Beginning with the men's soccer team's trip to Scotland in 1997, international travel has become a hallmark of the University of Chicago Athletics experience as Chicago intercollegiate teams have traveled to 14 countries on four continents.

Most recently, the women's soccer team toured Italy during its 2011 preseason.

Four teams embarked on overseas tours in the fall of 2009: men's and women's basketball (Argentina and Chile), men's soccer (Italy), and women's tennis (Argentina and Uruguay). Those trips followed the softball team's three-nation excursion in northern Europe the previous June.

During the 2007-08 academic year, three Chicago sports teams traveled internationally. The baseball team visited Japan in March, following trips by the volleyball team to China and the women's soccer team to Italy in the fall. The previous year, the men's and women's basketball teams toured Italy prior to the start of fall quarter classes.

Team fundraising efforts as well as support from the athletic department and alumni -- including the Edith Ballwebber Fund, an endowed fund for female athletes -- have made the trips possible.

"We have committed these special funds to international travel for our teams and believe that it substantially enhances the student experience here," said Director of Athletics Tom Weingartner. "It sets our athletics program apart and makes it consistent with the college's emphasis on foreign study and travel.

"Our athletes have the opportunity to travel extensively to the great cities throughout the eastern half of the United States because of our membership in the University Athletic Association - a truly remarkable experiment in higher education that affords our teams unparalleled travel unmatched even by NCAA Division I programs. This conference travel is supplemented by our special foreign trips that allow our athletes to gain not only national but international experience that can shape them for the rest of their lives.

"What could be better than traveling abroad and competing with your teammates in a different culture? We genuinely believe that foreign travel and competition can be one of the most meaningful experiences in the lives of our students."