Varsity baseball is just one of 20 varsity sports teams at Pomona. You can also work out in PE classes, intramural and club sports, and at the campus gym.

If the goal of a liberal arts education is to educate the whole person, then athletics and physical fitness are an important part of that larger picture. About 20 percent of our students play on varsity teams, with hundreds more participating in intramural and club sports.

Pomona combines forces with Pitzer College to field 20 varsity teams—half for men, half for women—that compete in Division III NCAA athletics and as members of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC). Our coaches are faculty members, our facilities among the best, and our weather ideal for year-round outdoor activities. Sagehen baseball players don’t have to wait for the snow to melt to start their seasons, and our tennis players can hit the courts all year round.

The coaches not only bring knowledge and experience, they understand that their players are students first and that academics are a priority. Our varsity players are here not because of athletic scholarships or the promise of a pro career, but because they love the game. They participate because athletics provides an important balance to academics. That doesn’t mean that the level of competition isn’t intense, especially when Pomona-Pitzer plays its cross-campus rivals, Claremont McKenna-Mudd- Scripps (known as CMS). But because of our unique relationship to the other four Claremont Colleges, the same players who butted heads during football season might play side-by-side on the 5C rugby team.

Varsity athletics is only one piece of the physical education program. P.E. classes, intramural and club sports and recreational opportunities round out a program that has something that will appeal to almost everyone—from students interested in swordplay and foosball to sprinters and midfielders. Students also gather informally to work out in the weight room or play a game of racquetball at the Rains Center.

Our athletic program benefits from the larger college consortium setting. In addition to varsity sports, intramural athletics draw students from both Pomona and Pitzer and club teams field players from all five colleges. Schedules, court and field time are arranged by two coordinators, one for Pomona-Pitzer, the other for CMS.

About 800 students participate each semester in intramural sports, ranging from the traditional—soccer, basketball and flag football—to the increasingly popular inner tube water polo and dodgeball. Even foosball, air hockey and pool qualify for IM status. More than 60 physical education courses are offered every semester. Many students, after completing their one semester requirement for graduation, keep taking courses during all four years—just for the fun of it.

Classes are taught by members of our coaching staff and by specialists in fencing, martial arts and other activities. You could find yourself in a weight-training class with varsity football coach Roger Caron, taking beginning golf from athletic director and basketball coach Charles Katsiaficas or learning Pilates from volleyball coach Valerie Cowan.