Hobart and William Smith Colleges

31 March 2017 HWS: Top School for Athletics and Academics

Hobart and William Smith have been named by Money magazine and Sports Illustrated among the nations best colleges and universities that offer great athletics matched by an outstanding education.

The newly released ranking, 100 Best Colleges for Sports Lovers, features great colleges for students who love sportsbut who also want a high-quality, affordable education that positions them for career success. The list is a mix of familiar big-time schools and smaller colleges that are less known for their sports prowess, but no less competitive at their level.

HWS ranked No. 78 overall and No. 42 for opportunities for athletes. The Colleges were ranked alongside institutions such as Colgate University, Columbia University, Boston College, Georgetown University, Middlebury College, Syracuse University and University of Pennsylvania.

The Money ranking highlights schools overall sports cultures, scoring institutions in two broad areas: opportunities for athletes and fan experience. The ranking only considered schools already included on Moneys annual Best Colleges list which is based on affordability, academic excellence and outcomes. In addition to making the Best Colleges list, HWS was named by Money as one of the nations 50 Best Liberal Arts Colleges for the past two years.

Often in the national spotlight, the Statesmen and Herons boast 658 all-time All-Americans; more than 560 student-athletes competing at the varsity level; 258 All-Academic awards earned by HWS athletes in 2015-16; 23 (team) National Championships; 1,232 hours volunteered in the Geneva community during 2015-16; 41 Academic All-Americans; 102 total conference championships won since 1995.

In 2013, William Smith won the NCAA Division III Womens Soccer Championship; after leading the Herons to the title, Head Coach Aliceann Wilber earned the National Soccer Coaches Association of America/FieldTurf Coach of the Year Award. Some of the individual national honors over the past few years include:

• Ali Marpet 15 was selected in 2015 by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the second round of the 2015 NFL Draft, the highest DIII draft pick ever;
• Olivia Zitoli 14 received the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) National Player of the Year;
• Tyre Coleman 15 received the D3football.com National Defensive Player of the Year;
• Madeline Buckley 15 received the Coach John Wooden Citizenship Cup;
• Richie Bonney 14 earned two of the most prestigious national honors awarded in NCAA Division III mens basketball: the 2014 Jostens Trophy and the 2013-14 Capital One Academic All-America of the Year.