For student-athletes interested in pursuing sports at the collegiate level, recruitment begins months in advance and can be far more intensive than the standard admissions process. It involves connecting with coaches, visiting college sports programs, attending camps and maintaining online profiles, all in addition to a traditional college application. Many students, however, might not want to undergo the recruitment process, despite their interest in a sport. Some may be unable to commit to training at the college level. Others don’t meet the necessary athletic standards. Regardless of the reason, UChicago provides an avenue for these students to pursue their passion for sports as walk-on athletes.  

Typically, a student interested in joining a college varsity sports team as a walk-on reaches out to coaches to see if they have space on their roster and can participate, once they have committed to the university. Students are also expected to meet a certain performance level for their sport of interest and attend a few practices to evaluate their fit on the team before they can formally join. Despite the initial procedural differences, once on the team, the experiences of recruited athletes and walk-ons are quite similar.  

Second-year Alec Stein walked onto the cross country and track and field teams in his first year. In high school, he knew he wanted to continue running in college, but it wasn’t until the latter half of his senior year—after he committed to UChicago and saw significant improvements in his race times—that he made the decision to try to walk on. “This is what I wanted to do, and [I] really wanted to try and make the student-athlete lifestyle work,” Stein told the Maroon. 

Reflecting on his experiences, Stein found that despite being a walk-on, he was still held to the same bar as a recruited athlete, from workout intensity to practice schedules. “I don’t think it’s a distinction that matters once you get past the first couple weeks of training because the team just made me feel at home,” Stein shared. 

While most varsity teams at UChicago welcome walk-ons, the track and field team have the most opportunities due to the variety of individual events they offer, especially in comparison to more team-based sports like soccer or football.  

First-year Sophie Menon walked onto UChicago’s pole vault team. Having competed in the pole vault event in high school, Menon said she “wasn’t quite ready to give [the sport] up,” especially considering that “the balance of academics and athletics actually makes [her] more productive.” 

Fueled by her passion and love for the sport, Menon reached out to the coach asking to join the team following her admission to UChicago. Having met the pole-vaulting recruitment standard for walk-ons with her then-current personal record, she had a two-week trial period to gauge her fit for the team at the beginning of the school year when pre-season began. 

Now in the regular swing of training and practices with the rest of the team, Menon noted that although a walk-on may be less likely to compete in travel tournaments, her overall experience as a walk-on has been very similar to that of a recruited athlete, much like Stein. “The track and field team is super welcoming, and everything from practice schedules to competing seems exactly identical.”  

While UChicago may not boast a particularly strong name in college athletics, the opportunities it presents for students to further their sports journeys at the NCAA level provides a valuable experience for students who want to balance academics and athletics. The University’s welcoming environment for walk-on athletes promotes a space for them to grow and learn alongside their teammates while fostering a strong sense of camaraderie and belonging.  

“The way that [my coach] treated me as a walk-on was just great; he made me feel like a part of the team. I [didn’t] get treated any differently in a team setting; they did a really great job of integrating me, so once you’re on the team, [being a walk-on] doesn’t matter,” Stein said.