<p>larayilmaz:</p>
<p>The letter sounds good, save for one important fact: UChicago does not have a commitment to excellence on the D3 playing fields. The letter should more realistically read “a commitment to excellence in the classroom and a commitment to being mediocre or half-decent on the playing fields.”</p>
<p>If you look at past Sears Cup rankings (which ranks the finest athletic programs in the nation), UChicago has generally finished in the 50s or 60s (mediocre) and achieved a 27th place finish maybe once or twice in the past 10 years. </p>
<p>This hardly connotes excellence on the playing fields. A few programs at UChicago have real quality (the women’s soccer and basketball teams are quite good, and the wrestling program and tennis program are usually solid), but most teams are pretty middling.</p>