Why the Weight of Athletics Was Reduced for Undergraduate Admissions

In an email to the Caltech community on September 5, 2024, Professors Kevin Gilmartin and Gil Refael announced two changes to the Institute’s undergraduate admissions process—reinstating standardized testing and reducing the weight of athletics. These changes “reaffirm Caltech’s commitment to academic merit and excellence, and are crucial to fulfilling the Institute’s Mission: ‘to expand human knowledge and benefit society through research integrated with education.’ ”

Regarding athletics, the email stated that “the admissions process will reduce the weight that has been placed on athletics participation, and assign athletics participation and any other extracurricular activities a comparable weight.” The Tech learned more about this change in a conversation with Professor Omer Tamuz, faculty chair of the First-Year Admissions and Financial Aid Committee.

Over the last ten years, Caltech’s sports teams have drastically improved. During this time, athletics became more involved in admissions and the teams became composed of considerably more recruited athletes. Professor Tamuz stated that this shift towards athletics happened slowly through changes made organically within the system, and the faculty were not really aware of it.

The bylaws of Caltech put the responsibility of admitting students on the faculty. Some faculty were involved in the shift towards athletics, such as the past chairs of the First-Year Admissions and Financial Aid Committee and of the Athletics & Physical Education Committee. However, much of the faculty felt like there was no discussion about this change of policy which resulted in the number of recruited athletes going from very few to over ¼ of the student body.

There are many differing opinions among the faculty about reducing the weight of athletics in admissions. Professor Tamuz stated that the Faculty Board spent a lot of time discussing it last year. While they did not reach a consensus at the end of the discussions, “a large majority came to the decision that admissions should not involve athletics.” He also said that the prevalent opinion among the faculty is that athletics is helpful for students to get through their studies here. Still, the mission of Caltech is clear: “I think athletics supports the Caltech mission of education because it helps the students, at least the athletes, have a better experience here, but I don’t think that athletics in and of itself is part of the mission.”

An important sentiment to be made clear is that admissions was confident in all the student-athletes that have been admitted in the past few years. Professor Tamuz stated, “We’re very happy with all the students that we admitted, but we’re going to have a change of priorities in the future… I think we’re going to shift some of the priorities of admissions away from athletic ability. Our student-athletes are very strong in their schoolwork and they have very strong applications, and we’ll continue admitting them, based on their academic ability.”

Two things that were not included in the September 5 email are, first, that it was decided that Caltech will not drop out of Division III. However, it is unclear if the Institute might have to compromise on how many teams it maintains in the NCAA in the long run. Additionally, the change in the weight of athletics will be gradually implemented over the next four years.

Regarding the Institute’s student-athletes, in an email to the Tech, Athletic Director Betsy Mitchell stated, “Our scholar athletes at Caltech are among the best scholars at the Institute and in the world. Their successes as a subset of the whole are indistinguishable from this entire amazing student body. They are equally prepared and bring tremendous talents and skills to our campus upon their matriculation. Caltech is unique among its academic peers and all American colleges and universities, in that we do not have athletic admissions where athletic ability outweighs (or even replaces) academic preparation. From my perspective, athletic participation is one component of a holistic admissions process, not the only one, as happens at other places. This aspect of a well rounded person is a welcome feature in our community, and shows up in more ways than just athletics. We are proud to seek the most highly qualified STEM students in our country, and the world, who want to have a balanced and educational athletic experience while studying here. The positive school spirit that emerges from the 25% of the student body who represent the Institute in competition is a joy to be associated with.”

For students who want to know more, there may be a town hall meeting later in the term with Professors Tamuz and Refael.