The Bates Scholar-Athlete Society honors dedication to excellence in scholarship and sportsmanship. It celebrates the ways in which the game fits into the overall collegiate experience by honoring those who do it best.
The Society includes seniors nominated by their coaches who have compiled a 3.5 grade point average or have received a special nomination from faculty and staff for distinguished academic achievement in their junior and senior years. To be eligible for induction, student-athletes must participate in a varsity sport for at least three years. The society is designed to honor about 25 student-athletes each year of the roughly 175 varsity athletes that graduate.
Bates is uncommon in that nearly two-thirds of its students participate in 30 varsity and 12 club sports. Bates is a charter member of the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC), and its teams compete with fellow members Amherst, Bowdoin, Colby, Connecticut College, Hamilton, Middlebury, Trinity, Tufts, Wesleyan and Williams, as well as with teams from other colleges and universities.
The Scholar-Athlete Society complements the Milton L. Lindholm Scholar Athlete Awards, which have been given annually since 1976 to the senior male and female athletes with the highest academic averages. The awards honor Milton L. Lindholm, Class of 1935, who served as Bates Dean of Admissions for 32 years.
