College Adaptive Sports Programs

Athletes Roll was lucky to be introduced to adaptive sports partly through the work of Northeast Passage, based out of the University of New Hampshire. We believe it is so important to have access to adaptive sports and recreation while in college so we’ve begun to compile a list of college programs! As always, contact us if you need help looking for resources and let us know of any programs we should add to our list!

Adaptive Sports Resources

College Adaptive Sports Programs

Auburn University

Auburn, AL

“Our mission is to offer equal recreation and athletic opportunities to students, faculty, and staff with disabilities at Auburn University while promoting health, wellness, and disability awareness to all. To accomplish this mission the Office of Accessibility and the School of Kinesiology have collaborated to lead the adaptive sports movement here on campus.”

Clemson University

Clemson, SC

“In an effort to fulfill Clemson Elevate’s Living Priority specific to sustaining athletics, wellness and recreation programs, and achieving inclusive excellence, the vision of Clemson Adaptive Sports and Recreation is to be the leader in applied research and programming associated with adaptive sports, recreational therapy, and other disability-sport related topics.”

Clemson has a varsity-level Wheelchair Tennis team, a 7-a-side Paralympic Soccer team, as well as several intramural programs for students on campus. Clemson also runs community programs including Wheelchair Basketball clinics, the Palmetto Games, Challenger Baseball and TopSoccer, as well as a youth Paralympic Soccer program.

CUNY Inclusive and Adaptive Sports Program

New York, NY

“CUNY is one of only 12 Universities nationwide to offer competitive, intercollegiate adaptive sports. The wheelchair basketball program began playing competitively in 2019 and is the only program of its kind on the Eastern Seaboard. CUNY is one of only six Universities in the nation that offers competitive women’s wheelchair basketball. The Inclusive and Adaptive Athletics program also includes wheelchair tennis and hopes to add swimming, diving, and track and field.”

Eastern Washington University

Cheney, WA

“EWU Adaptive Athletics aligns with Eastern’s mission of personal transformation, creating immeasurable opportunity for students with disabilities to participate in organized sports at the collegiate level. Establishing the first collegiate National Wheelchair Basketball Association team in the Western region fulfills our first goal. Future opportunities to grow EWU Adaptive Athletics include track and field, sled hockey, snow skiing and more.”

Pennsylvania Western University, Edinboro

Edinboro, PA

“PennWest Edinboro, formerly Edinboro University, has a long history of serving students with disabilities. Currently, over 400 students with various disabilities are enrolled (about 10% of the campus population). The University’s Wheelchair Basketball team is part of the University’s Athletic Department, which is rare even for universities across the country that have adaptive sports. Wheelchair Basketball at Edinboro remains the only adaptive sports program in the state of Pennsylvania.”

WPDHAC article

San Diego State University – Aztec Adaptive Sports

San Diego, CA

“Aztec Adaptive Sports is an SDSU Recognized Student Organization (RSO). Our goal is to educate and introduce the SDSU community to adaptive sports. We have already help build the first ever collegiate level adaptive sports program on the west coast: the SDSU Adapted Athletics.

Join our student organization as we listen to Paralympic Athletes’ stories, participate in wheelchair basketball, sitting volleyball and track & field events, and volunteer at regional adaptive sports events. As a member, you can surround yourself with like-minded individuals who are passionate about providing competitive sports opportunities at SDSU for all athletes, as well as helping the surrounding San Diego community. Students of all ability are welcome in our student organization!”

Southwest Minnesota State University

Marshall, MN

“SMSU Wheeling Mustangs compete in the National Wheelchair Basketball Intercollegiate Division. The Wheeling Mustangs started all the way back in 1969 and have won three NIWBT titles.”

Texas A&M University – Aggie Adaptive Sports

College Station, TX

“Our purpose is to facilitate adaptive sports as a healthy form of recreation to students, veterans, and community members in an effort to promote the physical and mental benefits that adaptive sports possess. We strive to bring veterans and students, disabled and able-bodied, together in a safe arena that will promote a sense of community between individuals in a variety of circumstances with differing levels of ability.”

Aggie Adaptive Sports hosts events throughout the year and collaborates with many organizations in the area to promote adaptive sports in Texas.

The University of Alabama – Alabama Adapted Athletics

Tuscaloosa, AL

“The wheelchair basketball and tennis teams at UA have won a combined five national titles, and more than 20 UA student-athletes and coaches participated in the 2012 Paralympic Games in London. The Adapted Athletics program now includes wheelchair basketball, wheelchair tennis, para-rowing, track and adapted golf. In addition, UA students with disabilities can participate in noncompetitive sporting options designed to improve the recreation experience on campus for all students.”

In 2018, the University of Alabama opened the Stran-Hardin Arena, a 10 million dollar facility dedicated solely to the Adapted Athletics program.

The University of Arizona – Adaptive Athletics Program

Tucson, AZ

“The largest and most successful collegiate-based program in the country, the University of Arizona Adaptive Athletics Program houses seven competitive teams as well as an adaptive fitness center. In its 44-year history, Adaptive Athletics has sent 38 athletes to the Paralympics and has won a number of national titles, making this program a leader in the adaptive and wheelchair sports community. With excellent disability and athletics resources, and weather that allows for competition and training year-round, the University of Arizona is home to a dynamic and vibrant wheelchair and adaptive sports community.”

University of Houston – Adaptive Athletics at UH

Houston, TX

“Adaptive Athletics at UH is a student organization at the University of Houston dedicated to promoting athletic programs for students with disabilities. To help us achieve this goal, we provide unique programs and events throughout the duration of year.”

University of Michigan Adaptive Sports and Fitness

Ann Arbor, MI

“Our program aims to increase awareness about, knowledge of, access to, and participation in adaptive sports and fitness among people with and without disabilities at the University of Michigan and in the greater Ann Arbor community.”

  • Adaptive Track and Field
  • Para-Equestrian
  • Wheelchair Basketball
  • Wheelchair Tennis
Missouri Wheelchair Basketball logo

University of Missouri – Mizzou Wheelchair Basketball

Columbia, MO

“Mizzou Wheelchair Basketball represents the University of Missouri in the Central Intercollegiate Division of the National Wheelchair Basketball Association. With an array of leadership, academic and athletic opportunities, the program sets a high standard here at Mizzou. In addition to their hard work on the court and in the classroom, Mizzou Wheelchair Basketball athletes volunteer their time to a variety of organizations on campus and during their annual youth camp.”

University of New Hampshire – Northeast Passage

Durham, NH

“The mission of Northeast Passage is to empower people living with disabling conditions, both visible and invisible, to define, pursue and achieve whole life health, community engagement and fulfillment through the purposeful use of sports and recreation; to develop and promote best practices in the fields of Therapeutic Recreation and Adaptive Sports.”

Northeast Passage is a program of the University of New Hampshire which serves both UNH students as well as youth and adults in the surrounding area.

Competitive Sports: Power Soccer, Quad Rugby, Sled Hockey, Wheelchair Lacrosse

Recreational Sports: Archery, Court Sports, Cycling, Golf, Ice Skating, Nordic Skiing, Paddlesports, Water Skiing, Winter Access

The University of Texas at Arlington Adapted Athletics

Arlington, TX

UT Arlington runs an adaptive recreation program, which brings together “students with disabilities from other college and university programs in the area, high school students with disabilities, able-bodied students who are studying disability sport and recreation programming, and people with disabilities in the community,” as well as the Movin’ Mavs, UTA’s men’s and women’s Wheelchair Basketball teams.

University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Wheelchair Athletics

Whitewater, WI

“Our program includes a men’s and a women’s intercollegiate wheelchair basketball team competing at the highest level and featuring many current, past and future Paralympic athletes and coaches. We aim to provide opportunities to all by offering an Intramural Wheelchair Basketball and an Intramural Wheelchair Football program. In addition, we aim to provide opportunities to all by offering an Intramural Wheelchair Basketball and an Intramural Wheelchair Football program. Our facilities include a fully adapted weight room, many basketball chairs and hand-cycles, a multipurpose gym and much more provided by the university.”

  • Men’s and Women’s Wheelchair Basketball
  • Intramural Wheelchair Football
  • Adapted Weight Room
  • Handcycling