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University of Pennsylvania - Athletics - Athletics - College ProwlerCollege Prowler2.69

Athletics

C+
Where does this grade come from?View all Athletics rankingsReview this school to add your opinion

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Quick Stats

Athletic Association
  • NAA
  • NCAA
Athletic Division NCAA Division I-AA
Athletic Conferences Football: Ivy Group
Basketball: Ivy Group
School Colors Crimson and navy
School Nickname Quaker
Men Playing Varsity Sports 572 - 12%
Women Playing Varsity Sports 350 - 7%

Student Author OverviewWhat's This?

One thing that sets Penn apart from other Ivy League schools is the pretty intense school spirit of the student body. Students usually support the Varsity teams, many of which are among the best in the league. Home football games are heavily attended, and some basketball fans wait in “the line” overnight to get season tickets for the men’s basketball team, which often competes in the NCAA tournament. One important tradition involves frenzied students tearing down the goal posts after a victorious championship football game and throwing them into the Schuylkill River. Penn has had many Ivy League Champion teams including men’s soccer, women’s volleyball, football, and men’s basketball.

Intramural and club sports are participated in relatively widely. Students have the chance to compete in a wide selection of sports. Club sports are taken seriously by those involved, while intramural athletes, while often extremely competitive, tend to have a more laid-back practicing and training schedule. Anyone can start an intramural team simply by recruiting a specified number of people and registering the squad. And it’s hard to forget the Penn Relays, the largest track event in the world. This event attracts huge crowds of people from all over the country and top track stars from the nation’s high schools, colleges, and even the Olympic team. Penn athletics provides impressive facilities, most noticeably the Pottruck Fitness center, and ample opportunity for absolutely everyone to participate as both an athlete and a spirited fan.

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Penn Student ReviewsWhat's This?

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Athletics at University of Pennsylvania

emkelly2015

Marketing '15

4.2
A-

Athletics at Penn

BASKETBALL!!! The basketball here has suddenly become very big, as we did so well this year. Many people go to games (making up for the lack of attendees at our football games... ouch) to cheer on the Quakers. As a freshman, it was a great way to get into the spirit of the school. Other sports are actually quite good here as well, though many people don't know about them. The gymnastics team won a big championship here this year, as well as a few other sports teams. But if you were to pick the biggest spectator sport here - you'd hear BASKETBALL from everyone who fills the palestra every weekend during basketball season.

Mar 15, 2012

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Athletics at University of Pennsylvania

laurabus

Neuroscience '14

4.2
A-

Sports Are Fun but Not Central

There is a good amount of support for sports teams, and there are lots of great traditions.

Apr 04, 2011

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Athletics at University of Pennsylvania

janessap

Social Sciences '12

3.1
B-

Hardly Any School Spirit

UPenn is not really a sport school. Homecoming is the hilight of the year when everyone gets to throw toast on the filed. The Penn relays are also held there in the spring which brings people from all over the country. But other than that, Penn students are not so into sports.

Jul 28, 2010

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Page 1 of 8
User rating for University of Pennsylvania - Athletics is 3.5 out of 5 based on 22 user reviews.

Student Survey Poll ResultsWhat's This?

How popular are varsity sports on campus?

How popular are intramurals and club sports?

How would you describe the athletic facilities?

Facts

Men's Varsity Sports
  • Baseball
  • Basketball
  • Fencing
  • Football
  • Golf
  • Lacrosse
  • Other sports
  • Rowing
  • Soccer
  • Squash
  • Swimming and diving
  • Tennis
  • Track and field
  • Wrestling
Women's Varsity Sports
  • Basketball
  • Fencing
  • Field hockey
  • Golf
  • Gymnastics
  • Lacrosse
  • Rowing
  • Soccer
  • Softball
  • Squash
  • Swimming and diving
  • Tennis
  • Track and field
  • Volleyball
Intramurals
  • Basketball
  • Flag football
  • Soccer
  • Tennis
  • Volleyball
Club Sports
  • Aikido
  • Badminton
  • Baseball
  • Basketball (women’s)
  • Climbing
  • Cricket
  • Curling
  • Cycling
  • Equestrian
  • Field hockey
  • Figure skating
  • Golf
  • Gymnastics
  • Ice hockey (men’s, women's)
  • Lacrosse (men’s, women’s)
  • Ping-pong
  • Roller hockey
  • Rugby (men’s, women’s)
  • Running
  • Sailing
  • Ski team
  • Soccer (men’s and women’s)
  • Squash
  • Swimming (coed)
  • Synchronized swimming
  • Tae Kwon Do
  • Tennis (men’s, women’s)
  • Ultimate Frisbee (men’s, women’s)
  • Volleyball (men’s, women’s)
  • Water polo (men's, women's)
Athletic Fields & Facilities
  • Boathouse Row
  • Class of 1923 Ice Rink
  • David Pottruck Health and Fitness Center
  • Franklin Field
  • Hutchinson Gymnasium
  • Levy Tennis Pavilion
  • Lott Tennis Courts
  • Meiklejohn Stadium
  • The Palestra
  • Penn Park
  • Rhodes Field
  • Ringe Squash Courts
  • Robert A. Fox Fitness Center
  • Sheerr Pool
  • Warren Field
  • Weiss Weight Room & Hollenback Weight Room

Most Popular Sports

For an Ivy League school, most of our teams are incredible. One of the best is the basketball team. Season tickets often sell out extremely quickly, and home games always draw high attendance. In recent years, men’s basketball is the only Penn sport whose team has reached the NCAA tournament. Additionally, Penn regularly, though not always, finishes first among the Ivy Leagues in basketball. The other most popular sport on campus is probably football. The first game of the season and the Homecoming game usually attract large crowds. However, team spirit is usually lacking beyond these two games. Students often wish that football were a bigger part of student spirit. Soccer, volleyball, tennis, and a slew of other sports are also present at Penn. In fact, Penn’s men’s soccer team became 2008 Ivy league champions.

Most Overlooked Teams

In fall 2002, men’s soccer beat Seton Hall in the NCAA tournament’s first round to earn a place as one of the top 20 soccer programs in the country. The team won the Ivy League championship outright last year, proving itself to be just as much, if not more, of a force as its more popular counterparts, basketball and football. With a growing fan base and no signs of slowing down as a emerging power in the near future, hopefully men’s soccer will attract the crowd that it deserves.

School Spirit

School spirit is somewhat strong at Penn, especially at sporting events. The pinnacle of students’ spirit is shown at the Penn vs. Princeton basketball game, where our long rivalry with the Princeton basketball team is displayed with chants and banners bearing clever anti-Princeton slogans. A popular T-shirt around campus is one that proclaims “Puck Frinceton.” Even outside of the basketball season, students can constantly be seen wearing Penn paraphernalia and bringing high school friends by to partake in the Penn experience that students seem to enjoy so thoroughly. Nevertheless, there are those who moan that sports do not play a large enough role in campus life.

Getting Tickets

Many games, including football, are free. Basketball is the most popular sport that requires ticket purchases. Individual tickets are about $5, but avid fans wait on “the line” to get first choice of season tickets at a discounted rate. The facilities for popular sports are big enough that they rarely, if ever, sell out, so you can always show up the night of the game and join in Quaker pride!

Best Place to Take a Walk

The Bio pond

Did You Know?
  • Penn coach John Heisman is the name-sake for the Heisman Trophy.
  • Penn was the first team in the United States to use numbers on its jerseys.
  • Penn played in the first commercially-televised football game.
  • Penn was the first American college campus with an outdoor swimming pool.

Become a Contributing Author Learn more »

Most Recent Student Author View all

Name
Perry Petra-Wong
Hometown
Pasadena, Calif.
Major
Philosophy, Politics, and Economics

College Prowler is seeking talented student authors to assist with writing and updating the College Prowler guides to their schools. This is a great opportunity for a student to gain experience and tremendous exposure, utilize new media techniques, and share advice with high school students about what life is really like at your college.

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How do we get our information? Find out here or report an error here. The statistics on our site are from the National Center for Education Statistics IPEDS database.
We update this information twice annually, most recently in May 2012, but it may not be the most recent information available for a particular school.
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