<p>This may seem like a random question. But I was just curious of how popular Track & Field is at Harvard? Do a lot of people come out and show support or is it over looked by Football and Basketball?</p>
<p>I would like to thank everyone in advance for the info.</p>
<p>At colleges in general almost no one goes to track meets except maybe the close friends of the athletes. And, except for the Yale football game, at Harvard not many even go to the basketball and football games. So if the football team is playing in front of underflow crowds, I can’t imagine that track meets pack the stands very often either.</p>
<p>Thank you coureur. The reason why I asked was because, I never really here anything about track in the ivy leagues other then at Heps. I really want to attend HYS, and school spirit it something that is important to me. So the fact that they HY doesn’t really have much school spirit towards athletics other then the THE GAME is kind of a big disappointment.</p>
<p>*hear
*spirit is something</p>
<p>Wait a minute. I didn’t say Harvard kids have no school spirit. I said that most athletic events are not that well attended. If you are looking for USC or Ohio State-type rabid focus on sports over academics, you won’t find it in the Ivy League. But Ivy league kids love their schools. Just that this love seldom manifests itself by taking off your shirt, painting you face and chest in the school colors, and getting publicly drunk.</p>
<p>If you want to see Ivy League school spirit go to Annenberg (the freshman dining hall) at Harvard on Housing Day when the freshmen are welcomed into their upperclass Houses. You can hear cheering and noise from that halfway across campus. Or visit Dartmouth on any of the several Dartmouth Nights they have each year. At the first Dartmouth Night each autumn they build a huge bonfire and all the freshmen come down wearing t-shirts with their class year on it. They run laps around the bonfire while the upperclassmen cheer and and good-naturedly taunt them with cries of “Worst Class Ever!” These types of events are drenched in school spirit.</p>
<p>And, with the possible exception of the Univ. or Oregon, you are going to be disappointed if you are looking for big crowds at track meets at ANY school. The national popularity of track has declined a lot over the past few decades. I’ve been to a USC meet, and they are not much better attended than Harvard track meets.</p>
<p>No! Haha of course not. I was not expecting anything like USC or Ohio state. I know sports in the ivy league don’t dominate college life in any way possible. I didn’t phrase what I said correctly. What I ment to say is that I love HYS, I was just considering a big track turn out as a perk to the whole experience of those schools. I also play football and Lacrosse. I was just curious of how the support of track would be. I have attended THE GAME and it was quite amazing. I don’t think I have ever seen any thing like that in my life before. I thought it was funny that you mentioned Oregon I briefly looked into Oregon and it didn’t seem like my forte. I’m mostly looking into the schools that I stated because of the amazing academics.</p>
<p>Thank you, for taking the time to answer my question. Do you know anything about Lacrosse at Harvard?</p>
<p>Sorry, I know nothing about Harvard lacrosse.</p>
<p>Lacrosse should have made the NCAAs last year - they got robbed by the selection committee. </p>
<p>If you’re looking for track emphasis in the Ivy League, would Penn be a place to investigate? Hosting the Penn Relays doesn’t necessarily mean that the student body in supportive, but Penn strikes me as the more athletically rah-rah Ivy.</p>
<p>I actually really do like Penn state. And am considering applying there. But like I stated before, I chose the schools I stated, mostly for academics. I was just thinking of big track turn outs as a perk…I know track isn’t that much of a big sport to begin with. Sports will not be the deciding point in where I go to school, unless I’m recruited and am satisfied with the overall school. But thank you for your suggestion. I also completely agree with you man about Lacrosse not making the NCAAs.</p>
<p>Penn refers to University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia), the Ivy.</p>
<p>Penn State is the lower-tiered, larger school in the middle of PA (State College). </p>
<p>Penn is both academically rigorous and has a great track program, hosting the Penn Relays. Cornell has a large track team and academics as well.</p>
<p>Yeah, you want to see a football stadium filled for a track meet, you have to come to the Penn Relays. In Philadelphia, not State College.</p>
<p>@Fauve I’m sorry I didn’t mean to say Penn state. I knew what gadad was referring to. Thank you and JHS for your input, it really is appreciated. I visited Cornell and I didn’t like the vibe for some reason.</p>
<p>Don’t know if you are still following this thread, but I agree with the comments made by the other poster. Do not expect large crowds at college cross country or track meets. If you follow high school track and cross country, you will find that most of the fans are family members and other members of the team. There is generally not a large public audience anywhere. This is even more noticeable at college meets, for a couple of reasons - first, there are few home meets - most of the time, the team is going to be on the road, often out of state. Second, the college kids come from all over the country, and the world, so it is very possible that even the immediate families of the athletes may be unable to attend many, or possible any, of the meets.</p>
<p>But this is not to say that there is no enthusiasm for running. This can vary year to year, but take a look at Harvard’s cross country recruiting class for this fall (2011) and you will see some national and international level stars. They have recruited a 4:01 miler from England, Cotton, who is aiming for his country’s Olympic team, and a 2 time Foot Locker finalist in cross country and Arizona state record holder in the 1600 and 3200 - Orman. These 2 guys, together with a strong returning squad, could change the complexion of the team and make it a very, very exciting place for a fan the next few years. Stay tuned. Go Crimson.</p>
<p>Also, in terms of Ivy League teams, take a look at Princeton. Their mens team preseason national xc ranking is #11 nationally, and they also have some very big star power recruits.</p>
<p>Thanks HarvardXC, I completely forgot about this thread. I looked up both athletes you mentioned and was amazed, they truly are magnificent athletes. XC is not really my thing though. Are you a Harvard student?</p>
<p>
Is the question about playing or being a fan. Harvard plays in the Ivy league so they play Cornell, Princeton, Penn, and Yale every year all of whom are top 20 teams … and this past year they played UMass and Georgetown among their non-league games … a pretty high quality schedule. There home games are at Jordan Field (I think that is a name) which has old astroturf type artificial turf … and they draw a few hundred for most games … it’s certainly easy to get tickets to pretty good games.</p>