Team USA's official roster for the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics is set, and the NCAA's footprint is all over it.
Of the 232 members of the U.S. Olympic team, 36% are NCAA-connected athletes. Those 84 athletes represent nine Olympic sports and nine NCAA sports, with ties to 51 NCAA schools and 27 conferences. The roster also includes representation from all three NCAA divisions. Team USA's NCAA-connected group includes 38 in men's sports and 46 in women's sports.
Five teams have at least 75% collegiate participation on their U.S. Olympic rosters, including bobsleigh, cross-country skiing, men's ice hockey, women's ice hockey and skeleton.
College hockey remains the NCAA's clearest path to the Winter Games
Ice hockey is the backbone of Team USA's NCAA connections, with 43 of the NCAA-linked athletes having college hockey backgrounds — constituting 90% of all Team USA ice hockey players (43 of 48).
The U.S. women's ice hockey team is a full NCAA showcase: all 23 players have NCAA experience across eight programs, led by Wisconsin (six) and Minnesota (five). The roster includes 11 players who have won an NCAA national championship, along with four Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award winners — given to the game's top player.
(Read more on the college connections of the Team USA women's ice hockey's team.)
On the men's side, 20 of 25 players on Team USA's roster played NCAA men's ice hockey, representing 10 programs and a deep cross-section of college hockey's national powers. Boston U. (5) and Michigan (4) make up the bulk of the roster's college connections, though seven players played in an NCAA Frozen Four.
(Dive deeper into the Team USA men's ice hockey roster.)
Top NCAA schools represented on Team USA
A handful of programs sit at the center of Team USA's NCAA story. Seven NCAA schools have three or more connections to Team USA athletes.
- Minnesota (7).
- Boston College (6).
- Wisconsin (6).
- Boston U. (5).
- Michigan (4).
- Northeastern (4).
- Dartmouth (3)
- Ohio State (3).
(Explore the full database of NCAA qualifiers to the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.)
Conference footprint: Big Ten leads the way
Team USA's NCAA-connected athletes span 27 conferences, led by the Big Ten Conference (24 athlete). Here are the conferences with three or more Team USA athletes:
- Big Ten Conference (24)
- Atlantic Coast Conference (8)
- America East Conference (7)
- Big 12 Conference (5)
- Coastal Athletic Association (5)
- Patriot League (5)
- The Ivy League (4)
- The Summit League (4)
- Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (3)
- Mountain West Conference (3)
Note: This data only reflects schools' primary conference affiliation and not single-sport conferences.
Beyond hockey: skiing and track and field expand the NCAA story
Ice hockey leads the NCAA sport breakdown, but the roster also highlights meaningful NCAA ties in skiing and track and field. Here are the top NCAA sports represented among Team USA athletes:
- Ice hockey (43).
- Skiing (21) — Nordic (15) and Alpine (6).
- Track and field/cross country (14).
- Football (2).
- Soccer (2).
Olympic regulars: NCAA-connected veterans returning to the Games
A roster announcement always brings new faces, but Team USA's NCAA pipeline also includes familiar names headed to their third Olympics or more. Ice hockey drives that list, with additional Olympic regulars spread across multiple sports.
Ice hockey
- Hilary Knight (Wisconsin) — 5th Olympics.
- Kendall Coyne Schofield (Northeastern) — 4th Olympics.
- Lee Stecklein (Minnesota) — 4th Olympics.
- Alex Carpenter (Boston College) — 3rd Olympics.
- Cayla Barnes (Ohio State and Boston College) — 3rd Olympics.
- Kelly Pannek (Minnesota) — 3rd Olympics.
- Megan Keller (Boston College) — 3rd Olympics.
Other sports
- Elana Meyers Taylor (George Washington, softball) — 5th Olympics (bobsleigh).
- Nick Baumgartner (Northern Michigan, football) — 5th Olympics (snowboard).
- Brittany Bowe (Florida Atlantic, basketball) — 4th Olympics (speed skating).
- Rosie Brennan (Dartmouth, skiing — Nordic) — 3rd Olympics (cross-country skiing).
- Joanne Reid (Colorado, skiing — Nordic) — 3rd Olympics (biathlon).
How to watch Team USA in the Milan Cortina Games
Fans can follow Team USA throughout the 2026 Winter Olympics across NBCUniversal's coverage, led by NBC and its affiliate networks. Every event will also be livestreamed and available on demand on Peacock. Daily broadcast schedules are available at nbcolympics.com/schedule.
