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Head of the Class: Division I

The Scoop: At Division I schools, multi-sport athletes are rare and commitment is intense. (Most WNBA and Women's World Cup members were former D-I jocks.) However, athletes often get perks like athletic scholarships, shoe sponsorships, chartered flights, special tutoring, cutting-edge facilities and, of the three divisions, the most print and TV coverage.

Athlete Perspective: "Tennis takes up all my life. I don't really have time for other activities," says Erin Miller, a junior at the University of Houston, "Although I live with my parents, with two workouts a day and classes, I feel like I live on campus. But it's worth it to play at this level."

THE TOP 20
  1 .    Stanford   11 .   Penn State
  2 .    Florida   12 .   Washington
  3 .    Texas   13 .   Virginia
  4 .    North Carolina   14 .   Princeton
  5 .    UCLA   15 .   Notre Dame
  6 .    Georgia   16 .   Nebraska
  7 .    Arizona   17 .   Connecticut
  8 .    Maryland   18 .   Tennessee
  9 .    Harvard   19 .   Old Dominion  
  10 .    Wisconsin   20 .    Duke

 

Stanford has splashed to six of the past eight NCAA titles. Vince Muzik/NCAA Photos
1. Stanford
650-723-2300
www.stanford.edu

Undergrad enrollment: 6,556
Female varsity athletes: 354
Women's varsity sports: 17
Women's club sports: 12
Women's intramural sports: 33
Full athletic scholarships for women: 117*
NCAA women's titles: 25

Talk about clutch performances. In what had been a down year for Stanford's annual NCAA title harvest (just one women's championship, in tennis, as opposed to five in the two previous years), the women's rugby and Ultimate Frisbee teams stepped up and won national club championships this spring. Not that the applause rang for long. "When we won one of our titles a few years ago, we were the big thing on campus for about two weeks, until some other team won their championship," says women's volleyball coach Don Shaw, whose teams have won four NCAA titles. "Glory doesn't last around here."

Such is the price of unparalleled success. Besides having won more women's NCAA titles than any other school (25, in five sports, since 1982), Stanford can boast the most alums in the WNBA (10) and the most female participants (43) at the 1996 Summer Olympics. How does a school with such famously picky academic standards end up with so many hard-core jocks? "There are some extremely competitive people here," says basketball coach Tara VanDerveer. "There isn't a place that is more demanding academically and more demanding athletically. That combination doesn't appeal to everyone."

In other words, if you want to simply be a jock and be accorded a certain status as such, this isn't the place for you. "Athletes aren't treated as special, because everyone here has a talent," says junior basketball center Carolyn Moos. "I keep expecting to run into someone who is just average, but I haven't yet."

The nearly 100 acres of playing fields and facilities are hardly ordinary, either. Stanford hosted the women's World Cup soccer semifinal matches in July and will soon be ready for international swim meets. When the DeGuerre aquatic center's expansion is complete next year, it will be the largest such facility in the country; significantly, it will be entirely alfresco. "We have great weather, and that's a big part of our success," says VanDerveer. "Nothing against the place, but if we were in Alaska, there's no way we'd have the program we have."

Extra credit: Moving the annual mud volleyball tournament out of Lake Lagunita to spare endangered salamanders.

Demerit: Tuition ($32,000 including room, board and fees) is as high as the admission standards.

2. Florida
352-392-3261
www.ufl.edu

Undergrad enrollment: 31,477
Female varsity athletes: 171
Women's varsity sports: 10
Women's club sports: 37
Women's intramural sports: 29
Full athletic scholarships for women: 109
NCAA women's titles: 8

Can there be a bigger fan of Florida women's sports than school president John Lombardi, who once snuck out of a Christmas party he was hosting to watch a Gators volleyball match? Well, there's football coach Steve Spurrier, who became so engrossed in a Florida-North Carolina women's soccer game last fall that he missed a teleconference. But both those guys pale next to athletic director Jeremy Foley, whose absences from campus sporting events are so rare that they are usually prefaced with apologies to the coach. "A few years ago he called me to say he was sorry he'd be missing our game that evening," says volleyball coach Mary Wise, "but that he had to be in New York to watch Danny Wuerffel receive the Heisman trophy."

Foley's egalitarian moral and financial support are big reasons Florida is a hotbed of women's athletics. "We all have the same toys to play with, and that breeds a very harmonious work environment," says basketball coach Carol Ross. Among those toys are first-class facilities, generous budgets, a fiercely loyal fan base and, until it was retired this year, the Captain Jack, a blue-and-orange 35-seat turbo prop plane that was at the disposal of every men's and women's team that could squeeze into it. "Let's face it," says senior basketball player Kelly Freeman, "we're all spoiled rotten here." How many volleyball teams have their own practice facility and get to travel to Europe, as the Gators did two years ago? How many soccer teams starting from scratch get to enjoy a beautifully renovated stadium, a full complement of scholarships and national top 3 ranking from day 1? "I would never leave Florida for another coaching job," says soccer coach Becky Burleigh, whose team won the '98 NCAA title in just its fourth year. "It's so user-friendly here."

That's also true of the school's rec department, which has an on-campus injury treatment and rehab facility to serve the vast number of nonvarsity jocks (about 85% of the student body) who participate in rec, intramural and club sports. The only place on campus that's not user-friendly is Lake Alice. It's pretty to look at, but don't go in: It's teeming with real gators!

Extra credit: One of the nation's lowest tuitions ($2,140 in-state, $9,130 out-of-state).

Demerit: With its size and athletic budget, Florida can afford more than 10 varsity programs and 171 athletes.

3. Texas
512-471-3434
www.utexas.edu

Undergrad enrollment: 37,203
Female varsity athletes: 263
Women's varsity sports: 10
Women's club sports: 37
Women's intramural sports: 63
Full athletic scholarships for women: 107
NCAA women's titles: 24

Around austin, people make horns with their index and pinkie fingers and say, "Hook 'em" (short for "Hook 'em, Horns") the way Italians say "ciao" -- casually, affectionately and constantly. "It's an instinctive greeting around here," says Texas women's sports information director Barb Kowal. It is also a benediction, one that expresses a common, fervent desire. Texas fans, who have been known to sell out volleyball matches and softball games and turn the Texas Relays into standing-room-only affairs, do like to whip the other team, and they do so often. On the women's side alone, the Longhorns have won 24 NCAA titles in seven sports, and that doesn't include softball, in which Texas reached the 1998 College World Series in just its second year of existence, the fastest ascent of any program in the history of the sport. "At Texas, you're expected to win, so everything is intense," says volleyball player and All-America high jumper Erin Aldrich, who helped the indoor and outdoor track and field teams to NCAA title sweeps in each of the last two years. "If you can't handle the pressure, it may not be the place for you."

Well, a Texas varsity roster, or two, might not be the place for you, but there are other athletic options, as attested to by the 84% of the female student population who participate in club, intramural or recreational sports. And if doing gets old, there's always rooting, which you can do with one small hand gesture anytime, anywhere.

Extra credit: Eyes of Texas, the alma mater, is sung by every Texas athlete after each home game, win or lose.

Demerit: Eyes of Texas is basically a rip-off of I've Been Workin' on the Railroad.

4. North Carolina
919-962-2211
www.unc.edu

Undergrad enrollment: 15,400
Female varsity athletes: 313
Women's varsity sports: 15
Women's club sports: 30
Women's intramural sports: 46
Full athletic scholarships for women: 119
NCAA women's titles: 19

Whoever writes the definitive "Greatest Moments in Women's Sports History" will owe much to North Carolina. Not only is it the alma mater of eight members of the 1999 women's World Cup-champion soccer team, including Mia Hamm and Kristine Lilly, but it's also responsible for the most stunning moment in women's NCAA basketball tournament history -- Charlotte Smith's last-second three-pointer that gave the Tar Heels a 60-59 win over Louisiana Tech in the 1994 title game. The 2000 Olympic track competition could belong to another graduate, sprinter nonpareil Marion Jones.

At any moment you might run into one of these world- class athletes around campus -- maybe watching one dynasty in action (UNC has won 14 of 17 NCAA women's soccer titles) or witnessing another evolve (field hockey has won three of the last four NCAA crowns) -- because alums always seem to find a way to return to Chapel Hill. Who can blame them? Even accounting for the overabundance of sky-blue paint, the campus is beautiful and the opportunities for fun nearly limitless. There are 30 club and 46 intramural sports available to women, and 12 recreational indoor basketball courts on campus. For those who prefer sports without whistles, the Outdoor Education Center offers ropes courses, mountain bike trails, an 18-hole Frisbee golf course and the longest zipline (a cable with pulley) in the U.S. For après-activity, there are many sports bars along Franklin Street or, lest one forget her priorities, 32 libraries on campus.

Extra credit: Students must pass a swim test to graduate.

Demerit: Soccer coach Anson Dorrance remains involved in a sexual harassment suit, still unresolved, brought by two of his former players.

5. UCLA
310-825-4321
www.ucla.edu

Undergrad enrollment: 24,219
Female varsity athletes: 327
Women's varsity sports: 11
Women's club sports: 16
Women's intramural sports: 20
Full athletic scholarships for women: 117
NCAA women's titles: 16

When somebody beats us," says basketball coach Kathy Olivier, "they act as though they just won the national championship." Anyone who beats the Bruins has triumphed over a school with 16 women's NCAA championships and a roster of Athenian alums such as Olympians Dot Richardson and Lisa Fernandez (softball); Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Florence Griffith Joyner and Gail Devers (track); Holly McPeak (beach volleyball); and Joy Fawcett (soccer). Many Bruins value their glory days so dearly that they never leave: More than half of the current coaches wore a yellow-and-blue uniform. And the program shows no sign of bringing its kick-ass legacy to a halt; last year six UCLA sports finished in the top 10 (softball, track, water polo, gymnastics, basketball and tennis) and three more in the top 25 (swimming, volleyball and soccer).

Club sports include surfing, windsurfing and waterskiing (with intro classes available for novices); UCLA is the only campus to have rights to the authentic Billy Blanks's Tae-Bo workout (for the first class last April, about 700 people lined up for 250 spots); and the Sunset Canyon Recreation Center features two of the campus's four pools and a huge lawn on which to chill out.

Extra credit: In addition to Pauley Pavilion's being a favorite site for Lakers pickup games, Joyner-Kersee pops up on campus occasionally, as does tennis star Pete Sampras, whose older sister, Stella, is the women's tennis coach.

Demerit: Only the basketball and softball teams have their own locker rooms.

6. Georgia
706-542-3000
www.uga.edu

Undergrad enrollment: 22,234
Female varsity athletes: 167
Women's varsity sports: 11
Women's club sports: 30
Women's intramural sports: 32
Full athletic scholarships for women: 109
NCAA women's titles: 8

If you thought tailgating was just for football and celebrity sightings were the province of pro basketball, allow us to introduce Georgia's women's gymnastics team, the five-time NCAA champs who draw 10,000 fans a meet. "When I was hired 16 years ago, the fans we tended to get were women in housecoats," says coach Suzanne Yoculan. "But we worked hard at promoting this sport, and now each meet is a Who's Who of the state."

Georgia's 425,000-square-foot Ramsey student activities center features three pools, five gyms, 10 racquetball courts, a climbing wall and, for those who like the sport but can't stand the crowds, the gymnastics practice facility.

Extra credit: The men's swim team supports the women's volleyball team by shedding garments after each Bulldogs point.

Demerit: Neither AD Vince Dooley nor president Michael F. Adams showed up for Georgia basketball's '99 Final Four appearance, in San Jose.

7. Arizona
520-621-2211
www.arizona.edu

Undergrad enrollment: 25,000
Female varsity athletes: 166
Women's varsity sports: 11
Women's club sports: 35
Women's intramural sports: 39
Full athletic scholarships for women: 109
NCAA women's titles: 6

When heritage hall is completed in a few years, every Arizona varsity team from football to women's volleyball will be allotted exactly the same square footage for trophy display. Such progressive thinking isn't surprising at a school that was the first to hire a female strength coach and the first to hire a female administrator to oversee football and men's basketball -- and remains one of the few to offer wheelchair sports.

But the university still clings to some old-fashioned values -- like winning. In this decade alone, Arizona women have won six NCAA titles (four in softball, two in golf).

Arizona's rec department has something for everyone. If you're not into rodeo (a club sport), you might enjoy nia, a mind-body-spirit fitness technique. But whether you're Old West or New Age, you'll enjoy the underwater basket-weaving class, which produces baskets so beautiful they're worthy of Heritage Hall.

Extra credit: Approximately 310 days of sunshine a year.

Demerit: The track and soccer facilities, and many rec and practice fields, are off campus.

8. Maryland
301-405-1000
www.maryland.edu


Undergrad enrollment: 24,776
Female varsity athletes: 308
Women's varsity sports: 12
Women's club sports: 28
Women's intramural sports: 40
Full athletic scholarships for women: 120
NCAA women's titles: 10

Over the past five years, Maryland has increased its women's sports budget by 70% -- money well spent, considering the Terps' recent success. Last year, the five-year-old softball team rocketed to a 12th-place final ranking, both the soccer and field hockey teams reached their fourth consecutive NCAA tournaments, the gymnastics squad finished 14th in the nation, and oh, yeah, the lacrosse team won its fifth consecutive national championship.

The facilities are soon to be as strong as the athletes: A spankin'-new swimming complex opened in January 1998; by 2001, the softball team will have its own stadium; and by 2002, basketball will have a new home. Nonvarsity athletes also get top-notch treatment. The lacrosse, field hockey and soccer clubs share exclusive use of a $2 million turf field, while a massive campus rec center includes, among other things, a bi-level weight room, an indoor track, a bike shop and two pools. The campus locale offers some exceptional outdoor opportunities, something that the Terrapin Trail Club (whose offerings range from cave rescue orientation classes to sea kayaking) capitalizes on.

Extra credit: The Maryland Athletes Placement Source (MAPS) Directory, a compilation of all the graduating student-athletes' résumés, is distributed by the athletic department to more than 1,000 regional businesses.

Demerit: Disappointing fan support; the eight-time national champ lacrosse team averaged crowds of around 600.

9. Harvard
617-495-1000
www.harvard.edu

Undergrad enrollment: 6,704
Female varsity athletes: 432
Women's varsity sports: 20
Women's club sports: 31
Women's intramural sports: 41
Full athletic scholarships for women: None (need-based financial aid is available)
NCAA women's titles: 1

Basketball coach Kathy Delaney-Smith jokes that she has one line that works better than any other with recruits: "You look great in crimson!" Actually, her program, which as a No. 16 seed beat No. 1 Stanford in the first round of the 1998 NCAAs, isn't a tough sell, and neither is her school. Once you get past Harvard's nerds-with-Coke-bottle-glasses image and once you get in (18,160 applicants vie for 1,650 freshman spots), you'll see athletes -- dare we call these supersmart students "jocks"? -- thriving. In addition to 20 successful varsity sports (lightweight crew has five national titles, squash has 11) plus junior varsity teams that play colleges or local prep schools, there are 31 club sports and 41 intramural teams.

Whatever the sport, amateurism is emphasized, with shoe and other sponsorship deals kept to a minimum. But the Crimson doesn't lack for motivation; swim coach Stephanie Wriede has to regularly remind swimmers to slow down during the easy recovery workouts and even makes lane changes when competition gets too fierce. "The Harvard athlete challenges herself daily," Wriede says. And win or lose, they look darn good in crimson.

Extra credit: An amazing legacy. When Harvard and Radcliffe, its sister school, joined athletic forces in 1974, Radcliffe already had about 200 varsity athletes -- more than some schools have today.

Demerit: The outdoor rec programs don't include activities such as rock climbing, and hiking -- staple offerings at many other colleges.

10. Wisconsin
608-263-2400
www.wisc.edu

Undergrad enrollment: 27,808
Female varsity athletes: 307
Women's varsity sports: 11
Women's club sports: 23
Women's intramural sports: 7
Full athletic scholarships for women: 117
NCAA women's titles: 2

Last year, Wisconsin's basketball team had its fifth straight winning season, tied for fourth in the Big Ten and finished second in the Women's NIT -- respectable, sure, but exciting enough to attract more than 7,000 fans a game? "Win or lose, the fans show up," says senior guard Kelley Paulus. "It's unbelievable." The volleyball team, ranked No. 7 last year, had the fifth-highest average attendance (2,632) in the country during the regular season; the national championship, held in Madison, drew a single-match-record 13,194 fans, even though the Badgers weren't in it. What's up? "The feeling in the community is that women's sports are great," says associate athletic director Cheryl Marra, "but the fans are not at the outdoor sports." (A no-brainer: In Wisconsin, outdoors often means cold!)

But they'll be hollering this winter inside the Kohl Center when women's varsity ice hockey makes its debut. Success is almost a given; coach Julie Sasner has three tiers of club ice hockey from which to pluck players (in addition to her recruits). In other sports, club and intramural participation is decent; Ultimate Frisbee and rugby are big, and aerobics are huge -- some classes have nearly 300 participants. To accommodate the crowds, a spacious new aerobics studio will be added to the Southeast Recreation Facility in 2001. Before long, die-hard fans will be able to pull up chairs to watch students in Lycra and sports bras do grapevines.

Extra credit: Madison is an almost sickeningly healthy, enlightened and safe city; in the past five years it has been ranked on 11 major-magazine top 10 lists, in every category from most enlightened cities to healthiest cities for women.

Demerit: The school has yet to develop a home course for the two-time national champion cross-country team, consistently Wisconsin's strongest performer and the only women's team to have won an NCAA title. The team has to practice at a nearby golf course.

 

Penn State is putting up strong numbers in women's sports. David Liam Kyle
11. Penn State
814-865-4700
www.psu.edu

Undergrad Enrollment: 41,050
Female Varsity Athletes: 412
Women's Varsity Sports: 14
Women's Club Sports: 54
Women's Intramural Sports: 13
Full Athletic Scholarships For Women: 138
NCAA Women's Titles: 20

Heather Noel wanted a school with a good sailing program. So why did she pick one in the middle of Pennsylvania? "What sold me was the enthusiasm at a football game," says Noel, a junior electrical engineering major. "The energy level here is unbelievably high—and it needs to be. The number of sports opportunities is overwhelming." Teams abound and have since long before Title IX (passed in 1972). Volleyball and fencing are today's powers, and yes, there's sailing (on an off-campus lake with shifting winds). Says Noel, "If you can sail here, you can sail anywhere."

Extra Credit: The annual Dance Marathon is the largest student-run philanthropic event in the country.

Demerit: Basketball coach Rene Portland's history (unsanctioned by Penn State) of antigay politics.

12. Washington
206-543-2100
www.washington.edu

Undergrad Enrollment: 25,871
Female Varsity Athletes: 312
Women's Varsity Sports: 12
Women's Club Sports: 26
Women's Intramural Sports: 20
Full Athletic Scholarships For Women: 124
NCAA Women's Titles: 2

Given Seattle's reputation as a place where many cultural icons appeared first (Starbucks, Microsoft, etc.), it's no surprise that the school has long been on the cutting edge of women's sports. UW made women's crew a varsity sport in 1975, 22 years before the NCAA sanctioned a rowing championship. In 1991 it became the first school with a Division I football program to hire a female athletic director, Barbara Hedges, who took the school from 47th to eighth in the nation in overall sports achievement (as measured by Sears Cup standings). The Huskies aren't through pioneering: When the softball team traveled to the College World Series this past season, it was the only squad to bring its own band.

Extra Credit: Intramural inner-tube basketball.

Demerit: Approximately 152 rainy days a year.

13. Virginia
804-924-0311
www.virginia.edu

Undergrad Enrollment: 12,440
Female Varsity Athletes: 272
Women's Varsity Sports: 12
Women's Club Sports: 35
Women's Intramural Sports: 33
Full Athletic Scholarships For Women: 118
NCAA Women's Titles: 4

As lacrosse player Sarah Gercke enters her senior year at Virginia, she feels there is one thing she must do to satisfactorily complete what she says has been an "awesome" experience at UVA. (And no, it's not streaking across the Lawn at night, an undergraduate rite of passage. "I've already done that," says Gercke.) So what unfinished piece of higher learning hangs over her? "We've got to kill Maryland!" says Gercke, whose team has fallen to the Terps in three of the last four NCAA lacrosse title games. At least Gercke's team was not alone in last year's near miss: Women's crew also came in second, to Brown, and the field hockey team was stopped at the national semifinals.

A favorite campus spot is the three-year-old, $18.5 million Aquatic and Fitness Center. "These days the AFC is standing room only on Friday nights," says assistant athletic director Mark Fletcher. "Used to be the only place you'd find a crowd like that was in bars."

Extra Credit: UVA is consistently ranked among the top public universities in the country by U.S. News & World Report.

Demerit: The hyperenthusiastic Virginia band can be found at most campus sporting events—unless it has been shut down for chronic bad taste, as it was for the 1993-94 academic year.

14. Princeton
609-258-3000
www.princeton.edu

Undergrad Enrollment: 4,600
Female Varsity Athletes: 405
Women's Varsity Sports: 18
Women's Club Sports: 27
Women's Intramural Sports: 44
Full Athletic Scholarships For Women: for women: None (need-based financial aid is available)
NCAA Women's Titles: 1

What sold me was the Pit," says junior Vicki Siesta, a catcher on the Princeton softball team. "It means we can start playing on dirt in February, usually not possible in New Jersey." Siesta is speaking fondly of a dirt infield buried four floors beneath three basketball courts in Jadwin Gym. Add to that a country-clubbish 43 tennis courts, 17 squash courts, a state-of-the-art fencing room, a $3.5 million turf field for field hockey, a boathouse that is getting a $4 million makeover, a new outdoor track and a 27,800-seat football stadium (where the women's lacrosse team hosts games), and Princeton begins to feel more like an Olympic training center than an Ivy League school. Don't be misled: "Academics come before athletics," says Siesta. "That's the first thing our coach told us."

For those not interested in keeping score, fitness classes range from mega-step to belly dancing to shiatsu massage. For the most part, athletes have little to complain about. "To graduate from Princeton as a student-athlete is a great accomplishment," says lacrosse player Lucy Small, who achieved the feat this year.

Extra Credit: Construction began this year on a $1 million fitness center addition.

Demerit: Tuition bills, with room, board and books, check in at $34,180.

15. Notre Dame
219-631-5000
www.nd.edu

Undergrad Enrollment: 7,875
Female Varsity Athletes: 334
Women's Varsity Sports: 13
Women's Club Sports: 17
Women's Intramural Sports: 32
Full Athletic Scholarships For Women: 89
NCAA Women's Titles: 2

The Fighting Irish Are Almost As Keen On Their Female Teams As They Are On Their Football Heroes. After The Women'S Soccer Team Won The 1995 NCAA Championship, A Big #1 Went Up In Lights Atop Grace Hall To Welcome The Champs Home—A Tradition Normally Reserved For The Football Squad. Still, At ND Everything Revolves Around Pigskin. "The Volleyball And Soccer Coaches Try To Schedule Competition On Football Weekends To Draw Crowds," Says Associate Athletic Director Missy Conboy. "And They Regularly Take Recruits To Games."

The Gridiron Is Not Strictly A Male Domain. Women'S Interhall Football, With Almost 700 Players, Is Ultracompetitive. Of Course, There Are Other Sports, And Notre Dame Students, 80% Of Whom Were High School Varsity Athletes, Always Seem To Be Running Somewhere Or Throwing Something. The School'S Web Site Even Posts Mileage For Various Running Routes Around The Campus, Which Features Two Lakes.

Extra Credit: Strong Grass Roots -- Every Female Varsity Sport Started As A Club.

Demerit: Despite A $55 Million Football TV Contract, Notre Dame Awards Fewer Women'S Scholarships Than The NCAA Maximums.

 
Nebraska
Nebraska knows about net gains Damian Strohmeyer
16. Nebraska
402-472-7211
www.unl.edu

Undergrad Enrollment: 22,408
Female Varsity Athletes: 198
Women's Varsity Sports: 10
Women's Club Sports: 22
Women's Intramural Sports: 57
Full Athletic Scholarships For Women: 112
NCAA Women's Titles: 4

Looking for a primer in athletic marketing? Terry Pettit, the coach for 23 of the Husker volleyball team's 25 seasons, turned down a chance to play in the 14,000-seat Devaney Center in order to remain in the 5,000-seat, 73-year-old Coliseum. "With a court 60 feet by 30 feet, you need to be close," Pettit says. There's more to it: For decades, the Coliseum was home to state high school tournaments. "We have such small schools in this state that almost every male from 40 years old on up has played in this building," Pettit says. The nostalgic appeal helps explain why volleyball plays to sellouts. Winning helps too: The Team's conference home record is 135-2.

Extra Credit: Every dorm has a weight room.

Demerit: Legacy of Lawrence Phillips (Who beat up his ex-girlfriend when she played on the hoops team).

17. Connecticut
860-486-2000
www.uconn.edu

Undergrad enrollment: 14,855
Female varsity athletes: 300
Women's varsity sports: 12
Women's club sports: 4
Women's intramural sports: 41
Full athletic scholarships for women: 103
NCAA women's titles: 3

There's a reason -- besides UConn's 1995 NCAA women's basketball championship -- that fans pack Gampel Pavilion: There's not much else to cheer for in rural Connecticut. "Big-time sports on a small-time campus," is what basketball coach Geno Auriemma calls it.

A small-time campus means that everybody from the coaches to the trainers refers to themselves as a family, and the students live on essentially agricultural grounds. Intramurals and outdoor adventures (ice climbing, anyone?) are plentiful, but the Taj Mahal is the student recreation facility, with dual-level cardio and weight rooms; a pool; an indoor track; and five racquetball, two squash and six basketball courts.

Extra credit: UConn-brand water, salsa and chips.

Demerit: Next year the football team, currently Division I-AA, will move up to Division I-A, which almost inevitably will mean less attention for female athletes.

18. Tennessee
423-974-1000
www.utk.edu

Undergrad enrollment: 25,612
Female varsity athletes: 220
Women's varsity sports: 11
Women's club sports: 22
Women's intramural sports: 25
Full athletic scholarships for women: 113
NCAA women's titles: 6

In 1976 Tennessee established a separate athletic department for women, something that exists at only four other Division I schools (Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota and Texas). So in addition to a dynastic basketball program (six national championships) and a killer Web site, the Lady Vols have their own weight and training rooms, academic center, tutors, medical and training staff -- as well as their own budget.

The female-focused support doesn't end there: The women's soccer team has its own practice and game fields (there is no men's varsity team); softball has both a practice and a game field; and there will be a new boathouse for the women's varsity crew team, complete with an upscale restaurant, which will be finished in the fall of 2000.

Extra credit: Free aerobics classes for students.

Demerit: Separate may mean equal, but it doesn't necessarily mean mutually supportive; an atmosphere of competition exists between the men's and the women's athletic departments.

19. Old Dominion
757-683-3000

Undergrad enrollment: 12,700
Female varsity athletes: 146
Women's varsity sports: 8
Women's club sports: 7
Women's intramural sports: 36
Full athletic scholarships for women: 55
NCAA women's titles: 9

According to lacrosse coach Sue Stahl, the fact that Old Dominion hasn't had a football team since 1940 is "a real plus" for female athletes, and not just because the lacrosse and field hockey teams don't have to share 20,000-seat Foreman Field with tackling dummies. "Women athletes here get every bit as much attention as the men do," says Stahl. As well they should, because Old Dominion owes its lofty athletic reputation almost entirely to its women's program, which has won eight national titles in field hockey, three in basketball and two in sailing.

That ODU has remained at the national forefront despite being without the football-generated revenues that fuel many high-profile programs doesn't surprise field hockey coach Beth Anders. "We're not given a lot of things here," says Anders, "so we have to have a blue-collar work ethic." An international outlook helps, too. What is already a culturally diverse student body is frequently enriched by athletes recruited abroad. "You meet kids from all over," says junior field hockey player Adrienne Yoder. "But somehow, it still feels like a small place." That too is a real plus.

Extra credit: The campus is 10 miles from the beach.

Demerit: With volleyball gone, there are only three non-martial-arts club sports.

20. Duke
919-684-8111
www.duke.edu

Undergrad enrollment: 6,207 Female varsity athletes: 318
Women's varsity sports: 12
Women's club sports: 32
Women's intramural sports: 11
Full athletic scholarships for women: 97
NCAA women's titles: 1

If you play a club sport at Duke, you're eligible for serious perks. First, there's the Dream Trips program, which allows clubs to spend a sports-centered week in an exotic locale with the university picking up about half the tab. Past travelers have included the ski club, which went to Banff, Canada; the sailing club, which chartered a 42-foot sailboat off Miami; and the rugby club, which played in the Bahamas. The administration also ponies up for club postseason play -- generous in a time when most college sports clubs barely scrape by.

Duke's administration doesn't scrimp at the varsity level either. "Our serious push in women's sports came in the early '90s," says assistant athletic director Jacki Silar. "Now we're seeing the benefits." Witness the wave of success that the Blue Devils rode this spring. The basketball team started things by upsetting powerful Tennessee en route to its first NCAA title game. Then the lacrosse team made its first appearance in the Final Four, followed by the golf team's winning Duke's first women's national team championship in any sport. Finally, the tennis team boasted both a Final Four doubles team and the national women's player of the year, Vanessa Webb.

Extra credit: Intramurals include a freshmen-only level.

Demerit: With in-state rivals UNC and N.C. State, it's often difficult for Duke to stand out, even in its own backyard.

21. Dartmouth College
Hanover, New Hampshire
603-646-1110
www.dartmouth.edu

Undergraduate enrollment: 4,000
Women's varsity sports: 16 (plus 2 co-ed sports, sailing and riding)
Women's club sports: 13
Women's intramural sports: 36
NCAA Women's championships: 0

Hot Sports: Soccer, Basketball, Lacrosse, Sailing
Cool Facts: Fan support is excellent—basketball games are usually packed, both ice hockey and lacrosse can draw over 1,000 fans for big games. Graduation requirements include passing a swim test and taking three credits physical education classes. At Dartmouth Skiway, 20 minutes from campus, students can get instruction in telemarking, snowboarding or downhill skiing (and rent skis for the entire season).

22. Ohio State University
Columbus, Ohio
614-292-OHIO
www.osu.edu

Undergraduate enrollment: 48,300
Women's varsity sports: 17 (ice hockey, added this year, makes it 18)
Women's club sports: 65
Women's intramural sports: 34
NCAA Women's championships: 0

Hot Sports: Synchronized Swimming, Golf, Volleyball, Pistol, Fencing, Basketball
Cool Facts: In the last five years, Ohio State added lacrosse, crew and ice hockey to its roster of women's varsity sports. A program called "Majority of One" offers services and seminars which address the needs of minority student-athletes. The vast club program includes underwater hockey, paintball, skydiving and about 20 martial art disciplines. OSU sports a strong wheelchair team sports program, which includes wheelchair tennis, basketball and softball as well as quad rugby, a full-contact sport.

23. Arizona State University
Tempe, Arizona
480-965-9011
www.asu.edu

Undergraduate enrollment: 44,255
Women's varsity sports: 11 (in 2002-03, crew and water polo will be added)
Women's club sports: 24
Women's intramural sports:
NCAA Women's championships: 6

Hot Sports: Golf, Gymnastics, Softball, Swimming
Cool Facts: The golf team has won twice as many NCAA Championships (6) than any other golf team in the nation. Clubs range from Hip Hop Coalition to White Water Kayaking, while academic classes include Baseball in American Literature and Sports Media History. The outdoor recreation program's portion of the school's website gives comprehensive information on everything from how to set up a tent to tips for packing light.

24. University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan
www.umich.edu

Undergraduate enrollment: 37,197
Women's varsity sports: 12 (water polo will be added in 2000-01)
Women's club sports: 31/40
Women's intramural sports: 30
NCAA Women's championships: 0

Hot Sports: Gymnastics, Swimming, Cross Country, Crew, Soccer
Cool Facts: In 1912, Michigan instituted the country's first intramural program and built a building dedicated to student recreational sports in 1928, the first of its kind, still used for it today. Outdoor Adventures include dogsledding, mountain biking, cross country skiing and winter camping.

25. Boston College
Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
617-552-8000
www.bc.edu

Undergraduate enrollment: 8,921
Women's varsity sports: 16
Women's club sports: 9
Women's intramural sports: 18
NCAA Women's championships: 0

Hot Sports: Basketball, Cross Country, Field Hockey, Softball
Cool Facts: The Bubble, a cover for the football stadium, gets blown up after the last home football game and is then an artificial turf practice field for golf, field hockey, lacrosse, soccer and softball. Field hockey and softball were Big East champions this year, while basketball had it's first NCAA bid (and win).

Also: Division II and III



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