Per the same data, Bates and Bowdoin are first and third in terms of the smallest number of students so naturally their percentage of athletes will ratchet up – the same thing applies to Colby, which is also on the small side.
Here are the number of athletes per school as per the USDOE website
Williams: 757
Tufts: 733
Bates: 694
Middlebury: 676
Trinity: 670
Colby: 639
Bowdoin: 624
Wesleyan: 607
Hamilton: 582
Amherst: 552
Conn College: 537
The low numbers for Conn College are explained by the absence of a football team (76 athletes at most NESCACs) and a baseball team (25-30 athletes). Amherst keeps its numbers low by not offering a couple of secondary sports (like skiing and sailing) while Williams’ numbers are high because it competes in more sports than any other NESCAC.
Not sure why the absolute number would matter. The original issue raised was whether the large portion of athletes on campus created a social divide. For that purpose, the percentage is the more relevant number.
It seems like this is a recurring issue of discussion at Bowdoin. If you do a Google search you’ll see it’s led to a couple detailed “reports” and a series of Bowdoin Orient (student paper) features and editorials over the years, some suggesting the division doesn’t exist, others saying it does. At least one of the articles referenced a survey of student perceptions done by a Bowdoin professor that listed the athlete vs. “NARP” (i.e. Non-Athlete Regular Person) divide as the second large point of cultural division after race, though it was still only perceived that way by a minority of the population.
It’s a persistent enough topic there that it it’s fair to say a material minority of the student population believes there is a social divide between athletes and non-athletes. Even more interesting than the Bowdoin Orient articles themselves are the comments sections from current students and alumni, which are more heated than the articles and suggest some people are resentful of the resources athletes get and others are defensive on behalf of the athletes (note the comment section discussion on whether athletes are entitled to better job placement, etc. as an example). As with all such issues, I’m sure a vast majority of students are unfazed by this and get along just fine.
MODERATOR’S NOTE: This thread went way off-topic and I had to delete several bickering posts. I am closing the thread now. I think the OP disappeared, anyway.