Meaning & use
intercollegiate sports
Last updated
Meanings
nounpluralAmerican
Sports competitions and teams involving students from different colleges or universities.
Grammar: Always plural in form; takes a plural verb: 'Intercollegiate sports are popular.'
Patterns
- intercollegiate sports teams
- compete in intercollegiate sports
- intercollegiate sports program
She plays intercollegiate sports, traveling with her university team every weekend.
Intercollegiate sports are a major part of campus life in the United States.
The university offers intercollegiate sports in basketball, swimming, and track.
noununcountableAmerican
The system or organization of athletic competition between colleges.
Grammar: When referring to the system or field as a whole, it can be uncountable: 'a career in intercollegiate sports'.
Patterns
- a career in intercollegiate sports
- the world of intercollegiate sports
He hopes to work in intercollegiate sports after graduation.
The rules of intercollegiate sports are set by national associations.
Common combinations
- intercollegiate sports program
- The college expanded its intercollegiate sports program to include women's soccer.
- compete in intercollegiate sports
- Only full-time students may compete in intercollegiate sports.
- intercollegiate sports teams
- Intercollegiate sports teams often recruit talented high school athletes.
- intercollegiate athletics
- Intercollegiate athletics bring in money from ticket sales and television.
Synonyms and how they differ
- college sports
- A more general and informal term; 'intercollegiate sports' specifically emphasizes competition between different colleges.
- university sports
- The usual British term, focusing on the university level rather than the competition between institutions.
Word family
- intercollegiate adjective
- Involving or representing different colleges.
- collegiate adjective
- Relating to a college or its students.
Commonly confused: intercollegiate sports or interscholastic?
intercollegiate sports vs interscholastic
This means between high schools, not colleges. 'Intercollegiate' is for colleges and universities.
Practice
In the US, students who ______ intercollegiate sports must keep their grades up.
Choose one answer.
The correct preposition is 'in' because you compete in a sport or competition. 'Compete with' means to compete against someone, and 'compete on' is used for a team, not the sport itself.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “intercollegiate sports”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.