Athletic Center
This complex has been renovated frequently over the years to improve the facilities in ways that benefit both Amherst’s student-athletes and the college community as a whole. The most recent $13.4 million renovation included the addition of the 8,000-square-foot Wolff Fitness Center. With a full range of cardiovascular, weight, and exercise equipment, the fitness center is widely regarded as the best such facility in the NESCAC (New England Small College Athletic Conference). LeFrak Gymnasium is the structure with the peaked roof. In between is Pratt Pool, while Alumni Gymnasium lies farthest to the west. Peeking above Alumni Gym is the glass roof of Coolidge Cage, an indoor training facility for field sports, tennis, and track-and-field. At the southern end of the complex is Orr Rink.
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Athletics
Health & Wellbeing
⭐ Athletics
Amherst College educates men and women of exceptional potential from all backgrounds so that they may seek, value, and advance knowledge, engage the world around them, and lead principled lives of consequence. The Department of Physical Education and Athletics promotes this mission through the offering of recreational, intramural, club and intercollegiate activities that encourage students to shape their education within and beyond the curriculum. Academic excellence, high ethical standards, good sportsmanship and equal opportunities are the foundations of the Department’s commitment to the health and well-being of the students and of the greater campus community.
Stats
Amherst College has the oldest athletics program in the nation, dating back to a compulsory physical fitness regimen that was put in place for all students in 1860. Today, over a third of the student body participates in varsity sports with eighty percent involved in intramural and club sports teams. The school has 27 intercollegiate sports teams.
Amherst College student-athletes have successfully blended academics and athletics for decades. In addition to capturing 13 NCAA Division III team championships - including 11 in the past 10 years - and 80 NCAA individual titles, Amherst has earned 35 Academic All-America selections, including 17 since 2010.
Amherst College student-athletes have successfully blended academics and athletics for decades. In addition to capturing 13 NCAA Division III team championships - including 11 in the past 10 years - and 80 NCAA individual titles, Amherst has earned 35 Academic All-America selections, including 17 since 2010.
Division III
One of about 450 members of the NCAA’s Division III, Amherst student-athletes compete for the love of the game. The college experience is a time of learning and growth a chance to follow passions and develop potential. For student-athletes in Division III, all of this happens most importantly in the classroom and through earning an academic degree. The Division III experience provides for passionate participation in a competitive athletic environment, where student-athletes push themselves to excellence and build upon their academic success. And student-athletes are encouraged to pursue the full spectrum of opportunities available during their time in college. In this way, DIII provides an integrated environment for student-athletes to take responsibility for their own paths, follow their passions and find their potential through a comprehensive educational experience.
New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC)
Amherst College belongs to the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC), which includes Bates, Bowdoin, Colby, Connecticut College, Hamilton, Middlebury, Trinity, Tufts, Wesleyan and Williams College. Amherst is also a member of the “Little Three,” an unofficial athletic conference comprised of rivals Williams and Wesleyan.
Club & Intramurals
Amherst fields several club athletic teams, including rugby, soccer, wrestling, water polo, ultimate, crew, fencing, sailing and skiing. Intramural sports include tennis, golf, basketball, volleyball and softball.
⭐ Health & Wellbeing
We envision a college in which all students thrive, are ready to learn, and are capable of their best performance. We can help you sustain yourself intellectually, emotionally, physically, spiritually, and socially. With a strong foundation of wellbeing, you can use your talents to contribute to your community and to the world.
Counseling Center
The Amherst College Counseling Center provides effective, brief mental health treatment to students, using a variety of modes of care including individual and group counseling, psychiatry, case management, urgent care, and 24/7 crisis phone counseling. They also provide consultation, training, and mental health promotion and prevention services to all Amherst College community members to create and enhance psychological wellbeing.
Wellness & Lifetime Fitness
Reduce your stress level in a yoga class. Sweat out a HIIT class. Cool off with a swim. Get strong in our state-of-the-art Wolff Fitness Center and gymnasium. Amherst offers all variety of classes, training, equipment and more—to nourish your body as well as your mind.
Health Center
The staff at the Health Center are committed to integrating primary prevention with clinical health services. In addition to the treatment of acute and chronic conditions, the Health Center takes a primary role in the coordination of care for our students including initiation of referrals as needed and collaboration with other departments on campus. Staff members at the Health Center recognize that each student is an individual and will be uniquely impacted by physical, emotional, social and environmental factors. They strive to incorporate these factors into the health care and educational programming we provide. Through collaboration with the Counseling Center and Sports Medicine, as well as various other departments, they advocate for a healthy campus community.