2025 USCSA Annual Report
Every year, the USCSA reports on key accomplishments across the organization's various programs and events. In additional to financial reports, members can learn about how athlete registrations, team sizes, and conference representation have grown and changed over the years, along with how their dues are allocated across organizational operations.

This report is best viewed on a desktop or laptop due to the number of charts and visuals presented.

Past Annual Reports (2022 - 2024) are available on our Past Annual Reports page. ​For additional information, including a copy of any Form 990 tax returns, please contact the National Office at [email protected].

USCSA's 2024-2025 Season

Student-Athletes

There were 4,828 student-athlete members in the USCSA in the 2024-2025 season.

​Although we see slight variations in our student-athlete numbers each year, membership remains fairly consistent year over year.

Over the past 10 years, the average number of student-athlete members has been just over 4800 student-athletes each year. That average increased after the COVID-19 pandemic-- to just over 4900 student-athletes members each year.

​We saw a significant spike in membership in 2022, with a record-setting 5113 student-athletes registered that year as members. That increase is attributed to the overall enthusiasm and excitement around the return to the slopes, as the previous season (2020-2021) had been cancelled due to the pandemic. 
The Eastern Conference remains the largest conference in the league, followed by the Southeast and Midwest Conferences.

The Eastern and Midwest Conferences are the only two conferences with divisions (MacConnell, McBrine, Reynolds, and Thompson in Eastern; Chicago & Lake Superior, Michigan, and Ohio in Midwest).

The USCSA hosts 11 conferences total, each led by a Conference Coordinator and a crew of volunteers. The conferences host six Regional events in the post-season.
The spread of athletes across the four years of most institutions is fairly balanced among first-year's, second-year's, third-year's, and fourth-year's. A small percentage-- 3.67%-- is made up of 5th-year and graduate students.

The largest percentage of participation is among student-athletes in their first year of college. We often see students arrive on campus in their first year and sign up for many activities, then spend the next three years refining their passions and prioritizing their time commitments, which can result in a slight drop-off in participation.

Disciplines

Year over year, about two thirds of USCSA student-athlete competitors are alpine skiers. The Nordic numbers have grown consistently, with a 20% increase over the past four seasons; this is largely due to the increased efforts among the Nordic teams and organizational leadership to market and communicate membership opportunities in the west, midwest, and eastern parts of the country. There remains significant potential for growth among the western institutions. The snowboard and freeski disciplines remain fairly consistent over the years.

These statistics represent the primary discipline that each student-athlete uses at the time of registration. Several athletes participate in additional disciplines at various events throughout the season; for example, alpine ski athletes may also participate in a freeski event. We utilize the primary discipline data to accurately mirror the total number of member athletes.

​Since this was the first season where snowboard athletes were required to register either as an alpine snowboard athlete or as a freestyle snowboard athlete, the year-over-year comparisons referenced below still encompass "snowboard" as one discipline.

Teams

Team performance is emphasized within the USCSA, a departure from the typical individual or World Cup scoring format in skiing. Teams field five or more racers, with the top three performances used for the team score. Most former USCSA athletes agree that the USCSA’s team orientation has been the seed for developing and nurturing a team approach in other aspects of their lives and careers.

On average, the USCSA hosts about 500 teams across all disciplines (alpine ski, Nordic, freeski, snowboard alpine, and snowboard freestyle). Athletes must be part of a team to compete in the USCSA.
New This Year
​In response to member requests, starting in the 2024-2025 season institutions were required to field separate snowboard teams. This creates more consistency across disciplines. All snowboard teams with alpine and freestyle athletes are now required to separately register their snowboard alpine and snowboard freestyle teams. For the 2024-2025 season, the additional team fee was waived.

Consistently over the years, the USCSA fields more alpine teams than any other discipline. The main factor in team growth in 2025 was the implementation of the new registration requirement for snowboard teams, which separated alpine snowboard teams from freestyle snowboard teams.
The average team size varies year over year. This statistic represents the number of student-athletes on each team and has been tracked for the past three seasons.

The alpine teams saw a growth in average size in the 2025 season, whereas the Nordic teams experienced a decrease in average team size. The size of snowboard teams (measured as a combination of alpine and freestyle teams) grew relatively significantly. The mens' freeski teams grew in average size, and womens' teams decreased slightly in size.
The USCSA is made up of both club and varsity teams, and all teams compete together. The classification of a team is self-selected. The USCSA does not adhere to specific parameters around how an institution or team defines their status as "club" or "varsity". The majority of USCSA teams consider themselves to be "club" teams.
Most USCSA teams are unique and are all structured differently within their academic institutions. The majority of teams-- whether "club" or "varsity"-- receive some level of funding from their institution, ranging from full funding to partial funding. Around 20% of teams receive no financial assistance from their institution. These teams rely on a mix of self-funding, alumni funding and fundraising efforts.

Institutions

Prospective athletes and parents often ask where USCSA institutions are located, and what type of teams each institution fields. We have always provided a list of all registered institutions and teams on our website, but this past year we amplified that list to create an interactive map where users can filter by conference and by team type to see what types are teams are registered throughout the country. This map is available on our Member Institutions webpage.

As always, we recommend that prospective athletes contact the teams directly to inquire about this year's status.
Every school (institution) that fields teams with the USCSA must be registered as an institution. On average, about 143 member institutions register each year. 

​The stability and longevity of most member institutions is notable. New teams can exist with as few as one to two members (considered a "small team"), which can help new teams get established before requiring significant growth or  a large membership year over year. When new institutions join the USCSA, their institution fee is waived for their first year of membership.
The participation of USCSA's member institutions varies slightly across the conferences. Any variation is usually due to the result of graduating seniors who were the main impetus for their team's existence and who did not establish a significant depth within their team to carry on after their departure. Other factors can come from internal challenges due to funding, coaching, or scheduling conflicts within the institution. 

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, institution membership has remained fairly consistent across the conferences, with the most variation in the Eastern, Midwest, and Atlantic Highlands conferences. 

Conferences

The number of student-athletes per conferences is correlated to the number of institutions per conference. The Eastern Conference has consistently been the largest conference, with a significant increase in student-athlete membership over the last 15 years.
​Since the COVID-19 pandemic, most conferences have remained steady with their student-athlete membership, with the highest proportional shifts in the Atlantic Highlands, Northern California, and Southeast Conferences.

U.S. Collegiate Ski & Snowboard National Championships

The 2025 U.S. Collegiate Ski & Snowboard National Championships saw a record-setting number of registered student-athletes.

We far exceeded past participation, with a total of 685 attending athletes. This marks an increase of 24% over the past four seasons.

The 2025 "Nationals" took place at Mt. Bachelor, Oregon, which provided the opportunity for all athletes, parents, spectators, volunteers, and coaches to watch all disciplines and events with ease on any given day via a quick walk or ski among all venues.
With a cap on alpine berths, most of this year's growth came from the Nordic and freeski disciplines: Nordic participation grew by 24%, from 125 to 155 student-athletes; freeski participation increased by 17%, from 77 student-athletes to 90.

The interest in Nationals participation is palpable, and we are thrilled to see the consistent growth in dedication to post-season competition. The level of competition and the quality of the event production are symbolic of the organization's focus on our core values of competition, fun, development, inclusiveness, and community.

Volunteers

All USCSA events are put on by a dedicated crew of volunteers who engage with the organization at varying levels throughout the year. Supported by a small, part-time team of contractors in the National Office, all volunteers-- including the Conference Coordinators, Division Coordinators, sport VPs, committee chairs, Board of Directors, and Student-Athlete Representatives-- are paramount to the success of our programs.

In the 2024-2025 season, 374 volunteers registered with the USCSA. This is a 10% growth over last year and is largely due to the marketing efforts to recruit and retain volunteers and alumni. If you are interested in volunteering for the USCSA, let us know!

Every volunteer completes a background check, SafeSport-compliant training, and concussion awareness training on an annual basis.

Financials

The organization's annual operating expenses are largely supported by in-season registration fees from competitors, teams, and institutions. Our largest program is the U.S. Collegiate Ski & Snowboard National Championships, which varies in cost depending on venue but is predominantly covered by the event's separate registration fees. Additional significant areas of expense include marketing, event production, and insurance.

Income

Expenses

Where Do My Dues Go?

Your registration fees cover the operating expenses of the organization, which include support personnel in the National Office, marketing resources, administrative expenses, and insurance.

Competitor Fee (Early-Bird Rate: $23)

Team Fee (Early-Bird Rate: $180)
A Note About Nationals
The income and expenses associated with the U.S. Collegiate Ski & Snowboard National Championships are accrued separately from full-season membership fees. The registration process for “Nationals” is separate from USCSA's regular in-season registration. All income generated from Nationals registration goes toward Nationals expenses, along with sponsorship revenue.