Tradition and culture of Harvard University, Harvard University Athletics

Tradition and culture of Harvard University
Harvard University Athletics

Harvard sporting rivalry with Yale is intense in every sport in which they meet, coming to a climax each fall in their annual football meeting, which dates back to 1875 and is usually called simply "The Game". While Harvard's football team is no longer one of the country's best as it often was a century ago during football's early days (it won the Rose Bowl in 1920), he and Yale have influenced the how the game is played. In 1903, Harvard Stadium introduced a new era into football with the first permanent reinforced concrete stadium of its kind in the country. The stadium structure actually played a role in the evolution of the college game. Seeking to reduce the alarming number of deaths and serious injuries in the sport, the Father of Football, Walter Camp (former captain of the Yale football team), suggested expanding the field to open the game. But the stage of state-of-the-art Harvard was too narrow to accommodate a wider playing surface. Therefore, other measures had to be taken. Camp would instead support revolutionary new rules for the 1906 season. These included legalizing the forward pass, perhaps changing the most important rule in the history of sport.

Harvard has several athletic facilities, such as the Pavilion Lavietes a multipurpose stadium and home to the Harvard basketball teams. The Malkin Athletic Center, known as the "MAC", serves as the primary recreation center and university as satellite location for several varsity sports. The five-story building, with two cardio rooms, an Olympic pool, a smaller pool for water aerobics and other activities, a mezzanine, where all types of classes are held at all hours of the day, and a indoor cycling studio, three weight rooms, and three-court gym floor to play basketball. The MAC also offers personal trainers and specialty classes. The MAC is also home to Harvard volleyball, fencing and wrestling. The offices of several of the varsity coaches school are also in the MAC.

Weld Boathouse and Newell Boat House women and rowing teams of men, respectively. Men crew also uses the Red Top complex in Ledyard, Connecticut, as their training camp for the annual regatta Harvard-Yale. The Bright Hockey Center hosts the Harvard hockey teams, and the Murr Center serves as a home for Harvard's squash and tennis teams as well as a strength and conditioning center for all athletic sports.

As of 2006, there were 41 Division I intercollegiate sports teams varsity women and men at Harvard, more than at any other NCAA Division I college in the country. As with other Ivy League universities, Harvard does not offer athletic scholarships.

Older than the game for 23 years, the Harvard-Yale Regatta was the original source of the athletic rivalry between the two schools. Held annually in June on the Thames river in eastern Connecticut. The Harvard team is generally regarded as one of the best teams in the country in rowing. Today, Harvard fields top teams in several sports, like ice, the men's team of Harvard Crimson hockey (with a strong rivalry against Cornell), squash, and NCAA titles in men also recently won and Women's Fencing. Harvard also won the National Championship in 2003 Intercollegiate Sailing Association.

Hockey team of Harvard University men won the first NCAA Championship in school any team sport in 1989. Harvard was also the first Ivy League institution to win a NCAA championship title in the sport of women's lacrosse team when women won the NCAA Championship in 1990.

Harvard Undergraduate Television has scenes of historical games and sporting events like the 2005 pep-rally before the Harvard-Yale game. Official Website of Harvard athletics has more complete information about the sports facilities at the University of Harvard.

Song

Harvard has several fight songs, the most played of which, especially at football, are "Ten thousand men of Harvard" and "Harvardiana." While "Fair Harvard" is actually the alma mater, "Ten Thousand Men" is better known outside the university. The Harvard University Band performs these fight songs, and other cheers, at football and hockey games. These were parodied by Harvard alumnus Tom Lehrer in his song "Fight Fiercely, Harvard," which he composed while a student.