<p>My S really likes Davidson, but I just read a thread how athletics are a big deal and Davidson is more of a scholar-athlete kind of school. This remark makes me a bit concerned about fit. Any thoughts?</p>
<p>I’m not sure I would call athletics a big deal, per se. A lot of people are involved in athletics in some way or another (I’m a Sports Marketing intern, for example, but I can’t even run a quarter of a mile), but it’s not what Davidson’s all about. </p>
<p>Sure, our games are well attended…there’s a large fan base, both from within the school, and from the community.</p>
<p>Sure, there’s a PE requirement (a team sport requirement and two “lifetime” sports).</p>
<p>And sure, there are a lot of athletes here. And almost of all of them are into the academic scene.</p>
<p>But there are plenty of people who never go to games…people, like me, who are not very athletic and take water-skiing and swing dancing for their PEs…and plenty of non-athletes. A huge number of students are athletes, but it’s not a majority, as far as I know.</p>
<p>Don’t worry about this! He’d be fine here whether he likes sports or not :)</p>
<p>Thanks, by the way after I posted this I found another post of yours telling your progression from “no sports” to sports marketing. I just hope for an accepting “do you own thing” atmosphere, not a jock school. Is there even such a thing as a jock school in a small LAC or at this academic level? I’m not sure, but I do know that is not his interest.</p>
<p>Haha yeahhh…I’m not really sure how I got involved with Sports Marketing. I mean, I like it! Lots of perks, lots of free stuff. Plus, two of my good friends did it, and they made it sound very fun. It’s great marketing experience, too. We go out and talk to potential sponsors and plan promotions based on who we think will be at the games. And it’s great creative experience. We have to think of new ways to get people to actually come to all the games. On top of it all, we operate the Student Loyalty program “Wildcat Pride: Come to games, get free stuff. It’s that simple.”</p>
<p>If someone had told me in high school that I would attend more than 100 sporting events in college, I would have laughed and rolled my eyes. I caught on to the basketball scene pretty quickly…when you have someone at your school like Stephen Curry, it’s hard not to. But I can promise that it is very much a “do your own thing” kind of place…people get involved in sports because they choose to. And actually, there are not a lot of “jocks.” A coach could desperately want a student athlete for the team…and then have admissions say no! The athletes have to meet the same standards as every other applicant, because they are here first and foremost to learn. The atmosphere here is surprisingly laid-back. With regards to athletics, as far as I can tell, there’s no pressure to get involved if you don’t want to be.</p>
<p>Let me echo Amplifiar’s comments. My son will be attending Davidson this fall, and was a recruited athlete. But he was pretty adamant about not going to a school with a “jock” culture. He ultimately focused on Davidson and Haverford, and did not follow up the strong interest by the Williams’ coaches, because he thought Davidson and Haverford had a much stronger sense of academics come first – both in admissions and during the college experience. In his first meeting with Coach Andrew, my son was quite struck that the coach spent about 25% of the time on the athletic fit, and about 75% of the time on the academic fit. Davidson may be a Div I athletic program, but the underlying philosophy is very much a Div III “academics come first” attitude. I know this is true for the cross country/track program. My sense is that it is true for the other sports as well.</p>