Thomas More University has kicked off the 2026-27 academic year with the largest student body in its history, surpassing 2,400 students for the first time as the Crestview Hills school notches its third consecutive year of enrollment growth. The new academic year began on August 17, and university officials say the incoming class stands out not just for its size but for where it's coming from and who's showing up.
According to Local 12 News, the incoming class includes 241 student-athletes, students hailing from 20 states and nine countries, and an average GPA of 3.75. Fifty-eight of the new students are graduates of Diocese of Covington and Archdiocese of Cincinnati high schools, according to a news release cited by the station, which also reported that overall enrollment grew 6% from the previous year.
The headline number, however, is graduate enrollment. Full-time graduate student enrollment rose 44% year-over-year for the 2026-27 academic year, according to Thomas More University, with the growth concentrated in the Master of Business Administration, Master of Public Health, and Master of Education programs.
A Multi-Year Push Behind the Numbers
The record headcount isn't happening in isolation. Thomas More officially secured full NCAA Division II membership within the Great Midwest Athletic Conference on September 1, 2025, after completing a required three-year provisional transition, as reported by LINK nky. The Saints had previously competed in NCAA Division III, and the upgrade in athletic status is a factor in the school's ability to recruit student-athletes and raise its regional profile.
The university has also been investing in physical infrastructure to accommodate its growth. In fall 2024, Thomas More opened a new 34,000-square-foot Academic Center to house the Robert W. Plaster College of Business and the Zembrodt Center for Leadership, Entrepreneurship & Innovation, built as part of the university's $30 million capital campaign. Three years ago, the school acquired the adjacent Five Seasons Family Sports Club, a purchase that expanded its total physical acreage by 9% and its facility footprint by 24%, supported by the largest philanthropic gift in school history.
Bundled Fees and Financial Aid Aimed at Retention
Beyond recruitment, Thomas More has retooled how it keeps students enrolled once they arrive. For the 2025-26 academic year, the university introduced a program called Saints Essentials, which bundles dining, parking, campus transportation, and fitness center access into tuition without additional fees, according to the Northern Kentucky Tribune. The bundle has helped increase spring-to-fall persistence to 85%, the outlet reported.
Financial aid also plays a role in drawing students from the region's Catholic school network. The university offers a Parochial Promise award worth up to $14,000 for qualifying graduates of parochial high schools who meet a minimum 2.5 GPA requirement, a mechanism that helps explain why incoming classes routinely draw heavily from Cincinnati and Covington diocesan schools.
Kentucky's Private Colleges Outpace National Trends
Thomas More's growth is unfolding against a broader statewide backdrop. Data published in February 2026 by the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education showed undergraduate enrollment at the state's independent private colleges grew 6% from Fall 2024 to Fall 2025, compared with just 1% growth nationally over the same period.
The university also points to outside validation of its long-term value to students. A Georgetown University study on higher education value ranked Thomas More second among all public and private Kentucky institutions for long-term economic return 15 to 40 years after enrollment, based on graduates' long-term earnings data.
Roots Dating to 1921 and a New Strategic Plan
The institution's history stretches back over a century. It was founded in 1921 as Villa Madonna College by the Benedictine Sisters in Covington, relocated to Crestview Hills in 1968 in a move dedicated by President Lyndon B. Johnson, and officially achieved university status on October 1, 2018, per the Northern Kentucky Tribune's reporting at the time.
Entering this academic year, Thomas More also launched a strategic plan called Characteristics of a Saint, built around four pillars: Hospitality, Humility, Service, and Stewardship, the university said. The plan is meant to guide university operations and shape the day-to-day student experience going forward.
Thomas More alumni have shown up in Hoodline's own coverage before. The FBI's new Houston division chief, appointed in January 2024, holds a bachelor's degree in accounting from what was then Thomas More College, and a judge appointed to the Fairfield Municipal Court bench in 2025 earned a bachelor's degree in history from the school in 2001.
