The question really should be “What aren’t we playing here?” Since opening its doors in March 2005, the Fitness & Recreation Center (FitRec) has become the go-to destination for thousands of BU students, faculty and staff as well as countless members of the Boston community. Last year, in fact, between 4,000 and 5,000 people used the facility every Monday through Thursday. Even more impressive, FitRec now boasts almost 4,000 paying members and employs more than 400 BU students—making it one of the largest employers on campus. FitRec even got its own page on FaceBook this year.

More important to the BU community is how FitRec has been working with other campus entities like the College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences: Sargent College and Student Health Services to play a role in the overall well-being of BU students. FitRec hosted the BU Wellness Fair this year, introducing students to the many wellness opportunities on campus. Not only that, faculty from Sargent College teach a number of nutrition classes throughout the year at FitRec.

FitRec also opens its doors to the greater Boston community every day, offering dozens of programs for adults and children, including everything from EMS training to belly dancing. FitRec also has partnerships with schools in surrounding communities and with Big Brother/Big Sister: BU students who are “Bigs” can bring their “Littles” into the FitRec once a month at no charge to play basketball, swim and enjoy the facility.

Three cheers for “Hermione Gave Me Hogwarts”

“The Fighting Amish.” “Ooooh Barracuda.” “Boondock Broomballas.” These are just some of the 100 broomball teams you could have encountered on the ice at the Walter Brown Arena last year. While broomball is just one of the many intramural sports available to students, its rabid popularity is symbolic of the overall increase in intramural sports participation, which hit an all-time high last year: More than 7,700 students played in 24 different intramural sports.

Participation in club sports increased too, with almost 1,000 students playing 32 different sports, including badminton, cycling, gymnastics, jujitsu, rugby, sailing and more. Many club teams went on to beat our peer schools and even advance to national club sports events. (By the way, “Hermione Gave Me Hogwarts” was last year’s broomball champion.)

Intercollegiate teams reach new levels of excellence

BU’s intercollegiate teams also found new success and popularity this year and continued to uphold the Athletics Department’s tradition of “Excellence in Athletics, Academics and Community.”

• BU sports teams achieved an overall graduation success rate (GSR) of 95 percent for a second consecutive year. A record 10 varsity teams had a 100 percent GSR.
• For the sixth time in seven years, BU won the Commissioner’s Cup in recognition of being the top complete athletic program in the America East Conference.
• For the first time in over 15 years, two teams in one year—field hockey and women’s lacrosse—advanced to their respective NCAA tournament quarterfinals.
• BU reignited its historic men’s ice hockey rivalry against Cornell with a sold-out game dubbed “Red Hot Hockey” at Madison Square Garden.
• A record-setting 285 Terriers took part in community outreach efforts, working with College for Every Student to organize campus visits for underprivileged schoolchildren, and participated in the 10th Annual Holiday Reading Program, bringing BU student-athletes into local communities to read to youth.

BU’s women’s athletics program in particular has seen incredible success and growth over the past year. Indeed, BU is routinely ranked in the top 25 for number of women’s conference championships won each year. Individually for the women, 2008 was a year of accomplishments as well. Several athletes were named to All-America teams; Sarah Dalton was a finalist for the Tewaaraton Trophy for the best female lacrosse player in the country; and triple jumper Tahari James competed in the U.S. Olympic trials.

BU’s athletic triumphs were seen and heard by more people than ever this year. That’s because of our increased broadcast visibility in the Boston and national markets. Every Terrier men’s ice hockey game and Terrier men’s basketball game was broadcast on 50,000-watt WWZN in Boston, the fourth-largest AM signal in the Boston metropolitan area. BU also increased its television broadcasts to more than two dozen. Not only that, Terrier fans everywhere enjoyed games and content at www.GoTerriers.com and will continue to do so next year as our streaming and podcast capabilities increase.

This increased visibility and success across the entire athletic spectrum mean great things for BU. Not only is our athletics program a very visible reminder of the excellence of which we’re capable, it serves as a rallying point for BU alumni around the world, giving them an easy and exciting way to stay connected to their Alma Mater.