Editing Williams College (section)

==Athletics==
{{main|Williams Ephs}}
[[File:Williams College - Towne Field House.JPG|thumb|Towne Field House]]

The school's athletic teams (except for the men's rugby team, [[Williams College Rugby Football|the White Dawgs]]) are called the Ephs (rhymes with "chiefs"), a shortening of the first name of founder [[Ephraim Williams]]. The mascot is a [[Purple Cow]]. They participate in the [[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA]]'s [[Division III (NCAA)|Division III]] and the [[New England Small College Athletic Conference]]. Williams also competes in [[skiing]] and [[squash (sport)|squash]] at the [[NCAA Division I|Division I]] level. Williams is ranked first among Division III schools for athletic spending per student.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://ope.ed.gov/athletics/main.asp |title=Equity in Athletics |access-date=2007-02-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070216050342/http://ope.ed.gov/athletics/main.asp |archive-date=2007-02-16 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Williams has a traditional rivalry with Amherst College and Wesleyan University. The "Little Three", a subset of [[NESCAC]], comprises the three schools<ref>{{cite web | author =Reynolds, Lauren | title =Sibling rivalry: Williams-Amherst remains heated | publisher =ESPN | url =https://www.espn.com/espn/print?id=2945751&type=story | access-date =2007-09-20 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20071113060734/http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/print?id=2945751&type=story | archive-date =November 13, 2007 | url-status =live }}</ref> Although Williams College typically sports purple and gold as their school colors, purple is in fact the only school color. The gold was added in order to differentiate its colors from that of rival school Amherst's purple and white uniforms. On May 3, 2009, Williams and Amherst alumni played a game of [[vintage baseball]] at [[Wahconah Park]] according to 1859-rules to commemorate the 150th-anniversary of the first [[college baseball]] game, which was played on July 2, 1859, between the two schools.

Until 1994, Williams was not permitted, by NESCAC rules, to compete in team NCAA competition. The Williams women's swimming and [[Diving (sport)|diving]] team won the school's first national title in 1981, and claimed the title in 1982 as well. Williams played in the 2003, 2004, 2010, and 2014 men's basketball Division III national championship games, winning the title in March 2003. Men's basketball also played in the 1997, 1998, 2011, and 2017 Final Fours. Williams was the first New England basketball team to win a Division III championship, and since they have been eligible to compete in the NCAA tournament, no team in the country has played in more Final Fours.

Williams teams to win national titles since Williams began participating in NCAA tournaments in 1994 include women's crew (nine titles, including eight straight from 2006 to 2013), men's tennis (four), women's tennis (nine, including six straight from 2008 to 2013), women's soccer (three, 2015, 2017–18), men's [[Cross country running|cross country]] (two), women's cross country (three), [[men's basketball]], women's indoor track and field (two), women's golf (2015), and men's soccer (1995).  The Men's Crew team won the inaugural DIII IRA championship in 2022.

Williams has won the NACDA Director's Cup 22 of the 24 years since its inception, including 13 years in a row from 1999 through 2011.

Williams also has an active club and intramural sports program, offering 14 club sports including [[Ultimate (sport)|ultimate]], [[Williams College Rugby Football|rugby]], [[horseback riding]], cycling, fencing, volleyball, gymnastics, sailing, and [[water polo]]. Approximately 50% of Williams's students compete on at least one varsity, junior varsity, or formal club team.

===Athletic facilities===
[[File:Weston Field in January.JPG|thumb|Renovation of [[Weston Field (Williamstown)|Weston Field]] Athletic Complex{{snd}}January 2014. The wooden grandstand behind the excavator was built in 1902. It was moved in 1987 to the new Plansky Track and football field and was moved again during the renovations that were completed in September 2014.]]

Williams College has had major updates or renovations of its athletic facilities during the past several decades.

The Lansing Chapman hockey rink, built in 1953 and originally uncovered, was canopied in 1963, enclosed in 1969 and has been periodically upgraded to the present (2014) with rink, roof, locker room and lighting improvements.

The Towne Field House, constructed in 1970, is a multipurpose facility, which includes an indoor track, tennis courts and a climbing wall. The last was initially constructed in 1974 and updated to a state-of-the-art climbing wall in 1995.  Towne Field House's track was resurfaced in 2019. The field house also accommodates pre-season baseball, softball and lacrosse.

The Lasell Gym, built in 1886, was renovated and expanded with the addition of the Chandler Athletic Center in 1987. It provides a state-of-the-art 50-meter swimming pool, a gymnasium primarily for basketball, squash facilities, wrestling rooms, various fitness centers and administrative offices.

In 1987, the [[Weston Field (Williamstown)|Weston Field]] cinder running track and baseball field were replaced: the [[Tony Plansky|Anthony Plansky]] 400-meter track was built around the refurbished football field, and the Bobby Coombs baseball field was relocated to Cole Field. The Renzi Lamb Field for lacrosse and field hockey, built with artificial turf, was added to Weston Field in 2004.

In November 2013 Williams College began its $22 million renovation of the Weston Field complex. This upgrade includes an artificial turf football field, relocation of the Plansky Track and Lamb Field, new bleachers, improved lighting and the addition of support buildings for the athletes. The completed facility, which reopened in September 2014, allows year-round athletic events and practice.<ref>[http://facilities.williams.edu/properties Properties | Williams College Facilities] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203160020/http://facilities.williams.edu/properties/ |date=February 3, 2014 }}. Facilities.williams.edu. Retrieved on 2014-04-12.</ref>