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Colby offers students a wide range of athletic opportunities, whether it's on a competitive varsity team, an intramural team, a club that plays against other colleges and universities, or as an individual interested in outdoor recreation. At the varsity level, Colby is a member of the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC), which holds that member schools are "committed first and foremost to academic excellence and believe that athletic excellence supports educational missions." NESCAC members also share a common commitment to league guidelines for admissions practices. Most of the 32 varsity teams compete in Division III of the NCAA, and Colby gives no athletic scholarships. I-PLAY, the intramural sports program, has popular leagues for soccer, field hockey, flag football, broomball, basketball, and softball--most with separate competitive and recreational divisions. Clubs focused on outdoor recreation, like the outing, mountaineering, and fly-fishing clubs, are among the most active and most popular.

Facilities

»Go to the Athletics site
With a 714-acre campus, Colby has plenty of playing fields for recreational and competitive athletic pursuits. That fact and the recent $6-million renovation to Colby's athletic center give the College some of the finest facilities for recreational, club, and varsity athletics in the Northeast.

Indoors, the athletic center includes . . .

» the 3,000-seat Wadsworth Gymnasium with a new basketball court and scoreboards;

» a field house with four tennis courts, a 220-yard track, and room indoors for most teams to practice;

» an indoor climbing wall maintained by the Colby Mountaineering Club;

» a recently remodeled ice hockey and skating arena;

» five glass-backed international squash courts;

» the Carl E. Nelson Physical Therapy Center;

» a 25-yard by 25-meter swimming pool;

» a spacious aerobic and exercise studio; and

» the 5,300-square-foot Alfond Fitness Center, filled with free weights, Bodymaster equipment, step mills, stair-climbing machines, treadmills, elliptical trainers, and recumbent and regular Lifecycles.

Outdoors Colby has . . .

» 50 acres of playing fields including recently reengineered baseball, softball, field hockey and women's lacrosse, and soccer fields;

» an all-weather 400-meter track around the football field;

» 10 asphalt courts that make up the Alfond-Wales Tennis Courts;

» a network of running loops and trails, including the Campbell Cross-Country Trails for running and skiing; and

» a woodsmen's team area for traditional lumberjack skills competitions.

» In addition to facilities on campus, the College maintains the Colby-Hume Center on nearby Messalonskee Lake, where the crew practices.