It is a low blow and insulting to all student-athletes at Hamilton College to mischaracterize the athletics programs as lackluster. Despite Hamilton Athletics not always finding itself atop the NESCAC, to say that Hamilton Athletics lacks competitiveness is not only inaccurate, but uses the performances of one sport to paint with a broad brush. Using one sport as a measuring stick by which to compare an entire school’s athletic program is unfair to student-athletes, disregards their hard work and degrades their accomplishments.
It is not even accurate to claim that Hamilton Athletics are subpar. A simple browse of the college’s athletics webpages will show the school’s aptitude and competitiveness. At the time of writing, Hamilton’s field hockey team is an impressive 4-1, finding themselves atop numerous regional and national rankings. And despite a blip in the 2024 season, they have worked to an impressive eight consecutive seasons winning over half their games (since 2016). Women’s soccer also has an impressive track record. Apart from one sub-.500 season (2024), they have had a winning record since 2016. The Men’s soccer program has been above .500 since 2015, including a berth in the NCAA tournament last season, and even a first round win. Both men’s and women’s hockey programs similarly haven’t finished below .500 since 2014, both have had successful runs in the NESCAC tournament and have received bids to the national tournament. The men’s basketball program finished last season ranked 16th in the NCAA NPI rankings, and also received a bid to the national tournament. Hamilton also had individual successes across the cross country, track & field, swim & dive and golf teams with many athletes earning the right to compete at their respective regional and national tournaments. This pattern bears repeating for nearly every program. The proof is in the statistics, Hamilton College has competitive athletics programs.
Now, competitiveness and success, I admit, are different. However, even in defeat, Hamilton Athletics seldom find themselves on the wrong end of a thumping. But for those not in tuned to sports, they may neglect the nuance inherent to statsitics. A scoreline does not tell the whole story because all sports outcomes are decided by the smallest of margins, a 1-0 loss could easily have been a draw or a win on a different day, and portraying that as lackluster or lacking competitiveness is unfair to student-athletes.
It is also difficult to achieve and remain successful in the NESCAC. The statement, “five colleges last year won more NESCAC championships in 2024 than Hamilton has won in the last four years combined,” perfectly displays the competitiveness of the NESCAC; five colleges comprise about half of the NESCAC. Despite Middlebury’s dominance in field hockey, and Tuft’s dominance in men’s lacrosse, the NESCAC regularly crowns different champions. Men’s soccer has had four different winners in the last six seasons, softball three in the last five and volleyball has had a new champion every year for the past four. This is a feature of the NESCAC, not a flaw. Expecting Hamilton to produce title after title, year after year is both unrealistic and unfair.
People do not go to Division III colleges, let alone NESCAC schools, for the sports viewing experience. And if expecting a Division I atmosphere, it is unfair to blame Hamilton College and its hardworking coaches, training staff, student-managers and most importantly, student-athletes. It is important to remember that DIII athletics is not a commercial product, neither players nor programs are making money from athletic performances or successes.
Playing sports at Hamilton, like it is across the NESCAC, is an experience for students to continue to play the sports that they love. It is an experience to learn and develop into disciplined and hardworking leaders and young adults and to build deep, lifelong friendships. Students don’t come here to chase athletic glory; they come for the academic experience and the opportunity to keep playing.
So, Hamilton students, come see for yourself. Our campus is small and it won’t take much effort to watch a game at Love Field, Goodfriend Field, or the cross-country course this fall, or at Steuben, Withiam, or the Loop Road Complex in the spring. With 29 varsity programs, Hamilton offers plenty of opportunities to witness hardworking, talented and yes, competitive student-athletes.
