I’m very interested in Dartmouth and was wondering what it’s like being a sports fan at Dartmouth. Whats the most popular sport? Football? Basketball? Hockey? Do lots of students go to home games? Wear green and tailgate etc? I know its D1 but its ivy league and usually towards the bottom of the league in sports
I’m not sure what you are comparing it to, but I’m sure you know that Dartmouth does not have a sports culture comparable to the big D1 schools. But do students go to games? That depends on the sport. Here are some recent attendance numbers - obviously, not all are students.
Football: 5000-6000 (11,000 capacity)
Men’s Basketball: ~800 (2100 capacity)
Women’s Basketball: ~600
Men’s Hockey: ~2400 (4100 capcity)
Women’s Hockey: ~762
Men’s Soccer: ~1000 (1600 capacity)
Women’s Soccer: ~600
Obviously, if the teams are good, the attendance numbers go up. Like most schools, attendance also jumps during homecoming weekend. IMHO, the hockey games are great and there’s something exhilirating about watching a football game on a crisp autumn day in Hanover with ten of your friends, but in no way does life at Dartmouth revolve around sports like it does at some other schools.
Dartmouth students do wear green on game day, but that’s nothing remarkable. Students wear green and Dartmouth gear pretty much all the time.
Tailgating never happens because Memorial Field has no parking lot and if you do happen to own a car, it’s probably sitting a mile away in A-lot. I don’t even think the administration will allow it. If they were planning on going to a game, most students I knew would go to a pre-game party either in the dorms or at fraternity before heading out. Homecoming is a different animal altogether.
Dartmouth is actually quite good at football, baseball, and rugby [men and women – although the men’s team is technically a club team, but one that competes at the D1 level]. Bottom of the league? No. But it is not a rah-rah sports school.
I know its not a rah rah sports school and I don’t mind that, I was mainly wondering are sports something people go to on the weekends or is the social scene focused on other things
More focused on other things, although the hockey games can draw a fun crowd.
Thanks!