Students looking for serious opportunities in competitive athletics in sports not under varsity status best look elsewhere. I've heard many excuses as to why Yale fails to support teams in Wrestling, Men's Volleyball, Waterpolo, or Alpine Skiing. Title IX has apparently not hindered Harvard or Princeton and we are now running a budget surplus coupled with one of the largest endowments in the country. I have yet to hear a convincing reason as to why these sports have varsity status at Princeton and Harvard while not here. Ivy League universities draw students from all geographical corners of the United States and the world.
Incoming students bring in a diversity of talents, backgrounds, and athletic interests.
The emphasis of Yale's athletics remains largely on those sports indigenous to the East Coast. Crew and lacrosse provide examples of sports popular in the Northeast, East and parts of the Southern United States while they remain comparatively unpracticed in the Mid-West and West Coast regions. Wrestling commands great popularity in the Mid-West, volleyball and waterpolo are dominant on the West Coast, and all three are prominent in the international arena. By choosing not to support these sports, Yale passes over the opportunity to boast successful teams in these areas of competition. The men's volleyball, wrestling and waterpolo teams remain competitive against other varsity programs despite lack of coaching, adequate equipment, or any other substantial help by the University.