Student Life

Brains. Brawn. Brown.

Intercollegiate Sports Program

Brown has a strong and well-renowned NCAA Division I intercollegiate sports program for both men and women. In keeping with the promise to provide our students with the full range of educational opportunities, we offer 37 varsity sports -17 for men and 20 for women. Brown teams and individual athletes are often ranked among the best in the nation and frequently compete in NCAA Championships. The athletics program has been named to the College Sports Honor Roll as one of the nation's top 20 athletic programs by U.S. News and World Report.  For more information on our varsity sports, visit the Brown Bears site.

However, our athletic program does not end with Division I competition. Whether you were picked first, last, or somewhere in between in gym class, the athletic department at Brown has a place for you. Here are some of our other offerings:

Recreation
This is the least structured level in the athletic program and includes the use of various athletic facilities for play, recreation, and exercise. Good for settling debates with a game of H.O.R.S.E.

Physical Education
This level consists of skill-teaching activities taught by qualified instructors. Courses in the past have included yoga, kickboxing, aerobics, aquatic programs, self-defense, aikido, and tennis. Good for working off that plate of late-night cheese fries.

Intramurals
For those students not interested in varsity sports, but still interested in crushing the competition on campus, we offer a wide variety of informal options. Current teams include flag football, soccer, basketball, softball, ice hockey, volleyball, ultimate frisbee, tennis, squash, and, of course, horseshoes. Good for releasing stress by body-checking your opponen

Club Sports
This level of team sport moves off-campus to a competitive intercollegiate schedule. With the help of coaches and advisors, club sports are a great option for the more committed athlete. Good for telling your kids that you played "college ball."

Facilities
Brown's 57 acres of sports areas include Brown Stadium, squash and handball courts, an outdoor all-weather track, Meehan Auditorium for hockey, 14 tennis courts, and numerous playing fields.

The multi-level Olney-Margolies Athletic Center houses basketball, tennis, and volleyball courts; a six-lane, 200-meter Cal-track; weight training rooms; locker rooms; and even an artificially surfaced rooftop playing field.

The Paul Bailey Pizzitola Memorial Sports Center provides Brown with an intercollegiate sports facility equal to any multi-purpose athletic facility in the Ivy League. The center is the home for men's and women's basketball, volleyball, wrestling, and gymnastics and has bleacher and balcony seating for 2,800. The building also features a 4,000-square-foot weight room and five state-of-the-art squash courts with spectator seating for 200.