Rowing is the oldest intercollegiate sport in the United States. However, rowers comprise only 2.2% of total college athletes. This may be in part because of the status of rowing as an amateur sport and lack of access of many universities to suitable bodies of water. In the 2002-03 school year there were 1,712 male and 6,690 female collegiate rowers. Women’s college rowing is an National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) sanctioned sport, whereas men’s is not.