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How Aaron Murphy Replaced His Income in 11 Years
|
Name |
Aaron Murphy |
|---|---|
| Location | Baltimore, Maryland |
| Occupation | Full-time real estate investor |
| Assets | 75 rental units, in-house construction, maintenance, and property management |
| Investment strategy | House hacking, BRRRR, vertically integrated renovation and property management |
| Financing |
FHA loan (3.5% down), hard money for purchase and rehab, DSCR refinancing, cash-out refinance |
Aaron Murphy grew up doing free renovation labor on family flips that never quite worked out, and he walked away from real estate convinced it was a scam.
Years later, sitting in a corporate sales meeting, a VP told the room they had to keep working weekends or they wouldn’t get paid, and something in Aaron snapped. He ran the numbers on dividend stocks, the 4% rule, and real estate, and real estate was the only path that looked mathematically achievable on a $30,000 salary.
He bought his first house hack in 2016 with $11,900 down. Eleven years later, he and his wife have replaced both of their incomes, built a 75-unit portfolio with an in-house construction crew, and are currently traveling the world together while he runs the business remotely.
Here’s how he built it.
Your first deal was an FHA house hack where you lived in the basement. How did that actually work?
D.C. home prices were around $700,000, which felt impossible on my salary, so I learned about FHA loans and found a more affordable area called Hyattsville just outside the city.
I put down $11,900, about 3.5%, on a five-bedroom house, moved into the basement myself, and rented out the other four rooms for $700 each. My mortgage was about $2,000, so between the room rent and my mortgage, it basically broke even after utilities and maintenance. But it meant I stopped paying rent entirely, which let me save aggressively toward my next deal.
Your second deal, a $96,000 triplex, went sideways almost immediately. What happened, and how did it eventually help your growth?
The seller told me the property would be delivered with all three units occupied and paying rent. Two weeks before closing, they said only one unit was actually occupied and offered photos of the other two as proof they were livable.
I insisted they honor the contract and deliver it occupied, since nothing specified how they had to screen tenants. They found people willing to move in immediately, and those tenants became my first two evictions. I put about 20% down, roughly $19,000, then put in another $20,000, turning over the vacant units after eviction. I eventually got total rent up to $1,900 a month across the three units.
I still own it, and years later, after it had appreciated significantly, I did a cash-out refinance and pulled out $50,000, which became half the seed money for my BRRRR portfolio.
Once you pivoted to BRRRR full time in 2022, what did a typical deal actually look like?
My wife and I moved into a $99,000 row house in Baltimore’s 21202 ZIP code to be closer to the deals. A typical BRRRR since then looks like buying for around $100,000, putting in $30,000 to $40,000 in renovations, and adding another $20,000 for closing costs on both ends of the deal, which people often underestimate in this price range.
All in, I’m usually around $150,000 to $160,000, and I’m appraising properties between $200,000 and $220,000. I’ve kept at least one renovation going every four to six weeks since 2022.
On my first two BRRRR deals, I went a combined $65,000 over budget using third-party contractors, which nearly wiped out my starting capital. On my third deal, I ended up working alongside day laborers myself for four to five months to finish it, learning construction hands-on, and that experience let me build an in-house crew that now works exclusively on my properties five days a week.
You’ve talked about a specific framework for getting mentors for free. Can you walk us through it?
The first step is reframing what a mentor even is. Most people want one person to hold their hand and absorb the emotional risk of a deal working out, but nobody actually wants that responsibility. Instead, treat a mentor as a network of people you can ask specific, practical questions to, people who are actually doing what you’re trying to do in your market.
The second step is getting in proximity to those people at meetups, forums, or industry events and asking real questions tied to actions you’re already taking, like whether $1,500 sounds right for a two-bedroom in a specific ZIP code, instead of generic brain-picking questions.
The third step, the one most people skip, is going back and telling them exactly how you used their advice and what happened. That feedback loop is what turns a casual contact into a real, ongoing relationship, and it’s worked for me in real estate, competitive debate, and software sales alike.
What does your portfolio look like today, and what convinced you to take an extended trip instead of continuing to scale?
We’re at 75 units now, mostly single-family and townhomes with some duplexes and triplexes mixed in, all long-term rentals across Baltimore and the surrounding counties. At the pace of one renovation every four to six weeks, I realized that in 10 years, I could have 200 to 250 of these properties, and I had to actually ask myself whether I wanted that.
My wife and I built the portfolio’s cash flow specifically so we could take an extended trip around the world without derailing retirement savings or leaving us in a bad spot if we couldn’t find jobs again afterward. I’m still working daily during the trip, running property management and construction meetings remotely, but the portfolio is what made the trip possible without it feeling irresponsible.
American Express Announces U.S. Open Benefits 2026 (Two Lounges & $10 Off $100+)
American Express has announced a number of benefits and experiences for cardholders during the U.S. Open 2026.
- Centurion Suite At Louis Armstrong Arena. Platinum cardholders can book a 60 minute dining experience and bring up to two guests.
- American Express Card Member Lounge. Second floor of US Open American Express Fan Experience
- American Express Radios. These will be distributed on site to cardmembers while supplies last and are complimentary.
- $10 back $100+ at participating merchants
Bad News on 2027 Social Security COLA: Why the Number Just Dropped
For seniors on Social Security, the program’s annual cost-of-living adjustments are extremely important. They’re what allow benefits to keep pace with inflation as costs continue to rise.
In 2026, Social Security benefits received a 2.8% COLA. And many seniors are no doubt hoping for a larger raise in the new year.
Image source: Getty Images.
At one point, 2027 COLA estimates were coming in as high as 4.7%. But those estimates have since shifted downward. Here why — and what it means for Social Security recipients.
What the latest COLA numbers look like
Based on inflation data from the month of July, independent Social Security analyst Mary Johnson lowered her 2027 COLA forecast to 3.4%. Johnson’s forecast two months prior was 4.7%.
The Senior Citizens League, meanwhile, lowered its COLA forecast in August to 3.6%, down from the 3.8% projection it put out in both June and July.
The reason these numbers are shifting is simple — inflation has been cooling. Drops in energy and gas prices pulled inflation numbers lower in July. And since Social Security COLAs are linked to inflation data directly — specifically, the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) — it makes sense for COLA projections to get reduced as a result.
A smaller COLA isn’t necessarily a terrible thing
Seeing COLA projections in the mid 3%-range might read like a blow to seniors who were initially hoping for a larger boost in the new year. But one thing to remember is that a smaller COLA is indicative of less rampant inflation.
To put it another way, a 4.7% COLA would come at the expense of higher prices in the near term. A smaller COLA could mean relief at the pump and supermarket for retirees who are trying to make ends meet this year.
Remember, Social Security COLAs are backward facing. Inflation has been outpacing the 2.8% COLA that came through at the start of the year. A 3.4% COLA in 2027 would mean inflation didn’t outpace the current COLA by too much.
Of course, we won’t have an official COLA until mid-October, since that number is based on third quarter CPI-W data. August and September readings are part of the equation, so July’s cooler inflation report isn’t the only determining factor.
But all told, it may be time for seniors to start gearing up for a more modest 2027 COLA than initially expected. And they should also realize that while a smaller raise might seem like bad news at first, there’s a very clear silver lining.
Arada Sukuk extends consent fee deadline to August 31
Arada Sukuk extends consent fee deadline to August 31
CBRE: New York claims top US tech market as AI hiring surges
That in-person mandate, combined with average New York Metro tech wages of $130,538 annually in 2024 and Bay Area tech wages averaging $195,142, sustains strong homebuying demand in markets where origination volumes and mortgage activity remain elevated.
Beyond the coastal hubs, emerging tech markets including Dallas-Ft. Worth, which added 37,230 tech workers between 2022 and 2025, along with Nashville (+12,540) and Charlotte (+8,420), are widening the geographic opportunity for originators to engage the next generation of AI-employed borrowers.
AI specialists earning average annual salaries of $130,538 in New York and $195,142 in the San Francisco Bay Area represent a concentrated pool of high-income, creditworthy borrowers whose geographic movement directly shapes origination opportunity.
When 30,640 net new tech workers land in the New York Metro and the finance sector absorbs the bulk of them, that is a measurable shift in where well-qualified buyers are house-hunting, where purchase loan demand is building, and where brokers should be deepening lender relationships and refining their product mix.
The same logic applies in reverse in San Francisco, where a net loss of 23,900 tech workers between 2022 and 2025 has cooled a market that once generated some of the country’s largest loan balances.
Bitcoin Holders Prepare For Matching ECash (ECX) Balances As Multi-Phase Hard Fork Begins
Bitcoin owners are getting ready to claim an equivalent amount of a new cryptocurrency known as eCash, or ECX, as a planned hard fork of the Bitcoin blockchain moves into its initial phase.
The project, developed by LayerTwo Labs under the leadership of longtime Bitcoin contributor Paul Sztorc, aims to create an independent network that mirrors Bitcoin’s transaction history at specific points without altering the original Bitcoin chain in any way.
Rather than launching as a single event, the ECX hard fork is proceeding through three deliberate stages to allow testing, infrastructure preparation, and community familiarization.
The alpha phase activates around Bitcoin block height 963,648, corresponding roughly to August 23, 2026.
During this period, participants can experiment with software, mining, wallet functionality, and trading of temporary practice tokens referred to as pECX or alpha ECX.
These practice units carry no permanent value on their own but can later be burned and redeemed for a portion of the official coins once the full network is live.
A beta stage follows around September 20 at block height approximately 967,680.
This intermediate step is expected to involve greater participation from exchanges, custodians, wallet providers, and miners, providing a more realistic environment for testing operational readiness.
The permanent mainnet release is scheduled for around October 31 at block height near 973,728.
That date coincides with the 18th anniversary of the publication of Satoshi Nakamoto’s original Bitcoin white paper, adding symbolic weight to the full launch.
At the mainnet snapshot, permanent ECX balances will be assigned on a one-to-one basis with Bitcoin holdings at that time for nearly all addresses.
Bitcoin itself remains completely unaffected; holders simply gain an additional asset on the new chain.
The core purpose of ECX is to enable drivechains—opt-in sidechains that support features such as enhanced scalability, privacy, and experimentation—while leaving Bitcoin’s base-layer rules intact.
The new network uses the same SHA-256 proof-of-work mechanism as Bitcoin, with a temporary difficulty reset at activation to facilitate early mining.
Replay protection is available on an opt-in basis through official software, which warns users before transactions; without intentional separation of assets, movements of Bitcoin could affect corresponding ECX holdings.
Most Bitcoin holders who control their private keys at the relevant snapshot heights will automatically receive matching ECX without needing to register or file claims.
A portion of early Satoshi-era coins on the new chain is handled differently to support development, but this applies only to ECX and leaves actual Bitcoin balances untouched.
Holders keeping assets on exchanges should monitor those platforms’ policies, as some may implement temporary freezes or decide independently whether and how to credit the new tokens.
The phased approach gives the ecosystem roughly twelve weeks between the alpha start and the permanent release to identify issues, build support, and prepare tools.
Practice coins earned in the earlier stages can be exchanged for official ECX after mainnet activation, creating incentives for early testing.
While adoption by major infrastructure providers remains an open question and community support has been limited so far, the project positions itself as a way to expand Bitcoin’s capabilities through a separate, compatible ledger.
As the alpha phase begins, attention turns to practical steps: verifying self-custody of keys, reviewing wallet compatibility, and watching for official software releases. The original Bitcoin network continues operating without interruption, and the success of ECX will ultimately depend on participation, liquidity, and the usefulness of its planned sidechains.
Universal Music Poland acquires the Kayax Records catalog and brand, home to recordings by Brodka, Nosowska and Zakopower
Universal Music Poland has acquired the catalog business of Kayax Records.
The agreement, announced on Thursday (August 20), covers global recording rights to the label’s catalog plus the rights to the Kayax Records brand, Universal said.
It also sees Universal Music Poland enter a strategic partnership with Kayax‘s separate management business, Kayax Management, which is not part of the acquisition.
Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed by Universal or Kayax.
Founded in 2001 and based in Warsaw, Kayax Records has a roster that includes Smolik, Zakopower, Nosowska, Krzysztof Zalewski, Natalia Przybysz, Maria Peszek, Brodka, Artur Rojek, Mery Spolsky and Karaś/Rogucki, according to the announcement.
Records issued under the Kayax banner also include albums by Hey, Urszula Dudziak, Reni Jusis, Skubas and The Dumplings.
Kayax lists among its releases Brodka‘s Clashes, Krzysztof Zalewski‘s Złoto, Nosowska‘s Basta, Zakopower‘s Boso, Maria Peszek‘s Maria Awaria and Artur Rojek‘s Składam się z ciągłych powtórzeń.
Kayax puts its catalog at close to 130 albums.
The label also lists singer Kayah‘s 2009 album Skała among its releases.
Kayah said in May 2025, however, that she had recovered master recording rights to her albums released after 2003, and was no longer under a recording contract with Kayax Production & Publishing.
On her account, that would place her post-2003 recordings outside the catalog Universal has acquired.
“This is an exciting transaction for Universal Music Poland. From the very beginning I have admired Kayax Records‘ ability to combine artistic integrity with commercial success, while consistently discovering and nurturing some of the most important voices in contemporary Polish music.
“Combining Universal Music‘s global expertise with the experience of the Kayax Management team will help create new opportunities for both established artists and the next generation of talent.
“Combining Universal Music‘s global expertise with the experience of the Kayax Management team will help create new opportunities for both established artists and the next generation of talent.”
Maciej Kutak, Universal Music Group
“This is another important step in delivering our mission of connecting Polish artists with fans around the world,” said Maciej Kutak, CEO, Universal Music Poland & SVP Central Eastern Europe, Universal Music Group.
Tomasz “Tomik” Grewiński co-founded Kayax Records with Kayah in 2001.
He became sole owner in April 2025 after buying out her stake in Kayax Production & Publishing, the company behind the label.
Grewiński is owner and Managing Director of Kayax Management, which remains an independent company.
“For more than twenty years, we built Kayax Records together with extraordinary artists, creating a catalog that has become an important part of the history of contemporary Polish music.
“I am confident that Universal Music Poland will provide this body of work with the best possible foundation for its continued growth,” said Grewiński.
“Kayax Management is entering a new chapter. Together with my team, we want to focus even more on what we do best: developing the careers of the artists we represent and building their personal brands.
“We will continue strengthening our position by providing comprehensive artist management while expanding our roster with promising new talent and the next generation of artists,” Grewiński added.
“We will continue strengthening our position by providing comprehensive artist management while expanding our roster with promising new talent and the next generation of artists.”
Tomasz Grewiński, Kayax Records
Once the transaction completes, Kayax Records will keep its own identity as Universal Music Poland‘s fourth label.
Paweł Tetłak will take the role of Head of Kayax Records, while Jakub Barzak will oversee both Kayax Records and Polydor Recordings Poland.
Kayax said in its own announcement that it will no longer operate as a record label in its previous form, and is switching to a distribution and licensing model, with management and distribution as the pillars of the business.
The deal arrives during a run of Universal transactions in Europe.
UMG closed its USD $775 million acquisition of Downtown Music Holdings in February, after the European Commission cleared the deal on condition that Curve Royalty Systems was divested.
Before that, Universal acquired Netherlands-based music company 8Ball in 2025, having completed the full buyout of Belgium-founded [PIAS] the previous fall.
Universal Music Poland sits within Universal Music Central Europe.
Frank Briegmann is Chairman & CEO of that division and of Deutsche Grammophon.
Kutak was named CEO of Universal Music Poland and SVP, Central Eastern Europe in November 2021, with the role effective from January 1, 2022.
The role gave him responsibility for UMG operations in Greece, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary.
UMG Chief Operating Officer Boyd Muir told analysts on the company’s Q4 and FY 2025 earnings call on March 5 that UMG had bought 18 businesses in high-potential growth markets over the prior three years, describing the deals as “all relatively small” and focused on local-language repertoire.
On the same call, UMG Chairman and CEO Sir Lucian Grainge named geographic expansion as one of four pillars of the company’s next phase of growth, alongside artist and label services, superfan initiatives and AI.
Poland‘s recorded music revenues grew 22.3% YoY in 2024, according to the IFPI‘s Music in the EU report, behind only Sweden, Romania and Hungary in the bloc.
Sweden‘s 30.2% was inflated by a one-off private copying levy payment covering multiple years, the report noted; excluding that levy, its growth was around 6.5%.
Strip out that distortion and Poland was the third fastest-growing recorded music market in the EU in 2024, behind only Romania and Hungary.
The IFPI said the fastest-growing markets tended to be those in Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe.
The same report found that domestic artists took an average 50.9% of the places on countrywide year-end top 10 lists across the EU.Music Business Worldwide
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NCAA Data: The Niche Sports With The Best College Admissions Odds In 2026
Getting into and paying for college can feel like daunting tasks, especially in today’s competitive environment. Playing a niche sport is one way to give yourself an edge when applying to a college that might be difficult to get into or a scholarship that many are vying for. Fewer high school kids play fencing than play basketball, so the college roster spots are easier to get, and the athletic tip helps at schools where acceptance rates keep falling.
That pitch still holds up. But the mechanics underneath it changed more between 2024 and 2026 than they had in the previous two decades, and most of what you’ll read about niche sports online is now describing a system that no longer exists. If you’re a high schooler thinking about how you’ll pay for college, you need the current version.
Here’s what actually changed, which sports the NCAA’s own data says give you the best shot, and where the numbers get abused, plus how it fits with everything else in the college admissions process.
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The House v. NCAA Settlement Changed The Rules
On June 6, 2025, the $2.8 billion House v. NCAA settlement. It took effect for the 2025-26 academic year, and it replaced the NCAA’s sport-by-sport scholarship limits with sport-by-sport roster limits. Under the old setup, men’s swimming had 9.9 scholarships to split across a roster of 40 walk-ons and partial-aid athletes.
Under the new setup there is no scholarship cap at all (every athlete on the roster can be funded) but the roster is hard-capped at 30. That distinction matters enormously if you’re weighing an athletic scholarship against your other aid options.
The roster caps land differently by sport. Rowing (women’s) got 68. Equestrian got 50. Men’s lacrosse got 48, women’s lacrosse 38. Field hockey got 27. Fencing and water polo got 24 each. Swimming and diving got 30. Basketball, by comparison, got 15 and tennis got 10, which is why the scholarship math in some sports is so brutal.
The scope limit almost nobody mentions: roster limits only bind schools that opted into the settlement. Fifty-four Division I schools opted out, including all eight Ivy League schools. Division II and Division III aren’t affected at all. So when someone tells you walk-on spots are gone, ask which school they’re talking about, as the answer changes the whole admissions calculation.
There was a grandfathering provision, and it’s closed. Anyone starting college in fall 2026 or later faces the hard caps with no exception, which is worth factoring into your application timeline.
The net effect is genuinely mixed. Roster spots at opted-in D1 schools got tighter, and dozens of Division I Olympic sports programs have been cut, merged, or reclassified since the settlement — Front Office Sports counted 32 by June 2025, and the number has kept climbing.
But funded spots expanded sharply: men’s lacrosse went from 12.6 scholarships to 48 fundable roster spots, women’s rowing from 20 to 68, men’s swimming from 9.9 to 30.
How To Read Niche Sport Admissions Odds
Small high school participation numbers do not automatically mean good college odds. This is the single most common error in niche sports content, and it’s as easy to check as any claim about FAFSA income limits.
The NCAA publishes the Estimated Probability of Competing in College Athletics (PDF File). The current version uses 2024-25 figures and was updated in March 2026. Here’s what it says for the sports usually labeled “niche,” alongside a few mainstream ones for contrast:
|
Sport |
HS Participants |
NCAA Participants |
HS -> NCAA |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Ice Hockey (W) |
9,589 |
3,074 |
32.1% |
|
Lacrosse (M) |
113,696 |
16,691 |
14.7% |
|
Ice Hockey (M) |
32,253 |
4,558 |
14.1% |
|
Lacrosse (W) |
99,292 |
13,906 |
14.0% |
|
Field Hockey (W) |
50,764 |
6,610 |
13.0% |
|
Swimming (W) |
138,303 |
12,998 |
9.4% |
|
Baseball (M) |
472,598 |
41,580 |
8.8% |
|
Swimming (M) |
119,102 |
10,131 |
8.5% |
|
Water Polo (W) |
18,023 |
1,333 |
7.4% |
|
Water Polo (M)
|
21,756 |
1,245 |
5.7% |
|
Basketball (W) |
356,240 |
16,823 |
4.7% |
|
Basketball (M)
|
540,704 |
19,617 |
3.6% |
Look at water polo. Roughly 20,000 high schoolers play it nationally, and yet a boy’s odds of playing in college are worse than a baseball player’s. The college programs are just as scarce as the high school ones. The ratio is what matters, and it’s the same reasoning you’d apply to any merit aid decision.
One more caveat before the sport list: the NCAA table excludes fencing, rowing, equestrian, gymnastics, skiing, rifle, and triathlon, because NFHS doesn’t collect comparable high school participation data for sports most high schools don’t sponsor. Our data points below are from other sources, and some are very old.
The Sports Worth Your Time In 2026
Women’s Ice Hockey
Roughly one in three high school girls who play ice hockey competes in college, and nearly one in ten reaches Division I. Nothing else in the NCAA is close. The catch is cost — ice hockey was the most expensive youth sport in the Aspen Institute’s national survey, and the club pathway starts young. If your family is saving in a 529 plan, understand that hockey often eats the equivalent of a year of contributions before the recruiting even starts.
Fencing
Learning how to deftly attack with an épée might get you admitted into one of the 46 schools across the country that offer varsity fencing. Schools like Harvard, Boston College, Yale, and the U.S. Air Force Academy have fencing. And they might even provide you with a scholarship.
In 2018, the odds of getting a scholarship for fencing were 22:1 for men and 13:1 for women. Compare that to the odds of 57:1 for men and 43:1 for women who want to play basketball. As you can see, opportunities abound if you can master the blade.
However, it’s important to note that fencing offers less potential than it did in the past, as Brown discontinued its varsity fencing program for men in 2020, and similar cuts may happen at more schools in the future.
Lacrosse
Lacrosse remains the best combination of odds and access. About 645 U.S. colleges field varsity lacrosse teams across NCAA divisions, NAIA, and junior college, and roughly 14-15% of high school players compete somewhere at the college level.
Post-settlement, men’s lacrosse jumped from 12.6 scholarships to 48 fundable roster spots, which was one of the largest funding expansions of any sport. It’s also heavily concentrated in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, which is worth knowing if you’re comparing in-state and out-of-state costs.
Water Polo
Hop in the pool, and you might be surprised at how it can help you get into a good college. Cal State campuses offer varsity water polo teams, along with a number of other schools, including Arizona State University, Chapman University, Pepperdine, and the U.S. Naval Academy. There are 125 schools in total that offer varsity water polo teams.
But what are the odds that a high school water polo player will make the cut for college? A man has 13:1 odds of getting onto a team in college, while a woman has odds of 11:1. Making a roster for an NCAA Division I team has more difficult odds, at 34:1 for men and 29:1 for women.
The significant difference in the chances of making a Division I team versus a team in any of the three divisions highlights an important factor when considering niche sports for college admissions or even scholarships: Sometimes, applying to a smaller school might make sense. Even at a non-Division I school, you might still be able to get a scholarship, albeit likely a smaller one than you would for Division I.
Related: Best Extracurricular Activities For College Applications
Field Hockey
Around 288 schools sponsor varsity field hockey, and 13% of high school players go on to compete in college. Stanford, Georgetown, and a long list of Northeast liberal arts colleges carry programs, which puts field hockey squarely in the zone where athletic recruiting overlaps with selective admissions. The new roster cap is 27 at opted-in schools.
Equestrian
Equestrian has about 77 varsity programs and the second-largest roster limit in women’s sports at 50. It’s also the sport where the cost-benefit math is worst. Board, lease, training, and show fees run into five figures annually with no national survey even attempting to track them.
As with many other niche sports for college admissions, schools considered more prestigious, like Auburn, Dartmouth, Cornell, and Sarah Lawrence, are more likely to offer varsity equestrian teams. As a result, it’s important to weigh the scholarship against the potential cost of attendance. For example, tuition alone at Cornell University is more than $60,000 before factoring in grants and scholarships. A $16,000 athletic scholarship at a school like that won’t make much of a dent on its own.
On the other hand, a $16,000 scholarship at Auburn University would more than cover the cost of that school’s in-state tuition price tag of about $6,300. And it would leave plenty of room to cover the $7,700 needed for on-campus housing and food as well.
Rowing
The sport of rowing made headlines in 2020 as part of a college admissions scandal in which certain students received admissions help by being falsely portrayed as rowing team recruits. Other niche sports, like sailing, were also caught up in the scandal.
The incidents underscored the advantages that niche athletes have when they apply to certain colleges. Coaches of sports like rowing and sailing may find it challenging to fill their college rosters. So if a student is recruited for these teams, they may have a leg up in the college admissions process, even if they might otherwise be passed over based on academic merits alone.
Rowing carries the largest women’s roster limit in the NCAA at 68, and roughly 151 schools sponsor women’s crew.
Swimming And Diving
Swimming and diving are often lumped together for the purposes of admissions statistics. The odds of making a swimming or diving team at any college are 13:1 for men and 12:1 for women. However, the odds of getting a scholarship are 47:1 for women and 69:1 for men. These stats indicate that swimming and diving may be useful sports for getting into a school you’re interested in, but it’s far more challenging to study on a swimming or diving scholarship.
With 687 schools supporting a varsity swim team, you have the chance to get into schools at various levels. There are even scholarships available at the junior college level for swimming. If you’re looking for ways to save money in college, the combination of starting at a community college and getting a swimming scholarship could be a smart strategy.
Women’s Wrestling
This is the biggest change. The NCAA approved women’s wrestling as its 91st championship on January 17, 2025, with the inaugural championship held in winter 2026.
There were 111 women’s wrestling teams across all three divisions heading into that season, and high school participation crossed 74,000 girls in 2024-25 — up 15%, with roughly 1,000 new schools adding programs. Supply and demand are both climbing fast, which usually means the aid opportunities arrive before the applicant crush does.
Acrobatics & Tumbling And Stunt
On January 16, 2026, the NCAA approved four new championships: acrobatics and tumbling and stunt (both across all three divisions, inaugural spring 2027), Division II bowling (spring 2028), and Division III women’s wrestling (spring 2028).
Both acro and stunt cleared the 40-school threshold. Their roster limits are among the largest of any women’s sport. For a competitive cheer or gymnastics athlete who assumed there was no college path, this is a door that opened in the last eighteen months — and it’s early enough that building the rest of the application still matters as much as the sport does.
Flag Football
Flag football is now an NCAA emerging sport for women, alongside equestrian, rugby, and triathlon. It’s also the fastest-growing high school sport in the country: 68,847 girls played in 2024-25, a 60% jump, with about 1,000 schools adding it.
NCAA sponsorship crossed 40 schools in 2025 and was projected near 60 by spring 2026. Championship status isn’t there yet, but the trajectory is the clearest of any sport on this list, and it costs a fraction of what an ice rink or a horse does — which matters if you’re trying to graduate without student loan debt.
Esports (Read This Before You Count On It)
The earlier version of this piece treated esports as a growth story, and that framing is now wrong. Anyone counting on it should have a backup funding plan. Miami University (one of the first varsity collegiate esports programs) shut down in June 2026. Illinois State dissolved its varsity program in May 2025 despite five Overwatch championship appearances.
Saint Louis University closed its program in August 2024. Maryville, UC Irvine, Simpson College, and Northeastern have all cut or restructured. Salt Lake Community College esports lost scholarship access in budget cuts.
High school esports participation is still rising: 30,440 players in 2024-25, up nearly 3,000. But the college side is consolidating, and the widely circulated figures for “number of varsity programs” and “total esports scholarship dollars” trace back to aggregator sites that contradict themselves. If a school offers you esports money, take it. Just don’t build a college funding plan around a sector that’s currently shedding programs.
The Cost Reality Nobody Prices In
The Aspen Institute and Utah State’s Families in Sport Lab put average annual family spending on a child’s primary sport at $1,016 in 2024, up 46% over five years. Their older by-sport breakdown (2018-19 data) had ice hockey at $2,583, skiing at $2,249, field hockey at $2,125, and lacrosse at $1,289, against an all-sport average of $693. Apply the 46% escalation and hockey plausibly runs north of $3,700 a year now. Multiply by eight to ten years of club play and you’ve spent more than the athletic scholarship will ever return.
Travel is the largest line item, not equipment. And there’s no national survey data at all for fencing, rowing, equestrian, or water polo club costs. Aspen’s own State of Play research documents that children from the wealthiest households play their primary sport more frequently than everyone else.
The niche sport advantage is, substantially, a purchased advantage.
Bottom Line
Niche sports still work as an admissions strategy, and the data behind them is better than it’s ever been. Women’s ice hockey, lacrosse, field hockey, and rowing carry real odds advantages. Women’s wrestling, acrobatics and tumbling, stunt, and flag football are the genuinely new openings. These sports only gained NCAA status within the last eighteen months, where the programs exist and the applicant crush hasn’t arrived yet. Those are also the sports where merit and athletic aid are least picked over.
If your kid already loves the sport, the odds above are a genuine edge. If they don’t, there are cheaper ways to build a compelling college application, starting with the extracurriculars that admissions officers actually weigh.
Editor: Ashley Barnett
Reviewed by: Robert Farrington
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