A group poses with a banner that reads, Princeton Athletics 500 Championships Ivy"

Princeton is first to reach 500 Ivy League athletic championships

By Athletics Communications on Feb. 14, 2020, 2:15 p.m.

The Princeton men's wrestling team celebrates winning the Ivy League championship on Feb. 9, 2020. The team's win is Princeton's 500th Ivy League athletic title. 

Photo by Beverly Schaefer for Princeton Athletics

Princeton has become the first university to win 500 Ivy League athletic championships. The men’s wrestling team gave Princeton its 500th Ivy League title on Sunday, Feb. 9, with a 19-13 win over Cornell University.

The Ivy League athletic conference was established in 1956. Princeton won its first Ivy League championship — for men’s squash — in 1957 and the University has since won at least one Ivy League title every year. Princeton teams have won more than one quarter of all Ivy League titles ever awarded.

Ivy League athletics encompass Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, University of Pennsylvania and Yale. All eight Ivy schools are among the top 20 of NCAA Division I schools in the number of sports offered for men and women. 

Princeton men's and women's fencing team poses with their championship trophies

The Princeton men's and women's fencing team celebrate at the 2017 Ivy Championships in Philadelphia. Princeton has 33 men's and women's athletic teams that compete for Ivy League titles. 

Photo courtesy of Athletic Communications

Princeton has 33 men’s and women’s teams that compete for Ivy League championships — ranging from basketball, baseball and field hockey to rowing, soccer and volleyball. All 33 teams have won at least two Ivy athletic titles and 24 teams have reached double figures in Ivy League titles, including nine that have reached 20.

Princeton women's ice hockey team poses with their Ivy League Championship banner

Princeton women's ice hockey team poses with their Ivy League banner after winning the 2019 championship. Princeton Athletics' motto is "education through athletics." 

Photo courtesy of Athletic Communications

Princeton has led the Ivy League in championships in 13 of the last 14 years and 36 of 64 years overall.

Princeton Athletics’ motto is “education through athletics.” The University expects that student-athletes fulfill the ideals of both identities and seeks to assure that student-athletes are representative of the entire student body. 

Princeton student athletes perform more than 4,000 hours of community service each year.

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