"Upon the fields of friendly strife are sown the seeds that upon other fields, on other days, will bear the fruits of victory." These words of General Douglas MacArthur express a fundamental part of the West Point philosophy. In addition to the required physical education courses, every cadet must engage in intramural, competitive club, or intercollegiate athletics.

This program of athletics is based on the belief that cadets will develop a desire to maintain a high degree of physical fitness throughout lifetimes of service and that fit and physically capable Army officers will perform more effectively. Plebes pursue a rigorous physical education curriculum that includes boxing and wrestling for men and self-defense, swimming and gymnastics for women. Their physical development continues as upper-class cadets with required and elective courses in a variety of sports areas.

The slogan "every cadet an athlete and every athlete challenged" reflects the spirit of the intramural program, which consists of cadet companies competing against each other. The majority of cadets compete at this level. The program’s objectives are to ensure a broad sports experience for each cadet, to develop lifelong sports skills, to instill the habit of physical activity and, most importantly, to provide the opportunity for leadership development.

Cadets who desire to participate at a higher level of competition than the intramural program are offered the opportunity to compete against other clubs, colleges and universities in numerous competitive sports, such as rugby, crew and marathon.