 15 | GLVC | 6 |
| 19 | GLIAC | 5 |
| 19 | WAC | 5 |
| 19 | CIAA | 5 |
| 22 | MEAC | 4 |
| 22 | Sun Belt | 4 |
| 22 | NESCAC | 4 |
| 22 | Horizon League | 4 |
| 22 | Conf. Carolinas | 4 |
| 22 | Southern | 4 |
| 22 | CAA | 4 |
| 29 | Metro Atlantic | 3 |
| 29 | NSIC | 3 |
| 29 | MAC | 3 |
| 29 | Patriot League | 3 |
| 29 | NAIA* | 3 |
| 29 | Sunshine State | 3 |
| 35 | Mountain East | 2 |
| 35 | Empire 8 | 2 |
| 35 | NACC | 2 |
| 35 | NEC | 2 |
| 35 | UAA | 2 |
| 35 | SIAC | 2 |
| 35 | A10 | 2 |
| 35 | Peach Belt | 2 |
| 35 | ECC | 2 |
| 35 | Big Sky | 2 |
| 35 | GMAC | 2 |
| 35 | America East | 2 |
| 47 | Southland | 1 |
| 47 | PacWest | 1 |
| 47 | CCAA | 1 |
| 47 | Big South | 1 |
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