• 20 men's and women's varsity sports
• NCAA Division III competition
• State of the art athletic facilities
• 75 percent of students engage in sports

The Pioneers. It's the right nickname for a school that has a long tradition of being the first. Grinnell was the first school to play in an inter-collegiate football game west of the Mississippi and one of the leaders in establishing gender equity in collegiate athletics. It's the only college of its size that employs 12 full-time coaches who are also faculty members, which means when student athletes want extra attention, it's available. The strength of Grinnell's coaching is supported by unparalleled facilities including:

• Two new gymnasia
• 200-meter indoor track
• 400-meter Granutan outdoor track
• Six-lane 25-meter swimming pool with diving boards
• 23-foot rock climbing wall
• Softball and baseball complexes
• Racquetball, handball, and squash courts
• Six all-weather tennis courts
• Football and state-of-the-art soccer fields

Most students are involved in a sport, including intramurals and club sports. That involvement ranges from avid rock climbers who are helping to further expand the very popular GORP-the Grinnell Outdoor Recreation Program-to varsity athletes in 20 programs ranging from football to volleyball. The men's and women's varsity programs compete against teams in the Midwest Conference in NCAA Division III.