• Campus recreation
• Intramural sports
  
• Nanook sports
  
• Student Recreation Center

Athletics

Photo by Chris Morgan

Members of the UAF rifle team hold the NCAA Championship trophy in West Point, N.Y. Pictured, from left, coach Dan Jordan, Billy Galligan, Taylor Beard, Christofer Olofsson, Patrik Sartz and Cody Rutter.

Photo by Kelly Gorham

Marius Korthauer crosses the finish line at the 2008 NCAA Skiing Championships in Bozeman, Mont. on Friday.

When UAF was established in 1917, the basketball teams were nicknamed the "Polar Bears." After 1963, the Polar Bears and UAF's official mascot became known almost exclusively as "Nanooks," after the Inupiaq Eskimo word for polar bear, "nanuq."

Nanook teams compete on campus and at other locations in Fairbanks. UAF’s basketball, cross country and volleyball teams belong to the Division II Great Northwest Athletic Conference. The Division I hockey team is a member of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association, and the women’s swim team belongs to the Pacific Coast Conference. The 10-time NCAA championship rifle team competes in the open class.

Nanook competition is fierce but fun, and there’s more to it than intercollegiate rivalries. Intramural team sports are a great way for those who are slightly less athletically inclined to meet other students, get some exercise and take a break from homework. Join an existing club or get together with a bunch of friends to form a new one. Most sports are coed, and the scheduling works to accommodate classes whenever possible. Grab your shoes and go!