Fan base, spirit, facilities, quality of program/ coaches… Which Ivy would be known to be the most athletic?
What sport?
Varsity only or general student body involvement in intramurals?
Are you inquiring as a potential spectator or participant? Overall, Dartmouth probably has the most traditional “school spirit.” Some have been stronger at different varsity sports. Columbia, for instance, has a dominant record in Fencing.
You’d have to research the sport you want to play. It is not a “one size fits all” answer.
Cornell
OP is asking the worst possible question on a forum for kids who are striving to butt their way into Ivies around ED accepted athletes
Honestly, none of them. I know that Harvard’s teams have had some success this past year. But as far as the national level, in my view, the Ivy League doesn’t even seem D1. It pales in comparison to schools like Michigan and Alabama and UCLA for school spirit. If you really want the rah rah school spirit environment and elite academics, head on over to Stanford.
@CaliCash Except, you know, mens hockey (Yale won the natl championship, and multiple ivies are consistently nationally ranked), womens hockey (nationally ranked with olympic champions playing on the teams). That’s just one example off the top of my head. I’d rather not spend more of my time looking up facts about “ivy league sports” without a clear question we’re trying to answer.
When you compare school spirit, you’re also comparing schools with 40,000 students to small 5,000 colleges and saying more people go to Michigan games. And school spirit is what, amount of fans that attend games? Amount of students that attend games? Amount of students as a percentage of student population? How many students on campus wear a sweatshirt with their college name on it? Total merchandise sold worldwide with the college’s name?
Additionally, those schools provide athletic scholarships and the ivy league doesn’t. Just playing a sport well doesn’t give you a free ride. And you should never choose a college based solely on “athleticness” to begin with.
Generic username asks generic questions and the result is generic answers.
You might choose the one that has its athletic facilities the closest to main campus.
@SKTT1Impact “OP is asking the worst possible question on a forum for kids who are striving to butt their way into Ivies around ED accepted athletes”
What exactly are you saying?
@Tank07 The OP seemingly wants that rah rah school spirit atmosphere based on what they asked “strength of program”, “facilities”, and the Ivies pale in comparison to other programs. I also mentioned Stanford. OP should also consider Georgetown, Northwestern, Notre Dame, and Vanderbilt.
Cornell has the biggest marching band…actually, the only true marching band since the other Ivies all have smaller scatter bands. But not too many people go the the football games, and the visitors’ side is completely roped off. Definitely not what you’d find at Stanford, for instance. But if you like ice hockey…Cornell’s Lynah rink is quite the intense experience! ducks a flying halibut
@Tank07 @CaliCash @mdcmom Sorry guys, I should’ve explained better. I am looking to play a sport at one of these schools. I have offers from all the ivies, but am not good enough to play at A stanford or georgetown. Which ivy treats their athletes the best/ puts the most emphasis on sports. In my opinion right now, I would say Cornell is the best (and my top choice so far), along with Pton. Yale and Columbia for example, are much more academically focused as opposed to the athletes getting special treatment/ more respect at Cornell…
One stat I found interesting during my son’s college search: Harvard has more Varsity Intercollegiate teams than any other school in the United States. Of all the #1’s that Harvard has on various lists, I find that one very interesting. Also, @CaliCash although the Ivies may not be competing for #1 in football and basketball, you will find that across the board they field top teams in quite a number of sports at the D! level. Ivy national champions are not uncommon.
It is difficult to answer without knowing which sport. Having said that, I would make your decision based on which school you would like best if you chose not to play the sport in college or had an injury that prevented you from playing (or, say, you only played Freshman year). Also, coaching staffs change, so don’t base it on the coach. What school suits you best based on your academic interests? What geographic location and campus culture is more consistent with your values/interests? Personally I’d prefer Yale or Princeton from a school standpoint, but Cornell and Columbia would be great choices too and reasonable minds could differ in terms of school preference.
In that case, definitely look at what school fits your intended major best. That’s what you’ll be doing for the rest of your life, after all. I’d also try to find out if any of the schools do anything extra to help their athletes manage the time stresses on their academics, but I can’t speak to that myself.