Athletics
MIT’s students harbor amazing stores of energy: intellectual energy, of course, but also creative, social, and in most cases, athletic energy. Well over half of first-year students each year arrive having played at least one varsity sport in high school, and that interest persists once they come. Overall, more than four-fifths of undergraduates engage in sports or recreation in some form — and our grad student body isn’t far behind.
Key features of today’s athletics program include:
- 41 varsity sports;
- 21 intramural sports programs that collectively engage in about 2,000 competitions each year;
- a host of club offerings; and
- a required physical education/wellness/outdoor education program.
In response to mounting student demand, along with growing competition among top universities focused around non-academic opportunities for students, MIT maintains a reasonable level of emphasis on athletics. (The Institute gives no athletic scholarships and makes no special admissions provisions for the athletically gifted.) Going forward, the Institute’s plans for its athletics program are to —
- Encourage student participation in varsity sports, clubs, intramurals, and recreation;
- provide opportunities for excellence in varsity sports that will attract and nurture premier student athletes;
- give students relief from academic pressure so as to enhance mental alertness and well-being; and
- teach students valuable work and life skills like teamwork, persistence, and leadership through sports.
To make an immediate impact on athletics at MIT and support DAPER’s funding priorities, consider directing your gift to one of the DAPER funds listed below.
To discuss a special gift to MIT’s athletic programs, please contact Candace L. Royer, senior associate dean for student life, at clroyer@mit.edu or 617.253.0153.
Or, search or browse for a gift designation that more closely suits your objectives ....
Aquatic lifestyle
Lindsey Sheehan
Does MIT undergrad Lindsey Sheehan like the water? You might say so.
A distance competitor for the women’s varsity swim team, she also
plays on the women’s club water polo team and performs with (and coaches)
a synchronized swimming group. Sheehan, a California native, lifeguards
10 hours a week, too.
The Zesiger Sports and Fitness Center has seen a doubling of student involvement
in swimming and other forms of recreation since it opened in 2002, and Sheehan’s
among the Center’s admirers.
“It’s great,” she says, adding that there’s more
to the story than simply the facilities themselves. “The staff are
really nice,” she notes. “It’s a good place to deal with
the pressures you face at MIT.”
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