Are sports necessary to be considered for the academy?

[BeastHunter]

I'm a high school student who's a junior, and I was wondering if participating in sports is helpful for being accepted at the academy. Please let me know if this is the case. All help is appreciated

 

[Michael_T]

I'm a high school student who's a junior, and I was wondering if participating in sports is helpful for being accepted at the academy. Please let me know if this is the case. All help is appreciated

As I've been told, nearly 95% of people who apply to each of the SA's, have some sort of sports under their belt, (e.g. Varsity). I participate in Track and Cross Country, in each respective season.

This does also show, that you are a good team player, if you participate in such a sport, and to answer your question it will heavily influence your application.

I'd say that if you don't have any athletic participation, you would EXTREMELY need to excel with your SAT/ACT Scores, your GPA, and other potential EC's

Let me know if you have anything else !

 

[ParachutePanda]

I agree with MichealT2022. At every academy, every student is an athlete. This can be through D1 sports or intramurals. Sports is also weighed when doing your application, so consider it carefully.

 

[AROTC-dad]

Agree with the above.

Note that there is a significant value the SA's place on teamwork in sports and not just fitness.

 

[MidCakePa]

Note that there is a significant value the SA's place on teamwork in sports and not just fitness.

Building on this response: The main reason SAs put so much weight on playing competitive sports is because it’s a great way to develop teamwork, leadership, discipline, persistence, competitiveness and time management — all attributes highly valued for cadets/mids and commissioned officers.

It’s less about physical fitness, which is better measured via the CFA.

If you haven’t done so already, look up the USNA Class of 2025 class profile. You’ll see that more than 90% of plebes participated in varsity sports. So it’s possible to win offer of appointment without — but you’ll need to demonstrate how you otherwise developed the aforementioned attributes.

 

[usafcellist2026]

There are few exceptions with sports, such as if your school doesn't offer sports, (like mine). In my opinion, sports show SAs how you're able to work together as a team and prove your leadership, such as being Team Captain.

 

[Humey]

Maybe i am wrong, but it would seem that there is some physicality to going a service academy and being in a sport would show that you have some ability to do the physical work. Of course i am generalizing, but my guess is that a good chunk of MIT students wouldn't get in because they wouldn't be able to handle the physical nature of being in the military.

 

[Devil Doc]

Athletic participation also prepares one to be able to take a hit.

Not always the physical kind but the ups and downs of life as an officer in dealings with both other officers and the enlisted people who they lead.

 

[Kierkegaard]

It’s helpful for admissions and it’s also helpful for getting through the Academy, as competitive athletics necessitate teamwork, discipline, and pushing through physical discomfort. All of these skills are important to getting through the Academy, especially Plebe Summer and Plebe Year. Not all midshipmen are athletes, but many are. (Intramurals consist of something like a few pickup games of basketball or soccer throughout the semester, so most people don’t count it being part of a sport.) Being on a team is looked highly upon by both peers and officers on the Yard who evaluate you.

 

[Heatherg21]

If you cannot demonstrate participation in a sport, you would have to absolutely max the CFA.

 

[chicagotousna '26]

Maybe i am wrong, but it would seem that there is some physicality to going a service academy and being in a sport would show that you have some ability to do the physical work. Of course i am generalizing, but my guess is that a good chunk of MIT students wouldn't get in because they wouldn't be able to handle the physical nature of being in the military.

that's a big generalization! Most accepted students at MIT, USNA, Harvard, etc have some teamwork, athletic participation. USNA is not the only school that takes sports seriously, though going to USNA definitely has some more daily physical activity than at MIT.

 

[MidCakePa]

Most accepted students at MIT, USNA, Harvard, etc have some teamwork, athletic participation.

Don’t have any stats, but willing to bet a year’s salary that far fewer than 90% of MIT or Harvard students played a varsity sport. Yes, there are competitive and accomplished athletes there, but not near the same percentage as at SAs.

 

[Heatherg21]

that's a big generalization! Most accepted students at MIT, USNA, Harvard, etc have some teamwork, athletic participation. USNA is not the only school that takes sports seriously, though going to USNA definitely has some more daily physical activity than at MIT.

“Going to USNA definitely has some more daily physical activity than at MIT.”

There is a lot to unpack here. MIT has no physical fitness test required to attend. MIT doesn’t require a DODMERB physical exam and clearance. MIT doesn’t require an intramural sport as a weekly activity nor do they require passing the military Physical Readiness Test multiple times.
Pretty sure no student at MIT has had to pass an airframe crash drowning exercise or take swim classes and be required to pass them for proficiency.

10 meter dive platform test? Doesn’t happen at MIT.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not knocking MIT, it was on our son’s short list. But to say the average student meets the same physical requirements as that of a SA student is somewhat preposterous.

 

[MidCakePa]

10 meter dive platform test? Doesn’t happen at MIT.

Not to mention no one at MIT was required to attend 5:30 a.m. PT five days a week for their first seven weeks on campus. Nor was required to take boxing and wrestling class. Nor was required to take three semesters of swimming. Nor finished their freshman year with 15 straight hours of strenuous physical activity on both land and water.

Fantastic university, MIT is. But laughable to compare its student body’s physicality to USNA’s.

going to USNA definitely has some more daily physical activity than at MIT.

Some? Um…no.

 

[Humey]

that's a big generalization! Most accepted students at MIT, USNA, Harvard, etc have some teamwork, athletic participation. USNA is not the only school that takes sports seriously, though going to USNA definitely has some more daily physical activity than at MIT.

Lets start with this according to an article I just read (not sure if I am allowed to show the link so i wont)

• At least 71 percent of Americans between 17 and 24 are now ineligible to serve in the military—some 24 million of the 34 million people in that age range. This is due to lack of education, obesity, and other physical problems, or criminal history

Obviously, there are going to be athletic people who go to MIT and Harvard and could handle an academy. But as mentioned many times, the percentage of people who go to an academy and played varsity in high school was something like 90%. I would bet you good money that the percentage of kids who go to MIT isn't half that high. Now maybe because sports is sort of a requirement to get into an academy, some who participated in Varsity sports only did it because they knew that requirement. My guess is that that would only be a small percentage of people because you either like sports or you don't and more importantly, you are either good at it or you aren't. Some high schools take everyone who wants to play and others are very selective, so just wanting to participate doesn't mean you get on a team.

Dont get me wrong, MIT is an incredible school and I would have been so proud of my sons had gotten in.