Sports and Recreation
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Jump, run, shoot, score
You'll do that–and more–when you get involved with K-State's recreation and sports programs. You can pull together a basketball team on your residence hall floor. Prepare to make your first-ever parachute jump. Sweat to the beat during an aerobics session. Or swim speed laps in a three-pool complex.
K-State's sports and fitness programs cater to everyone–from state champions to the last-picked team members.
Approximately 88 percent of our students participate in some type of recreation. Just consider the options:
- An expanded and renovated recreation complex offering great facilities and fitness programs.
- An intramurals program featuring competitions in more than 40 sports.
- Club teams that compete with other universities in more than 20 sports.
- Sixteen varsity sports that offer excitement whether you're on the team or on the sidelines.
Rec Complex
As many as 4,800 people per day use the Chester E. Peters Recreation Complex, and a $21-million expansion will feature a new gymnasium, a longer track, and expand the cardio/weight area to 20,000 square feet, twice the existing size. A rock climbing wall and other enhancements are part of the expansion effort.
The complex has 14 racquetball and handball courts; two squash courts; gyms with 10 basketball courts; a weight/fitness area with weight machines and free weights, Stairmasters, rowing machines, exercycles, and climbers; a treadmill-style rock-climbing wall; locker rooms and saunas; two indoor running tracks; a combatives area; and a circuit machine/stretching area.
Outdoors you'll find 20 acres of field space, which is lighted for night play; 10 tennis courts; a basketball court; horseshoe pits; and a fitness cluster with walking and running trails. Canoes, fishing boats, tents, sleeping bags, and other outdoor equipment can be rented.
The natatorium, located next to Ahearn Field House on campus, features a pool for lap swimming, a recreation pool, and a diving well. More than 45,000 people swim in the natatorium each year.
Rec Complex programs provide many jobs for students. You might work as a building manager, lifeguard, sports official, or exercise leader.
Your semester fees help pay for recreational activities. By showing your K-State ID you'll be admitted free to both the Rec Complex and the natatorium.
Intramural sports
Thousands of students and faculty members compete each year on K-State's intramural teams.
Intramural teams compete with other campus teams. Most of these teams are organized just for fun, but if your team turns out to be good, you might win a coveted championship T-shirt.
Many people who played varsity sports in high school enjoy intramurals. They can play sports they enjoy without the pressures and time commitments of varsity competition.
K-State's intramural program hosts more than 40 individual, dual, and team sports. Competition is divided into men's, women's, co-rec, and living group divisions.
Basketball, softball, and volleyball–with approximately 300 teams competing–are K-State's most popular intramural sports. You have many sports to choose from:
- Badminton
- Basketball
- Bowling
- Cross country
- Flag football
- Golf
- Handball
- Horseshoes
- Inner tube water polo
- Soccer
- Softball
- Swimming
- Table tennis
- Tennis
- Volleyball
- Wrestling
- And more
Club sports
Club sports give K-Staters a chance to compete with teams from other universities in sports they enjoy. These nonvarsity clubs practice several times per week and compete with universities across the country.
K-State's club sports run the gamut from lacrosse to paintball. If you don't find what you're looking for, see if there's enough interest to start your own team. Here's a sample of sports available:
- Crew (rowing)
- Cycling
- Dodgeball
- Fishing
- Rodeo
- Roller hockey
- Rugby
- Soccer
- Softball
- Ultimate Frisbee
- Volleyball
- Water skiing
- Wrestling
- And more
You can also get involved in sports-related groups that do not compete against other colleges. Attend the Activities Carnival, held each fall, to learn about the karate club, aikido club, horseman's association, and other groups.
Varsity athletics
Whether you're on the court or the sidelines, you'll love the excitement of K-State's varsity sports.
K-State's football teams have played in 13 bowl games, including 12 appearances the last 15 years, and played in three Big 12 title games. Since 1999 the Cats have had 34 football players drafted by the NFL with Terence Newman going No. 5 overall to the Dallas Cowboys in 2003. Eleven former K-Staters have played on the game's biggest stage in the Super Bowl.
In 2007 the men's basketball team won 23 games and advanced to the second round of the National Invitation Tournament, and this year welcomed the nation's top recruiting class. The program has been to four Final Fours and won 19 conference championships. Thirty-five Wildcats have been drafted by NBA teams with seven league champions and three all-stars, including 1995 game MVP Mitch Richmond, also the league's rookie of the year in 1989.
Also the women's basketball team advanced to the WNIT semifinals in 2007 after finishing the 2005-2006 season as WNIT champions. K-State shared the Big 12 Conference title in 2004, and five former Cats play on WNBA teams.
More than 45 former K-State players have been drafted by major league baseball organizations. Some of the finest athletes in the nation have come from K-State, including 2007 NCAA outdoor high jump champion Scott Sellers and current women's decathlon record-holder Austra Skujyte. Since 1920 K-State has been represented in 13 Olympiads in nine different sports, and Thane Baker and Kenny Harrison have claimed Olympic gold medals.
K-State competes at the NCAA Division I level in the following sports:
- Football
- Basketball: men and women
- Baseball
- Volleyball
- Golf: men and women
- Outdoor track: men and women
- Indoor track: men and women
- Cross country: men and women
- Tennis: women
- Rowing: women
- Equestrian
Get more info about varsity athletics
Request information about joining a team
Tickets
You can buy discount tickets and support the varsity teams of your choice.