It is a founding member of Evanston Inventure, which promotes economic development in Evanston. The arts Numerous plays, concerts, and other performances complement the many lectures, symposiums, and other offerings at Northwestern each year. In addition to outstanding guest artists, more than 1,000 faculty and students from the School of Music and the School of Speech perform annually in events that are open to the public. Athletics Northwestern is a charter member of and the only private institution in the Big Ten Conference. The University sponsors 18 intercollegiate athletic teams and numerous club sports.
Northwestern athletes compete at the highest level.
Teams in seven sports advanced to NCAA postseason competition, with the men's golf team finishing third and the women s swimming team finishing ninth. In men's golf, junior Luke Donald captured the NCAA individual championship, while seven swimmers collected a total of 15 All-America awards. Eleven members of the the football team collected All-Big Ten honors, and the women's soccer team advanced to the Round of 16 at the NCAA Championships before losing to national champion Florida.