Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. The University offers over 140 undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, education, law, and pharmacy. Drake University Law School was founded in 1865, which makes it one of the 25 oldest law schools in the United States.
John Dee Bright was an American professional football player in the Canadian Football League (CFL). A troubling racist incident he endured as a college football player in the U.S. caused rule changes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association. After his emigration to Canada, he played a starring role as an Edmonton Eskimo and also became a school principal and an important role model for black Canadians and aspiring athletes in Edmonton.
The Johnny Bright incident was a violent on-field assault against African-American player Johnny Bright by Wilbanks Smith, a white opposing player during an American college football game held on October 20, 1951, in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The game was significant in itself as it marked the first time that an African-American athlete with a national profile and of critical importance to the success of his team, the Drake Bulldogs, had played against Oklahoma A&M College at Oklahoma A&M's Lewis Field. Bright's injury also highlighted the racial tensions of the times and assumed notoriety when it was captured in what was later to become both a widely disseminated and eventually Pulitzer Prize–winning photo sequence.
Maurice E. John was an American college basketball coach at Drake University and Iowa State University. John is the all–time wins leader at Drake and led the Bulldogs to the NCAA Final Four in 1969. In his 28-year coaching career, John had a 528–214 record. John died of cancer at age 55 in 1974, while coaching at Iowa State.
The Drake Bulldogs men's basketball team represents Drake University, located in Des Moines, Iowa, in NCAA Division I basketball competition. The program is best known for making the 1969 Final Four. The Bulldogs have appeared seven times in the NCAA tournament, making their most recent appearance in 2024.
Adolphus Pulliam is an American former basketball player and television sportscaster. He played collegiately at Drake University. He was named to Drake University's All-Century basketball team. He helped lead the Drake men's basketball team to the 1969 Final Four and a third-place finish. On 7 February 2009, Drake University retired Pulliam's #5 jersey that he wore for the Bulldogs. In 2019 he was inducted into the Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame.
Rick Wanamaker is an American track and basketball athlete who won the decathlon in the 1971 Pan American Games, and blocked a shot against Lew Alcindor in the 1969 NCAA national basketball semi-finals.
The Drake Bulldogs are an NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision non-scholarship college football program representing Drake University. They currently compete in the non-scholarship Pioneer Football League and have been charter members of the conference since 1993. Drake began playing intercollegiate football in 1893.
This is a page on the history of Missouri Valley Conference football. The Missouri Valley Conference sponsored football from 1907 through the 1985 school year. The conference voted to drop football as a sport on April 30, 1985. At the time the Conference was a mixture of NCAA division I-A programs and NCAA division I-AA programs.
The Drake Bulldogs women's basketball team represents Drake University, located in Des Moines, Iowa, in NCAA Division I basketball competition. Drake competes in the Missouri Valley Conference.
The 2016–17 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Drake University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bulldogs were led by interim head coach Jeff Rutter. They played their home games at the Knapp Center in Des Moines, Iowa and were members of the Missouri Valley Conference.
The 2018–19 Drake Bulldogs women's basketball team represented Drake University during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Bulldogs, led by seventh-year head coach Jennie Baranczyk, played their home games at Knapp Center and were members of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC).
The 1951 Drake Bulldogs football team was an American football team that represented Drake University as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference during the 1951 college football season. In its third season under head coach Warren Gaer, the team compiled a 7–2 record, tied for fourth place in the conference, and outscored opponents by a total of 247 to 117. The team was ranked at No. 80 in the 1951 Litkenhous Ratings.
The 2019–20 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Drake University during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bulldogs were led by second-year head coach Darian DeVries. They played their home games at Knapp Center on campus in Des Moines, Iowa, as members of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC). They finished the season 20–14, 8–10 in MVC play to finish in eighth place. They defeated Illinois State and Northern Iowa to advance to the semifinals of the MVC tournament where they lost to Bradley.
The 2020–21 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Drake University during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bulldogs are led by third-year head coach Darian DeVries. They played their home games at Knapp Center on campus in Des Moines, Iowa, as members of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC). In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Bulldogs finished the season 26–5, 15–3 in MVC play to finish in second place. In the quarterfinals of the MVC tournament, they advanced to the semifinals after Northern Iowa was forced to forfeit due to COVID-19 issues. They defeated Missouri State in the semifinals before losing to Loyola in the championship game. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as a No. 11 seed in the First Four. They defeated Wichita State to advance to the First Round where they were eliminated by USC.
The Northern Iowa–Drake rivalry is the American collegiate athletics rivalry between the Northern Iowa Panthers sports teams of the University of Northern Iowa and the Drake Bulldogs sports teams of Drake University.
The 2021–22 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Drake University during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bulldogs were led by fourth-year head coach Darian DeVries. They played their home games at the Knapp Center in Des Moines, Iowa as members of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC). They finished the regular season 22–9, 13–5 in MVC play to finish in a tie for second place. As the No. 3 seed in the MVC tournament, they defeated Southern Illinois in the quarterfinals and Missouri State in the semifinals before losing to Loyola in the championship.
The 1951 Bradley Braves football team was an American football team that represented Bradley University as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) during the 1951 college football season. Led by first-year head coach Bus Mertes, the Braves compiled an overall record of 4–5 with a mark of 0–3 in conference play, placing last out of seven teams in the MVC.
The 2022–23 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Drake University in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bulldogs, led by fifth-year head coach Darian DeVries, played their home games at the Knapp Center in Des Moines, Iowa as members of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC). They finished the regular season 27–7, 15–5 in MVC play to finish in second place. In the MVC tournament, they defeated Murray State, Southern Illinois, and Bradley to win the tournament championship. As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, where they were defeated by Miami (FL) in the first round.
The 2023–24 Drake Bulldogs women's basketball team represented Drake University during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Bulldogs, led by third-year head coach Allison Pohlman, played their home games at the Knapp Center in Des Moines, Iowa as members of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC).
