Athletics Makes List of Biggest Risks for Colleges

For the first time, athletics earned a spot among the top 10 risks cited by colleges and universities in the latest annual Top Risks Report by United Educators insurance company. Eleven percent of institutions surveyed mentioned it—in some cases noting the mounting complexities of name, image and likeness policies—putting it in 10th place.

Admissions and retention remained the top-ranked risk for the second year in a row, named by 72 percent of institutions, while data security/cybersecurity held steady in the second spot, cited by 52 percent.

Compliance (not including Title IX and the Violence Against Women Act) jumped from fifth place in last year’s report to third this year.

Operational pressures slid from third-biggest risk to fourth, cited by 30 percent of respondents, while facilities and deferred maintenance moved from sixth to fifth position.

Funding/financial stability ranked sixth, up from eighth last year, followed by student mental health, which first entered the list in 2022 as the fifth-biggest perceived risk. Recruitment and hiring was listed eighth and public safety retained the ninth spot from last year.

At the same time, Title IX failed to make the list of top 10 concerns for the first time since 2020–21, reflecting “educational institutions’ increasing concerns in other risk areas in addition to the relative clarity regarding Title IX obligations,” the report said.

The rankings are based on responses from 267 colleges and universities that completed the survey between May and October 2025.