<p>I've seen many threads related to who has the most school spirit, etc. But are there any schools that play Div 3 sports where the students exhibit a lot of school spirit? Ones where people go to football games and have fun?</p>
<p>Also, is it possible to play 2 sports in the Ivy league, or is that just something D3 schools like?</p>
<p>I’d think Willams would meet those criteria.</p>
<p>Thank you. Is Williams it? Any other suggestions?</p>
<p>I’ve heard people say that Middlebury and Dartmouth have a lot of school spirit</p>
<p>Dartmouth isn’t D3</p>
<p>Trinity College in Ct</p>
<p>I would think that Mount Union or Wisconsin-Whitewater would have large followings due to their unparalleled success in DIII Football.</p>
<p>Mount Union and Wiscy-Whitewater are INSANE.</p>
<p>Wabash College and Williams College are the only DIII schools on the Princeton Review list for “Students Pack The Stadiums”</p>
<p>Gustavus Adolphus just got a nice new stadium… have an all-american safety and new coach. Ranked top 10 in best food on campus for several years. All the people I know there have tons of school spirit</p>
<p>WUSTL for sure. Not football, but basketball (DIII champions last two years) and volleyball (9 titles, the most in DIII) attract a very decent following.</p>
<p>Wabash in Indiana (all guys school) for sure.</p>
<p>I assume that by “school spirit” you are referring to high attendance at school sports events, with lots of enthusiastic cheering for the team. If you enjoy this experience, why not look for good schools that have nationally-ranked D1 teams?</p>
<p>I want to play sports, and I’m more of a D3 player. I assume there HAS to be some D3 schools where the students go to the games and there is a lot of school spirit. Any other suggestions?</p>
<p>Caity,
While many Div III and Ivy colleges will claim a high degree of school spirit, rarely is this going to be evidenced in student/fan support at football and basketball games. The experience is significantly less than what you’d find at places like Stanford, Duke, Northwestern, Rice, Vanderbilt and Notre Dame. </p>
<p>I have done several threads documenting attendance at football games of highly ranked colleges. The statistical evidence is overwhelming that the fan support at D III and Ivy football and basketball games is weak. While I didn’t collect data on LACs, I would expect their experience to be similar the D III national universities listed below. </p>
<p>Below are the facts for football (the numbers are similarly wide for men’s & women’s basketball). Please note that Harvard-Yale game was at Harvard last year (31k attendance) and that boosts their number significantly. The other games averaged in the low to mid-teens. </p>
<p>Avg Home Attendance , Season Home Attendance , College</p>
<p>17360 , 86,802 , HARVARD
13839 , 55,354 , YALE
11284 , 56,420 , U PENN
9384 , 46,918 , PRINCETON
7089 , 35,443 , BROWN
7075 , 35,375 , CORNELL
5136 , 25,682 , DARTMOUTH
3827 , 19,136 , COLUMBIA</p>
<p>2047 , 8,189 , CARNEGIE MELLON
1900 , 7,600 , TUFTS
1229 , 4,915 , U CHICAGO
1217 , 7,302 , WASH U
960 , 4,800 , JOHNS HOPKINS
683 , 3,415 , MIT</p>
<p>80795 , 484,770 , NOTRE DAME
38294 , 229,761 , VANDERBILT
34258 , 171,292 , STANFORD
28590 , 200,132 , NORTHWESTERN
28462 , 170,769 , DUKE
17108 , 85,540 , RICE</p>
<p>Having said all of the above, many of these same schools still engender strong feelings of loyalty to the school and theei alumni giving rates generally reflect this. Surely you know that school spirit is not always measured in terms of athletics and fan support, but if that is what you are looking for and on a level anything like what you’ve seen at nationally competitive Division I colleges, you’re unlikely to find it at the D III colleges and the Ivies.</p>
<p>As for college selections, it’s hard to make suggestions without knowing your profile.</p>
<p>That’s good information.</p>
<p>But, are there schools like Hampden-Sydney. They have under 1000 students, yet the stadium is packed for games. All the students go. All the parents, and locals come up and it’s a big party. They get bands for after that students, parents, alumni all go to. It’s a fun community event. Even though it’s probably not high numbers.</p>
<p>Any schools like that?</p>
<p>caity,
Sorry, but I don’t know anything about Hampdon Sydney except that it is all male. I would guess that this has something to do with their athletic scene being more energetic than what one would find at most D III schools. From the way you describe it, sounds like a fun time. </p>
<p>Possibly the military academies would have something similar, but I suspect that is not the direction you’re considering. </p>
<p>I’ll be interested to see if others can come up with good suggestions for you as the athletic scene is one of my favorite topics as I know that this can be an important part of the undergraduate (and alumni) scene for many people. Good luck.</p>
<p>Colorado College (USNWR #24 LAC) is one of the schools on the Princeton Review’s “Everyone Plays Intramural Sports” list. It also has 2 D1 sports teams, men’s ice hockey and women’s soccer. I do not have the attendance figures but my impression is that the hockey team especially generates a lot of enthusiasm and is well supported. This is not exactly a rah-rah school where intercollegiate sports are a major center of social life, but it does attract athletic, outdoorsy kids. </p>
<p>Schools with a somewhat similar culture/spirit might include Middlebury or Dartmouth.
Check out other academically strong “EPIS” schools (Whitman?) to see if they have any D1 teams or other evidence of a strong athletic program. You might want to think about winter sports, which have a different culture than stadium & arena sports but are social, fun, and good for life-long participation. I mean, 15 years from now maybe you can play touch football or pick-up basketball with your spouse and kids, but skiing is at another level of excitement.</p>