I actually think one can fairly describe Stern undergrad as pretty cutthroat, as in hyper intense. The competition for IB jobs is severe. Lots of jobs, but even more candidates. Some networking functions are mob scenes.
We know of 2 athletic recruits who were enrolled at Stern (as mentioned by @michaelcollege , it can be hard for an athletic recruit to also get into Stern), and left the team after freshman year. They said it just wasn’t feasible to do both, especially with the athletic facility a hard back and forth commute.
Also, as CM1212 points out, some industry specific clubs are very selective to join. I would hazard that as an athlete, it would be a bit easier to join W&L’s competitive finance club than Stern’s/Chicago’s. Athletes at LACs often get a leg up in joining these clubs, and they are extremely helpful for recruiting and training purposes.