Athletics have been a way of life at Dartmouth College for years. In the days prior to the founding of the Ivy League, Dartmouth made frequent trips to college athletics' biggest forums, including trips to the NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four in 1942 and 1944.
Since joining the Ivy League in 1956, Dartmouth has won 105 Ivy League championships in varsity sports and has created a strong legacy in league history. The Big Green have won a varsity title in at least one sport in each of the last 25 years and 32 titles in the last decade.
Dartmouth's strongest sports history comes in football. The Big Green hold the all-time record for most Ivy League titles with 17. The most recent title came in 1996 when Dartmouth cruised to a perfect 10-0 record.
The Big Green have struggled of late, but figure to snap out soon as this is only the second time program history that they've gone four seasons without a winning record in Ivy League play.
The top women's program in school history is the women's basketball team. The Lady hoopsters have won 13 Ivy League titles in their history, which only spans back to 1975. The Big Green won league titles in 1999 and 2000 but lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament both times. The Big Green have never advanced beyond the first round of a postseason tournament.
One of the hottest programs at Dartmouth is the men's cross country team. Prior to 1984, Dartmouth had never won a team championship in the sport. From that year on, they have won 12 out of 18 championships, including the 2001 Ivy League title.
The men's cross country team has also performed very well of late in the NCAA Championships. The Big Green has finished second twice in their history and placed as high as 15th in 1998 along with a 25th-place finish following their Ivy Title in 2000.
The hottest women's team is definitely the women's lacrosse squad. Following league title in 1986 and 1987, the Big Green went into seven-year drought. They broke out of the slump in 1995 and have won six of the last eight titles, including five straight from 1997-2001.
That success paid off in the 2001 NCAA tournament, as Dartmouth beat Penn State to advance to the quarterfinals. In the final eight, the Big Green got outgunned by rival Ivy power Princeton.
Perhaps the best nationally known squad at Dartmouth is the women's hockey team. Following their second straight Ivy League title, and their third in the last five years, the Big Green women are a perennial national power.
They spent the entire 2001 season as the national #1 and advanced all the way to the Frozen Four in Minnesota. Unfortunately, their season ended there with a tough loss. But with a team containing several national team members, and an incoming '06 with a Olympic Gold medal already under her belt, Dartmouth's women's ice hockey team will likely make another run at a national title.
Other Dartmouth programs have achieved high levels of success, including the baseball team which has won eight Ivy League titles and the field hockey team with four.
Dartmouth's most recent Ivy League champions are the 2002 Women's Ice Hockey team, 2001 Women's Soccer and 2002 Men's Cross Country all of whom also won in 2000-01.
Another one of Dartmouth's most successful programs is its sailing team. A team which has been regularly ranked nationally and which is usually among the top programs in the Northeast.
This past year, the sailing team won the New England Dinghy Championship for the first time in Dartmouth history. The victory sent the team to the ICSA North American championship where the Big Green finished eighth overall.
The Dartmouth crew team has also been a perennial threat on the water. Just this month, Dartmouth's men's heavyweight crew team sent its squad to the Henley Royal Regatta. The Big Green came back late in the race against Princeton to capture the Ladies Challenge Cup. The heavyweights also finished 14th at the national race.
