Since 1899, Army's mascot has officially been a mule because of the animal's historical importance in military operations.[3] For many years, Army's teams were known as the "Cadets". The academy's football team was nicknamed "The Black Knights of the Hudson" due to the black color of its uniforms.[4][5] In 1999, Army adopted "Black Knights" as its official nickname in all sports.[6] They may also use "Cadets" in certain circumstances.[7]
U.S. sports media use Army as a synonym for the academy. In 2015, the academy adopted this usage formally, referring to its sports programs as Army West Point.[7]
"On Brave Old Army Team", by Philip Egner, is the school's fight song.[8] Army's chief sports rival is the Naval Academy, due to its long-standing football rivalry and the inter-service rivalry with the Navy in general. Fourth class cadets verbally greet upper-class cadets and faculty with "Beat Navy", while the tunnel that runs under Washington Road is named the "Beat Navy" tunnel. In the first half of the 20thcentury, Army and Notre Damewere football rivals, but that rivalry has largely died out and has only been intermittently played in recent decades.[9][10]
Army football players during a game at Michie Stadium in 2023
As of the upcoming 2024 season, Army will be a football-only member of the American Athletic Conference (The American). For almost all of Army's previous football history, with the exception of a relatively short stint as a football-only member of Conference USA, it had been an NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision independent school (not in a conference), and before joining The American was one of only four remaining FBS independents. Army was recognized as the national champions in 1944, 1945 and 1946. The annual Army-Navy Game between the Black Knights of Army and the Midshipmen of the Naval Academy at Annapolis (Navy) is among the most storied rivalries in all of college sports and currently marks the end of regular season play for college football each year. Although the two academies' football programs will be united in The American, their rivalry game will continue as a non-conference game on its traditional date.
Men's golf
The men's golf team has won 21 conference championships:
Army rugby plays college rugby in the Division 1–A Eastern Conference.[15] The Black Knights play their home games at the Anderson Rugby Complex on the campus of West Point. Rugby is a relatively popular sport at Army; for example, the 2012 game against Air Force was attended by 2,000 fans.[16] Army is led by Director of Rugby Matt Sherman.
Army has one of the most successful college rugby teams in the country. Army played in three consecutive national championship games from 1990 to 1992 and reached the national semi-finals four consecutive years from 2000 to 2003, twice in a row in 2009 and 2010.[17] More recently, Army reached the quarterfinals in 2013. Army also plays in the Collegiate Rugby Championship for rugby sevens, the highest profile college rugby tournament in the U.S., reaching the finals in 2011. The Collegiate Rugby Championship had been played every year in early June near Philadelphia and was broadcast live on NBC. It has been played in New Orleans since 2021.
Army won the Division 1-A rugby national championship in XVs in 2022, defeating St. Mary's of California, 20-8. The team defeated three perennial powerhouses in a row by earlier defeating both Life University and Lindenwood University in the tournament.
Wrestling
The Army Black Knights Wrestling team host home dual meets, tournaments, workout, and practice in the state of the art facility Arvin Gymnasium on campus. The team currently competes in the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) since Army is a member of the non-wrestling Patriot League.
In 2014, Kevin Ward, a former Oklahoma State All-American, was named the new head coach of Army wrestling. In 2010, Ward started the Ouachita Baptist University wrestling program, the first NCAA wrestling program in Arkansas.
Non-varsity sports
Boxing
In intercollegiate competition, both the men's and women's boxing teams compete in the National Collegiate Boxing Association, though the women's team was part of the United States Intercollegiate Boxing Association from 2013 until 2015. The men's team won the national NCBA tournament from 2008 to 2011, from 2013 to 2014, and from 2016 to 2019; the women's team won the first-ever USIBA women's championship in 2013 (also the very first national collegiate women's boxing tournament in the U.S.), won again in 2014, and won the NCBA championship in 2017 and 2018.
2007 — Derek Hines (Class of 2003), who demonstrated valor in Afghanistan before being killed there.
2008 — Emily Perez (Class of 2005), who died after an improvised explosive device exploded near her vehicle in Iraq and whose U.S. Army unit recognized her for her leadership after her death.
For a list of members by name, sport, class year, or induction year, see footnote[18] The Army Sports Hall of Fame consists of displays in the Kenna Hall of Army Sports, which is located within the Kimsey Athletic Center.[19] The first set of members was inducted in 2004.[18]
1 2 For the 2004 induction year, go to"Hall of Fame". GoArmyWestPoint.com. Army West Point. Retrieved April 6, 2017., select "By Induction Year", press the black "Sort" icon (which will then produce a list of members by induction year (starting with the most recent year), and then scroll down to the bottom (for the first group of inductees, the Class of 2004).
The Harvard Crimson is the nickname of the intercollegiate athletic teams of Harvard College. The school's teams compete in NCAA Division I. As of 2013, there were 42 Division I intercollegiate varsity sports teams for women and men at Harvard, more than at any other NCAA Division I college in the country. Like the other Ivy League colleges, Harvard does not offer athletic scholarships.
The Vanderbilt Commodores are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Vanderbilt University, located in Nashville, Tennessee. Vanderbilt fields 16 varsity teams, 14 of which compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Vanderbilt's women's lacrosse team plays in the American Athletic Conference. The bowling team plays in Conference USA (C-USA), which absorbed Vanderbilt's former bowling home of the Southland Bowling League after the 2022–23 season. The University of Tennessee Volunteers are Vanderbilt's primary athletic rival, and the only other SEC team in Tennessee.
The Pittsburgh Panthers, commonly also referred to as the Pitt Panthers, are the athletic teams representing the University of Pittsburgh, although the term is colloquially used to refer to other aspects of the university such as alumni, faculty, and students. Pitt fields 19 university-sponsored varsity teams at the highest level of competitive collegiate athletics in the United States: the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) for American football.
The Colorado Buffaloes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Colorado Boulder. The university sponsors 16 varsity sports teams. Both the men's and women's teams are called the Buffaloes or, rarely, the Golden Buffaloes. "Lady Buffs" referred to the women's teams beginning in the 1970s, but was officially dropped in 1993. The nickname was selected by the campus newspaper in a contest with a $5 prize in 1934 won by Andrew Dickson of Boulder.
The Maryland Terrapins, commonly referred to as the Terps, consist of 19 men's and women's varsity intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Maryland, College Park in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I competition. Maryland was a founding member of the Southern Conference in 1921, a founding member of the Atlantic Coast Conference in 1952, and a member of the Big Ten Conference since 2014.
The Army Black Knights football team, historically known as the Army Cadets, represents the United States Military Academy in college football. The Black Knights team competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as a member of the American Athletic Conference. The Black Knights play home games in Michie Stadium with a capacity of 36,000 at West Point, New York. The Black Knights are coached by Jeff Monken, who has held the position since 2014.
The Miami RedHawks are the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Miami is a member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) and sponsors teams in nine men's and ten women's NCAA sanctioned sports; the RedHawks hockey team is a member of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference. With sponsorship of men's swimming & diving transferring from the MAC to the Missouri Valley Conference in 2024–25, Miami will become a single-sport member of the latter. The football team competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), the highest level for college football. The RedHawks are arch-rivals with the Ohio Bobcats. In box scores for sporting events, the RedHawks sports teams are usually referred to as Miami (OH) to differentiate from the Miami Hurricanes, a Division I school in Florida.
The Rutgers Scarlet Knights are the athletic teams that represent Rutgers University's New Brunswick campus. In sports, Rutgers is famously known for being the "Birthplace of College Football", hosting the first ever intercollegiate football game on November 6, 1869, in which Rutgers defeated a team from the College of New Jersey with a score of 6 runs to 4.
The Navy Midshipmen are the athletic teams that represent the United States Naval Academy. The academy sponsors 36 varsity sports teams and 12 club sport teams. Both men's and women's teams are called Navy Midshipmen or Mids. They participate in the NCAA's Division I, as a non-football member of the Patriot League, a football-only member of the American Athletic Conference in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), and a member of the Collegiate Sprint Football League (men), Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges (men), Eastern Association of Women's Rowing Colleges, Eastern Intercollegiate Gymnastics League (men), Mid-Atlantic Squash Conference (men) and Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association. Navy is also one of approximately 300 members of the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC).
The Air Force Falcons are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the United States Air Force Academy, located in El Paso County, Colorado north of Colorado Springs. The athletic department has 17 men's and 10 women's NCAA-sanctioned teams. The current athletic director is Nathan Pine. The majority of Falcon teams compete as members of the Mountain West Conference.
The Northern Illinois Huskies are the athletic teams that represent Northern Illinois University (NIU). The Huskies are a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I and the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The athletic program is made up of seven men's sports and 10 women's sports. The football team competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).
The UC Davis Aggies are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Davis.
The Cal State Fullerton Titans are the athletic teams that represent California State University, Fullerton.
The first tier of intercollegiate sports in the United States includes sports that are sanctioned by one of the collegiate sport governing bodies. The major sanctioning organization is the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Before mid-1981, women's top-tier intercollegiate sports were solely governed by the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW). Smaller colleges are governed by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Two-year colleges are governed by the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) in most of the country, except for the unaffiliated California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) and Northwest Athletic Conference (NWAC).
The Western Oregon Wolves are the athletic teams that represent Western Oregon University, located in Monmouth, Oregon, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) since the 2001–02 academic year. The Wolves previously competed in the D-II Pacific West Conference (PacWest) from 1998–99 to 2000–01; and in the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) from 1993–94 to 1997–98.
The Southern Virginia Knights are the athletic teams that represent Southern Virginia University, located in Buena Vista, Virginia, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the Division III level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the USA South Athletic Conference for most of its sports since the 2021–22 academic year; while its men's volleyball team competes in the Continental Volleyball Conference (CVC).
The United States Coast Guard Academy's intercollegiate sports teams are called the Bears. They compete in NCAA Division III as members of the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference. Through the 2016 season, the Bears played football in the New England Football Conference, but after that season moved their football program into the NEWMAC, which started sponsoring the sport in 2017.
The Citadel Bulldogs are the athletic teams that represent The Citadel. All sports participate in the NCAA Division I except football, which competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). Since 1936, varsity sports have competed in the Southern Conference. The Citadel fields teams in sixteen sports, nine for men and seven for women.
The United States Merchant Marine Academy's intercollegiate sports teams are called the Mariners and they compete in the Division III of the NCAA, generally as once a charter member of the Landmark Conference. In 2016, they returned to the Skyline Conference in all sports. Men's sports include baseball, football, basketball, cross country, lacrosse, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis, wrestling and track and field. Women's sports include basketball, cross country, lacrosse, swimming and diving, track and field, and volleyball.
The Army–Navy lacrosse rivalry is an intercollegiate lacrosse rivalry between the Army Black Knights and the Navy Midshipmen. The two programs, historical rivals in other sports like football and soccer, have a fierce and nationally-relevant rivalry in lacrosse as well. With 25 national championships, 10 Final Fours in the NCAA era, and 190 consensus first team All-Americans, the two teams have been integral to the game's history. The rivalry carries a different spirit than many others in collegiate lacrosse, described by former Navy goalie Ryan Kern as: "t’s the same camaraderie that you had in the fall with the football game and it kind of comes out again in the spring with the lacrosse game,” Navy junior goalie Ryan Kern said. “No doubt, all the other sports are important, but just the sheer number of people that come to this game is crazy — just like the football game. You see 16,000 people come to a regular season lacrosse game, and that’s not happening at other lacrosse programs." After 103 meetings, Navy leads the series 63–37–3 through 2023.
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