The school's sports teams are known as the Lord Jeffs; women's teams are sometimes referred to as "Lady Jeffs", though the
official title covers all teams. (The women's volleyball team calls itself the "Firedogs" while the men's ultimate frisbee team calls themselves Army of Darkness.) The school
participates in the NCAA's Division III, the New England Small
College Athletic Conference, and the Eastern College Athletic Conference.Amherst is also one of the "Little Three", along with Williams and
Wesleyan.In the Amherst-Williams rivalry, Amherst has recently been dominated by Williams College, which dominates Division III
athletics in general (winning the Division III NACDA
Director's Cup nine of the last ten years). Amherst does, however, have one of the best Division III athletic programs in the
country, placing in the top ten of the NACDA Dirctor's Cup five of the last ten years.
- The first intercollegiate baseball game was played between Williams and Amherst
on July 1, 1859. Amherst won, 66-32.
- The first Harvard College loss on Soldiers Field was in 1903. They lost 6-0 to Amherst.
- The last tie in an NCAA football game was on November 11, 1995, when Amherst and Williams tied 0-0 on Weston Field in
Williamstown.