Enjoying Sports and Recreation at Bucknell

Bucknell’s student-athletes are among the finest anywhere.

They bring recognition and honor to the 27 men’s and women’s teams that make up the varsity program. Bucknell competes with top-notch schools in the Patriot League — American, Army, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, and Navy — in NCAA Division I sports.

Bucknell's intercollegiate athletics program has compiled a record that is enviable both for its successes on the playing fields and courts and for the accomplishments of student-athletes in the classroom and laboratory.

• In the 17 years that the Patriot League Presidents’ Cup has been awarded for overall excellence in the 23 league championships, Bucknell has taken the honor 13 times, including nine of the last 10 years.

• According to Federal data released in the fall of 2006 by the NCAA and reported by The Associated Press and The Chronicle of Higher Education, Bucknell’s four-year student-athlete graduation rate was highest in the nation among student-athletes who entered college between the 1996-97 and 1990-2000 academic years. Bucknell was one of four institutions to graduate at least 90 percent of its student-athletes who enrolled during that four-year period. Bucknell posted a 93-percent rate, followed by Davidson (90 percent), Duke (90 percent) and Georgetown (90 percent).

• Bucknell ranks fourth in the nation for the number of student-athletes named to national Academic All-America teams.

Students interested in competitive sports but don’t want the commitment of a varsity program can participate in one of 19 Bucknell club sports, which compete against other regional intercollegiate sports clubs, or in intramural sports (men’s, women’s, and co-recreational teams). A full-time coordinator of recreation services is continually adding new intramural programs such as 4 x 4 sand volleyball and walleyball.

More than 70 percent of our students played varsity sports as high school students, so it’s natural for them to continue playing at some level at Bucknell. Many Bucknell students keep fit by running, swimming, playing tennis or golf, or using the fitness center.

Whatever your interest, you’ll find a way to enjoy it at Bucknell.