California Institute of Technology - Athletics

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College Prowler Take

Contrary to popular belief, Caltech does have an athletics department. Though Caltech may not have a football team, there are numerous school sports for men and women, intercollegiate and intramural. The difference here is that sports are rarely a high priority. This can be advantageous because those who are on the sports teams play for fun, and there is not much pressure to win. The school allots two hours a day when no classes are scheduled, so students who play sports do not have to choose between classes or sports. Also, it is very easy to get on a team at Caltech. Tryouts are almost nonexistent. Anyone who wants to play can do so because a lot of teams do not have enough students, and other teams don’t mind having lots of backup players. The other advantage of such a low-key system is that sporting events are always free. Sports at Caltech are available for an outlet to the pressure built up from academic tension, not as another source of stress.

The downside is that sometimes students who want to win a lot of games and go to playoffs don’t have the opportunity or the time. Some students who come here leave a highly competitive environment and give up their sports for the academic excellence Caltech offers. There are many students here who would devote themselves more to athletics if they had the time, but they don’t. Most Caltech students wisely choose homework before practice. So, in the case of a time crunch, academics come before all else.

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Students Speak Out

Anonymous says:

We’re NCAA Division III. In other... We’re NCAA Division III. In other words, sports really aren’t a big deal. It’s a big thing if any of our teams goes over .500, but if you’re interested in playing varsity sports, for most teams, anybody can join. Since we’re such a small school, the teams are looking for players whether you’ve even played the sport before or not. 12345 Athletics Report

Anonymous says:

Most major sports are played in... Most major sports are played in interhouse competitions. Each of the seven houses has athletic managers which manage the houses’ teams and organizes sporting events. As one of the current athletic managers, I can tell you that getting people to play is sometimes a challenge, but once the games get going, it’s a lot of fun. 12345 Athletics Report

Anonymous says:

Well, if you came to Caltech for... Well, if you came to Caltech for the sports, you came for the wrong reason. Caltech has really bad sports teams. However, this means that you can play any sport you want for the Caltech team. This is the only school I know where you can do this. Interhouse sports are fun and pretty easy going. 12345 Athletics Report

Anonymous says:

Sports here suck. Caltech sucks at... Sports here suck. Caltech sucks at intercollegiate sports, but the people on the sports teams sure seem like they train hard. Table tennis is on the rise, and Caltech is at a competitive level across the nation when it comes to table tennis. 12345 Athletics Report

Anonymous says:

Most teams aren’t that... Most teams aren’t that athletically talented. Interhouse sports are a lot of fun. When I was on the ultimate Frisbee team, it was very disorganized but a lot of fun. 12345 Athletics Report

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