Northeastern gets mixed reviews on this one. The positives are that we have strong, thriving fan communities for certain sports, such as hockey and basketball. We treat our student athletes extremely well, with lots of swag, perks and academic resources. Our athlete training facilities aren't huge, but they are quite new and high quality. Northeastern also has some very competitive sports, especially hockey (D1!!!) For non-competitive sports, we have a strong and varied intramural and club sports offering. This is a way for non-serious athletes to do sports in a social environment, and students love it! We even have strange (but hugely popular!) offerings such as Broom-ball and Quidditch!
The negatives of athletics at Northeastern definitely have an effect on the final score. First of all, there is no unifying sports-based school spirit at Northeastern; we are not a school with a strong athletic focus overall. I believe that this can be attributed to the second major issue, NO football program. Northeastern doesn't have a football team, one of THE most important collegiate sports. Football games are a big part of the American tradition, and we lose out on a lot of athletic spirit by not having one. If you're a diehard football fan, not having a team at school to support might be a factor for you. But, otherwise, sports fans, there ARE options at Northeastern to get involved!