One of the nation’s premier athletic programs, Amherst has placed in the top five of the NACDA Director's Cup in the NCAA Division III eight times since 2006, including fourth in 2006-07 & 2007-08, third in 2008-09, second in 2009-10, fourth in both 2010-11 and 2011-12, and fifth in both 2013-14 and 2014-15. Other Amherst Athletics highlights:
- The first intercollegiate baseball game was played between Williams and Amherst on July 1, 1859. Amherst won, 73-32.
- The first Harvard College loss on Soldiers Field was in 1903. They lost 6-0 to Amherst.
- The Amherst-Williams football rivalry dates back to 1884 and is called "Biggest Little Game in America."
- Pratt Field, the third-oldest NCAA football playing site in the nation, underwent an extensive renovation that added a new fieldhouse, grandstands, and track. The project was completed by Fall 2013.
- In 1999, the Amherst women's tennis team won the Division III National Championship, by a score of 5-2, over arch-rival Williams College. It was Amherst's first team National Championship.