Athletics and recreation are an important part of campus life for many students at MIT, and the Institute encourages everyone to participate in some type of athletic program. Instruction is available in a wide variety of sports, many of them good for a lifetime.
Last year, approximately 900 men and women participated in intercollegiate varsity sports while other students, seeking more informal activities, joined club and intramural teams. The popular intramural program regularly attracts more than two-thirds of the undergraduates and a significant number of graduate students. There were more than 1,100 teams with an estimated 12,000 total participants last year. In addition, MIT's sailing program attracts 1,500 students, faculty, staff, and alumni each year, and extends sailing privileges to their families.
MIT sponsors varsity competition for men in baseball, basketball, crew (heavyweight and lightweight), cross country, fencing, football, gymnastics, indoor and outdoor track, lacrosse, skiing, soccer, swimming, tennis, volleyball, water polo, and wrestling. In addition, there are women's varsity teams in basketball, cross country, crew (lightweight and openweight), fencing, field hockey, gymnastics, ice hockey, indoor and outdoor track, lacrosse, sailing, skiing, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, and volleyball. Coeducational varsity opportunities are available in golf, pistol, rifle, sailing, and squash. Men's ice hockey is a club varsity sport.
There are intramural programs in badminton, basketball, bowling, foosball, football, ultimate frisbee, ice hockey, roller hockey, octathon, pentathalon, pool, soccer, softball (slow pitch), squash, table tennis, tennis (individual and team), track, unihoc, volleyball, water polo, and women's triathlon.
There are nearly 40 club sports, including archery, badminton, contemporary dance, figure skating, ultimate frisbee, judo, karate, women's ice hockey, rugby (men and women), graduate soccer, table tennis, cycling, and women's water polo.
MIT's athletic facilities include the Howard W. Johnson Athletics Center (with an indoor track and ice rink), the duPont Athletic Center, Alumni Swimming Pool, Wood Sailing Pavilion, and Pierce Boathouse. The 26-acre Briggs playing fields include the duPont Tennis Courts, nine softball diamonds (two with lights), and a multipurpose synthetic surface. The J. B. Carr Tennis Center includes four indoor plexi-cushion courts. Rockwell Cage was recently renovated to accommodate varsity and intramural basketball, volleyball, and badminton. Steinbrenner Stadium features a 400-meter all-weather track. The Zesiger Sports Fitness Center houses two swimming pools, a health fitness center, international squash courts, and a multipurpose gymnasium.
For information on MIT's Physical Education Requirement, see Undergraduate Education in Part 1.