College campuses are oftentimes bastions of tolerance. But some schools stand above the rest, including multiple sports powerhouses with big fraternity rows.
It is an encouraging sign of our changing times.
Campus Pride recently released its annual list of the 40 most LGBTQ-friendly colleges and universities in the U.S., dispersing the choices among six regions. In order to qualify, Campus Pride says an institution must score the highest percentages in LGBTQ-friendly benchmarks for policies, programs and campus practices.
The Campus Pride Index comprises more than 395 schools.
At Outsports, we profile courageous out college athletes every week, and many of them share stories of experiencing widespread support. They come from conservative institutions such as Brigham Young University and elite liberal enclaves such as Harvard University.
Regardless, they find community.
As a sportswriter, it is heartening to see Campus Pride’s annual list filled with powerhouse sports schools, which celebrate Big 10 football and Pledge Week. Nowadays, they also celebrate LGBTQ inclusion.
Ohio State University, Penn State University, the University of Michigan and University of Kentucky all made the list. An array of schools from power conferences, including Indiana University and Texas Tech, also made the cut.
The full list is below. Check out Campus Pride for the comprehensive breakdown:
Mid-Atlantic Region:
Ithaca College
Rutgers Univeristy
University of Maryland
Lehigh Univeristy
Montclair State University
The Pennsylvania State University
University of Pennsylvania
Princeton University
Midwest Region:
Kansas State University
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Indiana University, Bloomington
University of Wisconsin — Eau Claire
University of Wisconsin — Milwaukee
University of Wisconsin — Green Bay
The Ohio State University
Kenyon College
Kent State University
Augsburg College
Macalester College
Purdue University
University of Michigan — Ann Arbor
New England Region:
Tufts University
University of Massachusetts Amherst
University of Vermont
MIT
Southeast Region:
Guilford College
Northern Kentucky University
Elon University
University of Kentucky
University of Louisville
Southwest Region:
University of Texas at Dallas
Texas Tech University
West Region:
University of Washington
University of Oregon
Portland State University
University of Colorado at Boulder
Southern Oregon University
San Diego State University
Washington State University
Harvey Mudd College
