California Institute of Technology
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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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Athletics at California Institute of Technology

emartin

Computer Science '15

0.0

F

Not Much Support

Students are generally too busy and uninterested to come to sporting events, and a perpetually losing team doesn't help. About 5 or 10 people show up for most home sporting events.

Mar 11, 2012

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Athletics at California Institute of Technology

lampochka

Epidemiology '10

2.3

C

If You Want to Be in a Sport, No One Will Stop You

If you're willing to show up and participate, a team won't turn you away. The quality is not very high, but it's a friendly environment. The gym is nice, we have a good training staff, and the coaches are quite good. Fan support is lacking. There is no women's soccer team, though women can play on the male-dominated co-ed team.

Sep 29, 2011

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Athletics at California Institute of Technology

Anonymous

Caltech Student

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.

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