Mount Holyoke is an NCAA Division III school and a member of the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference, or NEWMAC. It offers 14 varsity teams and seven club sports teams. In the 2005-2006 season many MHC athletes were recognized for their outstanding achievements. The school boasted two All-Americans, seven All-Regions, three Academic All-Americans, one national riding title, six NEWMAC Players of the Week, 54 NEWMAC All-American honorees, and 18 NEWMAC All-Conference selections.
The Riding Team is one of the better-known programs on campus. In 2008 the Dressage Team earned the intercollegiate Dressage Association’s national championship award. Other varsity programs include basketball, crew, field hockey, golf, lacrosse, soccer, squash, swimming and diving, tennis, track and field, and volleyball.
The women of Mount Holyoke love their traditions, especially the ones that involve one class with another. For instance “elfing” is a way that sophomores welcome first-years in their first few weeks at school. They leave little presents for their designated “firsties” each night for a week before they meet.
Mountain Day is special tradition that no one knows the day of until the bells of Abbey Chapel ring. Classes are then cancelled for the morning and students are encouraged to hike Mount Holyoke Mountain in Skinner State Park.
M & Cs, milk and crackers, is a residential hall tradition. Milk and crackers are provided as a study break and social hour a few nights a week.
A tradition between seniors and “firsties” is Dis-O, or disorientation, meant to foster school pride among new students. Seniors wear their academic robes, gather in the hallway of the uppermost floor of their residence hall and chant “Holyoke, Holyoke, Holyoke” while stomping their feet. When the “firsties” come out, they are given costumes to wear that distinguish them by hall. Everyone sings songs and participates in activities planned by the seniors. The week-long event finishes with a big party.
Mount Holyoke’s name pops up in the 1987 film Dirty Dancing. Frances “Baby” Houseman (named after famous alumna Frances Perkins) plans to attend Mt. Holyoke in the fall to study economics and then enter the Peace Corps.
In a 2003 episode of the TV show The Simpsons, Lisa advances to the national finals of a spelling bee. She is offered free tuition and a ‘hot plate’ to the Seven Sisters College of her choice if she will lose the game on purpose to a more popular, male contestant.
One of Mt. Holyoke’s nicknames is “MoHo.”
MHC has a long-standing rivalry with fellow Five College and Seven Sister school Smith.
