The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has been named #11 of “The 25 Fittest U.S. Colleges in 2015” by the Active Times, a website that aims to be “the world's best source of authoritative, inspiring, enlightening content for living the active, adventurous life.”
The rankings are based on a variety of health and wellness criteria along with rankings from The Princeton Review and student opinions from Niche Colleges.
The athletic facilities at Illinois were a significant factor in the rankings. In the 2014-2015 academic year, ARC and CRCE registered more than 1.5 million visits from more than 50,000 people.
In addition to the two fitness centers, they also praised the campus ice rink, outdoor field complexes, State Farm Center and Assembly Hall. Illinois also received a high ranking due to the high number of NCAA sports teams and club sports teams.
Another factor Active Times considered was the campus dining options. University Housing Dining Services sources much of their food locally, including 95% of all produce grown at the Sustainable Student Farm. They also provide information about nutrition through their EatSmart resource and indicate healthy options with a Better Choice icon.
The rankings also took quality of health, safety and quality of life into consideration.
In August, Illinois was also named by Greatist as #7 on “The 25 Healthiest Colleges in the U.S.” list.