With a winning athletic tradition and commitment to academic excellence, Centre College, founded in 1819, is one of the nation’s oldest schools. Centre competes in 25 intercollegiate sports – 11 for men, 13 for women, 1 coed – with over 45% of the student body participating in one or more intercollegiate sport. The College also offers numerous intramural sports in which 80% of our students participate.
The Centre Colonels compete in Division III of the NCAA and the Southern Athletic Association, recognized as one of the top Division III conferences in the country.
The Colonels’ tradition of excellence can be traced back to what some publications have named the greatest sporting upset of the 20th century – Centre’s victory over then undefeated and number 1-ranked Harvard in 1921 to win the national football championship. Since then, Centre athletics has continued that tradition, winning 151 team conference championships and five individual NCAA Championships. 32 Centre athletes have been named Academic All-Americans and Centre student-athletes have been named to regional and national All-America teams 196 times. Two of Centre’s last four Rhodes Scholars were varsity athletes and three other varsity athletes won Fulbright Scholarships in 1996, 1997, and 2000.
Centre’s commitment to athletics can be seen in our continual improvement in athletic facilities. In 2005 we completed a $12 million dollar renovation and construction project to the Sutcliffe Athletic and Recreation Center. This project has helped bring Centre’s athletic and recreation capabilities to the forefront in the region. In 2017, Centre completed the $5.5 million state-of-the-art Andrew P. Amend Field and Dabney Building. In 2021, Centre announced the
Initiative for Wellness and Athletic Excellence, a $50 million project that will oversee a major upgrade to athletics facilities, including the construction of new facilities for baseball and swimming.
As an NCAA Division III member, Centre does not offer athletic scholarships but annually does award over $8 million in academic scholarships and need-based financial aid.
Centre College is a top-50 national liberal arts and sciences institution that offers a challenging, custom education from one of the nation’s finest faculties. With a reputation for outstanding alumni giving and study abroad experiences, Centre provides all of the small college advantages with big-time opportunities.
