Campus Life

Cardinal Athletics

Stanford has won the Directors’ Cup, which honors the most successful program in NCAA Division I sports, the last 21 years. For 40 years in a row, Stanford has won at least one national championship—the longest streak in the nation. In 2014-15, women's water polo and women's golf were national NCAA champions. In December 2015, men's soccer won the NCAA championship.

The Department of Athletics offers 36 varsity sports—20 for women, 16 for men (sailing is a co-ed sport.) Also offered are 26 club sports. Stanford offers 300 athletic scholarships. About 900 student participate in intercollegiate sports. Fifty three percent are men, and 47 percent are women. Stanford scholar-athletics have earned 153 NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships—a national best. Twelve Stanford scholar-athletes have earned a Rhodes Scholarship.

Stanford employs some 100 coaches and assistants. The university maintains one million gross feet of indoor facilities and 94 acres of outdoor fields. Among Stanford’s facilities are the 50,000-seat Stanford Stadium; the 18-hole Stanford Golf Course; the 7,233-seat Maples Pavilion; the 4,000-seat Sunken Diamond; the 17-court Taube Family Tennis Stadium; and the 2,500-seat, four-pool Avery Aquatic Complex.

Varsity Sports at Stanford
Women's Varsity Sports Men's Varsity Sports
Basketball Baseball
Cross Country Basketball
Fencing Cross Country
Field Hockey Fencing
Golf Football
Gymnastics Golf
Lacrosse Gymnastics
Lightweight Rowing Rowing
Rowing Sailing
Sailing Soccer
Beach Volleyball Swimming and Diving
Soccer Tennis
Softball Track and Field
Squash Volleyball
Swimming and Diving Water Polo
Synchronized Swimming Wrestling
Tennis  
Track and Field  
Volleyball  
Water Polo  

Home of Champions

  • Total National Championships: 129 (NCAA rank: #1)
  • Total NCAA Championships: 108 (#2)
  • Total Men's NCAA Championships: 62 (#3)
  • Total Women's NCAA Championships: 46 (#1)
  • Total Individual NCAA Championships: 462 (#1)
  • NCAA Team Championships Since 1990: 95
  • NCAA Team Championships Since 1980: 119
  • Consecutive years with national team championship(s): 40 (#1)
  • Olympic medals won by Stanford-affiliated athletes: 280

The Cardinal

Cardinal has been the color of Stanford athletic teams since 1892. In 1930, Stanford officially adopted the Indian symbol and nickname for its teams. In 1972, the Indian mascot was dropped at the request of Native American students. Today, Stanford teams are called the Cardinal.

This page last modified Feb 25, 2016.