A Dartmouth student or graduate has competed in every Winter Olympics since their inception in 1924. Dartmouth graduates include the likes of professional athletes like Cincinnati Bengals football standout Reggie Williams '76 and current Pittsburgh Pirates baseball slugger Mark Johnson '90.
The College may not produce professional athletes at the same rate as Notre Dame or the University of Florida, but the College is still held by many to be a "jock school."
Dartmouth was ranked the nation's top jock school by the 1997 edition of the Princeton Review guide to the top colleges. Two weeks ago, Sports Illustrated magazine ranked Dartmouth the "best school" in America for winter sports. Fall term, YM magazine pronounced Dartmouth the top school to find an "intellectual jock."
Dartmouth students were once viewed as rugged North Country individualists. Something of that lumberjack stereotype remains in the new perception of the Dartmouth student as a scholar athlete.
As a stroll across campus reveals, there is truth to the stereotype: The tennis team is practicing. There's a pick-up soccer game on the Green. Joggers are everywhere. Kresge weight room is crowded. The track team is streaking the Green.
Dartmouth alumni hardly fill the ranks of the National Football League or the National Basketball Association, but most students would feel out of place if they were out of shape.
Bookworms or scholar-athletes?
Three-fourths of Dartmouth students participate in intercollegiate, intramural or club sports, according to Barron's Top 50 college guide.
More than 1,000 students compete in intramural athletics. Fifteen percent of the Class of 2000 were recruited athletes. And up to 500 people use Alumni Gym every single day.
These numbers are evidence of Dartmouth students' commitment to athletics. But even more striking than the statistics is Dartmouth's reputation as a jock school -- a reputation that may be sometimes exaggerated in the media.
The belief that Dartmouth is a jock school is particularly strong among students at other colleges, particularly those where athletics play a lesser role.
Harvard junior Alan Leo said Harvard students care less about athletics than Dartmouth students, even though Harvard has more varsity teams than any other Ivy League school.
"The people I know who have gone to Dartmouth have played some sports and still do," he said.
Yen Cheong, a junior at Yale University, agreed with some common stereotypes about Dartmouth.
"Dartmouth people drink more, and their football team is better known than Yale's," she said.
But many students here at the College think Dartmouth athletics have been overplayed by the television and news media.
"Maybe [Dartmouth's] more of a jock school than Harvard or Yale," Ryan Evans '00 said, "But it's not got much of a reputation" for athletics.
Lacrosse recruit David Maher '99 said that when he was applying to colleges, he thought Dartmouth students were more concerned with books than with athletics.
"The tendency is to think of students working in the library," when one thinks of Dartmouth, he said.
Luis Corella '00 agreed that people think of Dartmouth students as bookworms.
"Because it is an Ivy, people view it as nerdy," he said.
Andrew Erickson '00, a recruited athlete, had the opposite opinion. When he applied to Dartmouth, he said he noticed it "seemed like a more Division I school [than the other Ivies]."
College Athletic Director Dick Jaeger said Dartmouth's location has added to its image as a rugged, athletic school.
"There's a lot of spirit, a lot of pride here," he said. "There's a robust flavor to the place because we're in the North Country and we're outdoors."
The sporting life
The sporting life keeps Dartmouth students busy, and it is not just because of the three-term physical education requirement. Many students simply find it hard to sit still.
Erin Miller '00 is not unusual. She has played intramural hockey in the B league and on a co-ed team, she ice skates on Occom Pond, she shoots skeet and she plans to try out for cheerleading this fall.
Students at Dartmouth can never be too busy to take some time out for exercise, Bryan Farrow '97 said.
"With the exception of one or two nights a week when I have too much work I will do 100 sit-ups at around 11 p.m.," he said, asking the reporter to punch him in the stomach.
For some students, athletics are a crucial part of life.
Varsity diver Sarah Hobson '97, a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, said her Dartmouth career would have been very different without the hours she spent in the pool.
"I think being part of my team has given me an immense sense of identity," Hobson said. "That was really important to me."
Sara Zrike '99, who takes aerobics classes and coaches several local teams, said athletics are important to Dartmouth students, but they do not "overtake life" at the College.
Other students agree there is more to life at the College than varsity athletics.
"Dartmouth students work hard and play hard," Cynthia Anderson '99 said. "Athletics is a part of being a well-rounded person."
The "scholar-athlete" prototype is an accurate portrayal of most Dartmouth students. Some say it is even easier to be a scholar if you are an athlete.
Jaeger said sports teach students "things about themselves that can apply to academics. They give students some balance in life."
Hobson said sports and academics go hand in hand.
Athletics "really helps people organize their time better," Hobson said. "The success you get in athletics carries over to academic success."
But athletics and academics are not always so easy to reconcile.
Some student athletes said faculty can lack sympathy for their busy schedules.
"I play hockey, and some faculty aren't as accommodating as others are," Jon Sturgis '98 said. "There's some support but not total."
College Trustee David Shribman said Dartmouth provides opportunities for athletic students, but he said academics comes first.
"If you want to do 'jockish' kinds of things at Dartmouth, we won't make it difficult, and we've always valued athleticism in an academic context and setting," Shribman said. "We don't have 'jock' dorms and we don't have a 'jock' ethic."
In the spirit of the well-rounded College student, some recruited athletes forego sports their first year at the College to experiment with other activities.
"I came here to play lacrosse," Maher said. But he said he has learned more than how to improve his game while a student at the College.
"There's so many different organizations," he said. "You explore so many different avenues."
But not every Dartmouth student runs Rip Road or swims laps on the weekends.
Mary Brown '98, who is not involved in athletics, said she does not feel out of place at the College.
"I haven't felt like my life had no meaning or I was involved in activities nobody cared about," Brown said.
Kieron Scrutton, a student participating in an exchange program with Edinburgh University in Scotland this term, said students will feel at home at Dartmouth regardless of their athletic talent.
"You have to have an interest," he said. "It might be theater and it could be art."
Attracting athletes
So how does a school with barely 4,000 undergraduates become a bastion of athleticism?
Dean of Admissions Karl Furstenburg said some of Dartmouth's success attracting student athletes can be explained by the College's traditions and culture. "We've always been quite successful in athletics," Furstenburg said. Dartmouth athletics "have more of a reputation than other Ivies," he added.
He speculated that the College's small size and isolated location make athletics more visible at Dartmouth than at other Ivies.
"We are the smallest institution in the Ivy league, but we have a very large number of sports," Furstenburg said. Cornell and the University of Pennsylvania "have the same number of sports and a student body twice as large," he said.
The number of opportunities for athletic students, including the College's 34 intercollegiate sports, is also an attraction for many student-athletes.
The College also has a number of athletic venues and facilities befitting a so-called "jock school." These include a "fitness center, squash and racquetball courts, a dance studio, a 5,000-seat arena, gymnasium, a 21,000-seat football stadium, a boathouse, indoor and outdoor tennis courts, a golf course, a ski slope with three chairlifts and a riding farm," according to Barron's college guide.
But Director of Sports Information Kathy Slattery said students do not choose Dartmouth solely because of its reputation as a sports powerhouse or because of its athletic facilities.
"Students at Dartmouth want the best of athletics and academics," she said. "You don't necessarily get that at Notre Dame."
Scott Fraser '94, who played for the Dartmouth men's ice hockey team and currently skates for the International Hockey League's Carolina Monarchs, said he chose to attend Dartmouth for reasons other than athletics.
"Anywhere I went I'd get a good, solid hockey foundation," he said. "I was looking for a school that suited my personality. I liked the academics, social life and fraternity system."
The Great Outdoors
Of course, there are more ways to be athletic than lifting weights or shooting hoops.
Hundreds of students break a sweat every week hiking, biking, rock climbing or skiing in the New Hampshire wilderness. Most students get a taste of the wilder side of Dartmouth sports during their Dartmouth Outing Club trips.
John Foulks '99 said his expert hiking trip inspired him to continue to participate on other DOC trips. Foulks said he has participated in the DOC's annual 50 mile hike -- a 29-hour trek from Hanover to Mt. Moosilauke.
Scrutton said he came to Hanover expecting to get up close and personal with nature.
"That's why people are here," said Scrutton, a member of the Ledyard Canoe Club. "They're out in the middle of nowhere because they want to get out and do things."
