A browse through Harvard's athletic self-study report yields some interesting facts:

* Nearly two-thirds of all undergraduates participate in some form of athletics, including varsity and junior varsity teams, club sports, and intramural and recreational activities. The Department of Athletics is dedicated to meeting the athletic aspirations of all students, not just varsity athletes.

* America's first intercollegiate athletic competition took place in August 1852, when Harvard faced Yale in a rowing race.

* Harvard played in the first college hockey game in January 1898, and in the first college soccer match in April 1905.

* Eight Harvard athletes competed at the Summer Olympics in 1996.

* When Harvard College accepted responsibility for the women's athletics program in 1974, Radcliffe was providing intercollegiate athletic opportunities for 200 women in 8 sports. Today, the women's athletics program has grown to 20 intercollegiate sports with more than 500 participants.

* Harvard is one of the few institutions that still compete in a number of sports on the junior varsity level.

* Four of the eight senior staff positions in the Department of Athletics are held by women, and eight of the 25 full-time head coaches are women.

* The Faculty of Arts and Sciences allocates almost $9 million in unrestricted funds each year to the Department of Athletics to operate its athletic programs and facilities.