Stanford’s Department of Athletics, Physical Education, and Recreation offers programs of the highest quality that give all students opportunities for athletic participation and physical fitness at all levels of skill and interest. More than 80% of students take advantage of the extensive athletic facilities and programs offered at the intercollegiate, club sport, intramural, and instructional levels.

Stanford promotes excellence in both academics and athletics. Stanford has won 70 NCAA team championships since 1980 (leading the nation), as well as ten consecutive NACDA Director's Cup titles, awarded annually to the nation's most successful athletics program. From 1990 to 2002, Stanford athletes won 47 Olympic Medals and 39 individual NCAA championships.

Stanford maintains 1 million gross feet of indoor facilities and 94 acres of outdoor fields. Among Stanford facilities are the 6,800-yard Stanford Golf Course; the 7,600-seat Maples Pavilion; the 4,000-seat Sunken Diamond; the 14-court Taube Family Tennis Stadium; the 2,500-seat, four-pool Avery Aquatic Complex; and the 85,500-seat Stanford Stadium, the largest privately owned college football facility in the United States.