Duke Recreation & Physical Education

What Duke Recreation & Physical Education does

Duke Recreation & Physical Education is a department within Duke Athletics (under Student Affairs) that provides recreation, fitness, wellness, and physical education programming to the Duke University community. It operates two primary recreation facilities — Wilson Recreation Center (West Campus, 99,000 sq ft, opened 1999, averaging 3,000 daily visits) and Brodie Recreation Center (East Campus, 50,000 sq ft, opened 1996) — alongside the Taishoff Aquatics Pavilion, Brodie Aquatics Center, Wilson Climbing Wall (35 feet, 1,400 sq ft of climbing surface), Card Gym, and outdoor fields and tennis courts. The department runs six core program areas: Aquatics & Safety (swim lessons, Red Cross certifications, lap swim), Fitness & Wellness (50+ free group fitness classes weekly, personal training, Pilates), Intramural Sports (10 offerings managed via IMLeagues), Outdoor Adventures (35-foot climbing wall, 25+ guided trips/year, equipment rentals), Physical Education (credit-bearing academic courses), and 30+ competitive Sport Clubs. All programming is administered through the MyRec web portal and mobile application (iOS/Android), which handles memberships, reservations (including 48-hour advance lap swim lane bookings), guest passes, program registration, and houses the Digital Library of on-demand fitness content.

The department employs 300+ student and non-student staff and engages 20,000+ community members annually across 100,000+ participations, with 89% of Duke students using Rec & P.E. services. Revenue is generated through a hybrid model: subscription-style memberships (annual, semester, and monthly tiers for students, faculty, staff, alumni, and affiliates aged 10-26), transaction-based fees for personal training ($40-$50/session, $350-$450 for 10-packs), Pilates sessions, equipment rentals, facility rentals ($200-$250/hour for climbing wall group use), Sport Club dues ($50-$1,000+ annually), guest and day passes, and Physical Education course fees (largely covered by undergraduate tuition up to 1 credit toward a 34-credit graduation requirement). The department also operates the Red Mango Café inside Wilson Recreation Center as a food and beverage concession. Marketing and distribution rely primarily on organic social (Facebook, Instagram), the rec.duke.edu website, MyRec self-service, email, and campus events such as RecFest.

The department is led by Executive Director Felicia Tittle and is funded through Duke Student Government allocations, Recreation Fee assessments paid via tuition, program fees, and charitable donations. As a non-incorporated university department, it has no separate legal entity, no external shareholders, and is not a candidate for traditional M&A or investment activity; its strategic priorities are dictated by Duke University's institutional mission and Student Affairs oversight.

Name

Duke Recreation & Physical Education

Legal name

Duke University Recreation & Physical Education

Website

https://recreation.duke.edu

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Duke Recreation & Physical Education is a university department that provides recreation, fitness, aquatics, intramural, outdoor, and physical education programming to Duke University's students, faculty, staff, alumni, and affiliates across two main facilities totaling 149,000 sq ft.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Campus Recreation Services

NAICS

Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers (713940), Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers (71394), Sports and Recreation Instruction (61162), Sports and Recreation Instruction (611620)

SIC

Services-Membership Sports & Recreation Clubs (7997), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Campus Recreation Centers & Fitness Facilities Operations (EDALAIAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Club Sports Programs (EDALAIAB), College/University Athletic Departments & Varsity Programs (MPAKACAB)

Keywords

• University recreation services
• Campus fitness programs
• Aquatics and safety
• Intramural sports leagues
• Outdoor adventure programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Durham

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: Rec & P.E. Memberships are sold in annual, semester, and monthly tiers to Duke students (recreation fee included in tuition for most undergrads), faculty, staff, graduate/professional students, affiliates (spouses, domestic partners, dependents aged 10-26), and alumni. Digital memberships are available but do not provide facility access. Annual and semester memberships are prorated based on enrollment date.
2. Day and Guest Passes: One-time daily access passes and guest passes purchasable by current members for visitors through MyRec. Valid for the duration of business on the day of purchase.
3. Personal Training and Pilates Sessions: Fee-for-service personal training initiation packages (3 sessions), single sessions, and 10-session packages for students and non-students. Pilates sessions sold individually and in packages at the Mind/Body Studio at Brodie Recreation Center.
4. Equipment Rentals: Outdoor gear rental program (tents, sleeping bags, canoes, paddleboards, surfboards, climbing equipment, etc.) and sport equipment rentals (pickleball sets, footballs, soccer balls, frisbees, lawn games) available to Duke community with discounted member rates.
5. Facility Rentals: Campus organizations can rent indoor spaces (courts, multipurpose rooms, classrooms, climbing wall) and outdoor spaces (turf fields, tennis/pickleball courts) at hourly or weekly rates. Aquatics centers temporarily unavailable for rentals as of January 2025.
6. Sport Club Dues: Each Sport Club charges dues ranging from $50 to $1,000+ annually to cover travel, coach salaries, uniforms, equipment, and other club operations. The Kevin Gorter Memorial Endowment provides financial assistance to qualifying members.
7. Physical Education Courses: P.E. activity courses are included in regular undergraduate tuition (up to 1 credit toward 34-credit graduation requirement). Graduate students may enroll via Graduate School permission form. Some P.E. courses carry small additional fees for field trips or personal gear.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Duke Recreation & Physical Education operates a comprehensive campus recreation program for the Duke University community, organized into six program areas—Aquatics & Safety, Fitness & Wellness, Intramural Sports, Outdoor Adventures, Physical Education, and Sport Clubs. Membership-based access to recreation facilities (Wilson Recreation Center and Brodie Recreation Center), group fitness and personal training, swim lessons, equipment and facility rentals, and credit-bearing P.E. courses are sold through semesterly, monthly, and annual memberships plus fee-for-service transactions.

Product overview

Duke Recreation & Physical Education is a department of Duke Athletics that provides a comprehensive suite of recreational programs and world-class facilities to the Duke community. The portfolio is organized around six core program areas: Aquatics & Safety (swim lessons, safety certifications, lap swim), Fitness & Wellness (group fitness, personal training, Pilates), Intramural Sports (on-campus leagues and tournaments), Outdoor Adventures (climbing wall, equipment rentals, guided trips), Physical Education (credit-bearing academic courses), and Sport Clubs (30+ competitive clubs). These programs are supported by two main recreation facilities—Wilson Recreation Center (West Campus, 99,000 sq ft) and Brodie Recreation Center (East Campus, 50,000 sq ft)—along with satellite aquatics centers, outdoor fields, and tennis courts. All program registration, facility access, and membership management is handled through the MyRec digital portal and mobile app.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Named customers5 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators15 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Others

• NIRSA (National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association): Industry association for collegiate recreation professionals. Not a peer but a benchmark and standards body that all campus recreation departments are evaluated against and that shapes programming and credentialing norms in the sector.
• IMLeagues: Cloud-based intramural and sport club management platform used by Duke Rec & P.E. Adjacent ecosystem peer providing technology infrastructure to campus recreation departments across North America.

Broad incumbents

• Life Time Fitness: Large commercial fitness chain offering comprehensive fitness, aquatics, and recreational programming that competes for faculty, staff, alumni, and graduate student spend in the Durham market. Operates at much larger scale but in a different revenue model.
• YMCA of the Triangle: Regional nonprofit recreational services provider offering fitness, swim lessons, and youth programming that overlaps with Duke Rec's aquatics and learn-to-swim community-facing offerings. Competes for affiliate and family programming share.

Regional players

• Wellbridge: Multi-state operator of premium fitness, athletic, and recreation facilities. Comparable in facility quality and program breadth but operates on a commercial membership model rather than a university-integrated academic model.

Direct peers

• UVA Recreation: ACC peer campus recreation division offering similarly structured programs across aquatics, fitness, intramurals, outdoor, and sport clubs. Comparable in facility footprint and target demographic mix.
• Stanford Recreation and Wellness: Campus recreation department at a top-tier private research university with comparable facility scale, program breadth, and use of digital registration platforms. Closest peer in terms of university prestige-driven participation dynamics.
• UNC Chapel Hill Campus Recreation: Campus recreation department of a peer ACC research university with similar program structure (fitness, aquatics, intramurals, sport clubs, outdoor adventures). Direct competitor for talent, programming benchmarks, and NRC/NIRSA recognition within the same regional talent pool.
• Princeton University Campus Recreation: Ivy-league peer campus recreation operation with high student engagement, premium facilities, and a similar tuition-bundled membership model. Useful benchmark for elite private-university recreation operating metrics.
• NC State University Wellness and Recreation: Another ACC peer's campus recreation operation offering comparable facilities, group fitness, intramurals, sport clubs, and outdoor programming. Operates in the same Triangle region with overlapping recruitment and benchmark comparisons.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/dukerec
• Instagraminstagram.com/dukerec_pe
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/duke-recreation-&-physical-education

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Duke Recreation & Physical Education