Wittenberg has a long history of outstanding athletics and for fielding winning teams in many different sports. Even as our academic programs have gained nationwide visibility and stature, the athletic programs have continued their success.
The Department of Athletics is committed to the pursuit of academic and athletic excellence. Our primary goal is to provide the opportunity for students to experience the personal challenge and enjoyment of high-level competition along with their academic endeavors. The 11 men’s and 12 women’s varsity teams enjoy 30 percent participation from the student body.
We also take great pride in the number of Wittenberg student athletes who have been named Academic All-America throughout the years.
Men’s Varsity Sports
Intercollegiate teams for men are available in these 11 sports:
Nationally, Wittenberg has won championships in football and basketball in the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Division III. An impressive number of Wittenberg student athletes have been named All-America.
Women’s Varsity Sports
Intercollegiate teams for women are available in these 12 sports:
Titles won by Wittenberg women athletes range from state tennis and field hockey championships to a national first-place finish in the high jump in track and field. Recent Tiger All-Americans have been named in field hockey, basketball, lacrosse, swimming, tennis, soccer, volleyball, and track and field.
NCAA Division III
Wittenberg is a member of the North Coast Athletic Conference — a NCAA Division III conference. This conference brings a group of institutions that share common commitment to academic quality and to the conduct of athletics to support their educational purposes. Conference members include:
Athletic Facilities
Wittenberg’s athletic facilities are among the finest in the nation. They include the main Health, Physical Education and Recreation Center, completed in 1982, with a main unit that can be configured as three full-sized basketball courts, three volleyball courts, or three tennis courts. A second unit houses six handball courts and a 25-meter by 25- yard swimming pool with a separate diving well, and one-meter and three-meter diving boards.
The facilities also boast a 6,000-square foot Fitness Center, equipped with free weights, nautilus and aerobic equipment. Edwards- Maurer Field, one of only 12 artificial turf playing fields in NCAA Division III, is the home to field hockey, men’s and women’s lacrosse, and football, and was completed in 1993. Also completed in 1993 is Earl Morris Track, a 400-meter, world-class facility. The state-of-theart David and Georgiana Albright Tennis Courts were completed in 1997. Other facilities include the Bill Edwards intramural and soccer fields and the Betty Dillahunt softball field.
Club Sports
The level of competition in a club sport is as intense as it is in intercollegiate athletics. Participants in club sports play against colleges in the Midwest. Club sports include men’s and women’s rugby, ice hockey, men’s volleyball, cricket, archery, cycling, women’s golf, and men’s and women’s crew. Club sports allow participants the thrill of competition without the time commitment of intercollegiate athletics. Club sports depend upon the athlete to provide more than talent; they require a commitment to joyous competition.
Policy on University Athletics
Wittenberg’s first concern is for the strength and integrity of the academic program. Beyond that, Wittenberg believes that there is a place for many extracurricular activities, including sound athletic programs. All facets of the university’s co-curriculum, however, must be kept in proper balance and evaluated in terms of educational objectives. In athletics this means, among other considerations, wide participation by all students, both men and women, in many different sports and activities, both intercollegiate and intramural, and an appropriate emphasis on and provision for recreational sports and less formally organized play.
For men’s and women’s intercollegiate sports, Wittenberg University will compete in the North Coast Athletic Conference, which includes traditional rivals, and with colleges and universities whose academic character and size make them similar to Wittenberg. Our aim will be to participate competitively within our conference, rather than to build our program around the goal of winning national championships. This aim does not exclude playing a few strong nonconference teams or participating in a post-season tournament when, from time to time, the relative strength of our team within our conference qualifies us to represent the conference in such competition.
Our formula for competition will consist of including on our teams only student-athletes who combine an interest in academic scholarship with a keen desire and a proven ability for intercollegiate athletic competition with similar students at comparable institutions. Wittenberg shall provide such men and women with excellent coaches, appropriate equipment, and adequate facilities on the basis of equality and without discrimination of any kind, including discrimination by individual sports, race, or gender.