2009-10 Men's and Women's Basketball Excitement Begins in the New Charles E. Smith Center
Full schedules and season ticket information now available
GW Athletics
The University’s lively athletics program, with teams often in the NCAA spotlight, contributes immeasurably to the GW experience, school spirit and community pride. It also raises GW’s national profile. To join one of our 22 varsity sports as an athlete or student team manager is a special opportunity. Our coaches are committed to the University's belief in a well-rounded student athlete. That means athletes work hard to achieve intellectual development, maintain high academic standards and practice good citizenry in our community.
GW’s Athletic Heritage
Organized athletics have been an important aspect life at GW since the late 19th century, when Columbian University’s Preparatory School fielded a baseball team. GW baseball is a three-time champion of both the Atlantic 10 Conference and the Southern Conference.
GW’s football program got it start in 1890. It had a successful 58-season run, winning two of three top awards in its final season in 1966.
Collegiate basketball launched at GW in 1906, when the sport was in its infancy. GW's first men's basketball team captured the Southern championship, defeating Georgetown, and establishing one of the University's proudest traditions. Varsity basketball is GW’s hallmark sport, drawing enthusiastic interest and support from the community and around the region.
Athletic Conferences
The University belongs to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and is a founding member of the Atlantic 10 Conference. GW sponsors 22 NCAA Division I varsity sports, which compete against major universities throughout the region and nation.
Women's teams at GW were active in the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) in the 1970s, before the NCAA's sponsorship of women's championships in 1981. The men’s basketball team and the Colonial Women both joined the Atlantic 10 in 1983.
Community Involvement
Student athletes at GW spend much of their free time away from sports and studies, engaged in activities that help the community. They volunteer with community organizations, host motivational sessions with local high school students, clean up neighborhood parks and recreational facilities, work with local youth sports teams and distributing complimentary tickets to local nonprofit organizations serving underprivileged youth.
Spirit Groups
GW has a long tradition of students organizing to create and express school spirit focused around our athletic teams. The excitement and involvement that are driven by athletics carry over into other aspects of student life, imbuing the GW community with a sense of pride in and loyalty to The George Washington University as an institution. This spirit is transmitted to neighbors in the Washington region, and sometimes to national audiences, building positive perceptions of GW. Some of our spirit groups, like the Cheer Team and Dance Team are themselves opportunities for athletic-related activities.
GW Athletics
Varsity Sports
A founding member of the Atlantic 10 Conference, GW has 22 NCAA Division I varsity teams: 10 men's and 12 women's.
The GW Experience
Students
All in the Family
Greg and Heather Hachenburg talk about their undergraduate experience at GW, one of many sibling pairs to share in the Colonials legacy.
Creating Next Generation Leaders
GW program helps female students connect with leading women across a variety of fields and develop their roles as future women in leadership.
Where the City is a Classroom
Freshman volunteers experience life beyond Foggy Bottom...
Faculty
Fighting Neglected Diseases
GW professor works to eradicate diseases that affect the health, education and economic development of the world's poorest people.
Building the Super Computer
Pioneering lab puts GW at the forefront of high-speed computing and offers GW students unprecedented access to science and skills of the future.
Blast From the Past
Students map an ancient—and dramatic—eruption as part of a geological research program in the nearby Blue Ridge Mountains.
Alumni
Giving Back to the District of Columbia
D.C. public health director calls GW education the foundation of his career.
GW Opens Doors
A chance encounter with a GW alumna helped give one GW undergraduate, an aspiring broadcast journalist from Texas, his big break.
The Legend Lives On
The $2 million bequest commitment caps a lifetime of philanthropy and service to GW, establishing the Elyse B. and Donald R. Lehman Endowed Professorship in Theoretical Physics.