Let’s settle it up front — Brown is not the most spirited when it comes to athletics. While we do hold claim to the fourth largest intercollegiate athletics program in the county, our Tide most certainly does not Roll and our Jayhawk does not Rock Chalk. For many students, football under the lights may be the only interaction they have with Brown athletics.

Interestingly enough, this distant relationship with sports at Brown was not always the case. In the late 19^th century, students were so fixated on (and seemingly distracted by) intercollegiate sport at Brown that President Alexis Caswell responded by stating, “The College is…losing scholarship by the very interest…in boating and baseball.”  Boating and baseball, that’s what Rhode Island does. There was an undeniable sense of excitement surrounding athletics at Brown and a distinct feeling of competitiveness with its rivals.

Though many readers may not be familiar with the intricacies of college sport, we can all agree on one thing: Yale Princeton Penn Cornell Columbia Dartmouth Harvard sucks. We’ve come to appreciate it, it’s literally a fact of life. Yeah they might have the largest endowment in the world and educated seven U.S. presidents, but seriously, did Rutherford ‘Big Shot’ Hayes ever accomplish anything?! (He did.) [Read more →]

The London 2012 Olympics kick off tonight with a Shakespeare-inspired, Danny Boyle-directed spectacle. Some of y’all might have already made plans to watch the Opening Ceremony and drool over Ryan Lochte, but here’s another reason to tune in: two Brunonians will be reppin’ our school in London this summer. Craig Kinsley ’11 is a javelin thrower for the U.S. track and field team, and Nikola Stojic ’97 will be making his fourth appearance at the Olympics as a member of Serbia’s men’s rowing team.

We wish them both luck in their respective events! As for the rest of us…

Can’t wait to take a peek inside the new fitness and aquatics center? We took a tour yesterday, so we’ve got you covered!

The building has three components: the Katherine Moran Coleman Aquatics Center, the Nelson Fitness Center, and the David J. Zucconi ’55 Varsity Strength and Conditioning Center. See today’s Herald for more information.

Thanks to Project Manager John Cooke for the tour. Photos by Emily Gilbert.

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