When not hitting the books or cramming for exams, students at UC Davis have several options for unwinding, including an activities and recreation center (ARC), a craft center, intramural sports and sports clubs. Centrally located, the school's ARC is equipped for a variety of indoor activities, including cardio and strength training. The ARC also contains an indoor climbing wall. UC Davis offers 35 club sports teams that involve 1,400 students and 51 intramural sports that involve 14,500 students. The club teams are run entirely by students, providing excellent opportunities for sports leadership training.
About 10 percent of the students at UC Davis join one of the 44 fraternities and sororities at the school. These extracurricular organizations help students form close relationships with a group of peers while providing leadership and service opportunities. Sororities and fraternities are often formed on the basis of ethnic, cultural or religious interests and are designed to emphasize these commonalities among their members. Traditionally, fraternities are designed for male members and sororities are designed for women. However, UC Davis offers 11 fraternities that are open to both male and female students, including Alpha Kappa Psi, Phi Alpha Delta and Theta Tau.
UC Davis offers more than 450 extracurricular clubs and organizations, including student government, ethnic and cultural clubs, and religious organizations. Student government offers opportunities to shape the college's campus and community through elected and appointed positions in a government modeled after the three-branch government of the United States. More than 20 clubs and organizations give UC Davis students an opportunity to embrace their own and explore others' ethnicity and cultural backgrounds. These clubs involve a variety of activities, including cultural dancing and promoting academic excellence. The school's religious clubs offer students the opportunity to worship and interact with others of their faith.
As of 2011, UC Davis offers 23 intercollegiate athletic programs, including men's and women's basketball, women's lacrosse, men's and women's water polo and football. UC Davis competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I level and is a member of the Big West Conference. The school's athletic mission is to help students achieve their highest potential, both as an athlete and student, while learning to respect and appreciate differences in others.