Athletics at W&L

Washington and Lee University provides its students with a unique athletic program that allows them to pursue athletic excellence without sacrificing their educational experience.

W&L follows the NCAA Division III guidelines of awarding financial aid based only on family need and academic merit. The result is a strong, diverse program in which participants are motivated by their love of the game and their desire to excel.

Washington and Lee offers 23 varsity sports, 12 for men and 11 for women. All sports compete at the NCAA Division III level and most participate in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC).

Over the years, W&L teams and students have been impressive on and off the playing fields. Below is a list of their accomplishments:

• In the last 33 years, W&L has had 47 athletes earn CoSIDA Academic All-America honors and countless others have been named to CoSIDA Academic All-District teams.
  
• Since 1970, W&L has had 27 athletes earn prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships.
  
• The 1988 Men’s Tennis team and the 2007 Women's Tennis team each have won a NCAA Division III National title and several other teams have finished in the NCAA Top 10 in Division III.

During the 2007-2008 school year, the Washington and Lee athletic program again saw many successes. Below is a brief sketch of the many accomplishments by W&L’s teams and athletes.

• W&L posted an overall winning percentage of nearly 70 percent
  
• W&L claimed eight Conference Championships
  
• W&L has won the ODAC Commissioner’s Cup for overall athletic excellence 12 of the last 14 years and received the men’s overall and women’s overall cup for the fourth-straight year, the only school to have ever held all three cups in the same year
  
• Nineteen Washington and Lee athletes were named to Division III All-America teams
  
• Five teams participated in the NCAA Division III National Championships
  
• Eighty-one athletes were named first team all-conference
  
• Fourteen individuals participated in NCAA Championship competition as individuals
  
• Ten athletes were named the conference athlete of the year in their sport
  
• A total of 219 athletes were named W&L Scholar-Athletes for having achieved a GPA of 3.5 or higher in either the fall or winter term
  
• Alex Sweet '08 won the NCAA Division III Swimming Championship in the 50 freestyle in a championship meet record time.  Sweet also qualified to participate in the U.S. Olympic Trials.
  
• Swimmer Tim McGlaston '08 was awarded an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship and will use the award as he attends medical school at Harvard University.
  
• Golfer Nathaniel James '08 received the Byron Nelson Award, one of the most pretigious awards in all of collegiate golf.  He also garnered CoSIDA Academic All-America honors and was named the recipient of the Doc Jopson Award as the top male scholar-athlete in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference.
  
• Basketball player Greg Bienemann was named one of 10 finalists for the Jostens Award, which is presented to the Division III Basketball Player of the Year.
  
• The women's tennis team advanced to the NCAA Division III Championship match for the fourth-straight season, finishing as the 2008 National Runner-up.