Haverford Fords

Last updated
Haverford Fords
Haverford Fords H logo.png
University Haverford College
Conference Centennial Conference
NCAA Division III
Athletic directorDanielle Lynch
Location Haverford, Pennsylvania
Varsity teams23
(10 male, 12 female, 1 co-ed) [1]
MascotBlack squirrel (official) [2]
ColorsRed and black [3]
   
Website www.haverfordathletics.com

The Haverford Fords are the athletic teams Haverford College, who compete at the NCAA Division III level in the Centennial Conference. Haverford boasts the only varsity cricket team in the United States. Its men's and women's track and field and cross country teams are perennial powerhouses in their division. The outdoor track and field team won the first 16 Centennial Conference championships, and men's cross country has won all but two Centennial Conference championships. The soccer team is among the nation's oldest, having won its first intercollegiate match in 1905 against Harvard College. The lacrosse team has placed well nationally in the NCAA championships, while Haverford's fencing team has competed since the early 1930s.

Contents

Athletic teams

Tennis

Haverford has a long tradition of producing great tennis players. Recently, the team has been known for recruiting the most athletes from the state of Hawaii out of all NCAA varsity athletic teams.[ citation needed ] Ann Koger was the longtime coach of the women's team from 1981 to 2016. [4]

Cricket

Haverford Cricket Team (1900) Haverford Cricket Team.jpg
Haverford Cricket Team (1900)
Haverford College's John A Lester Cricket Pavilion (photo circa 1993), contiguous to Cope Field Cricket Pitch, which houses (on its lower level) the C.C. Morris (Class of 1904) library with the largest collection of cricket literature and memorabilia in the Western Hemisphere Haverford College - Cricket Pavilion.jpg
Haverford College's John A Lester Cricket Pavilion (photo circa 1993), contiguous to Cope Field Cricket Pitch, which houses (on its lower level) the C.C. Morris (Class of 1904) library with the largest collection of cricket literature and memorabilia in the Western Hemisphere

Haverford boasts the only varsity cricket team in the United States, and ESPN Magazine has called Haverford "the epicenter of Philadelphia's cricket craze". [6] The team, which was started in 1833, is generally accepted as the first cricket club exclusively for Americans. [7] Haverford has a strong rivalry with the University of Pennsylvania's club team. The first match in this series was played in 1864 and has been believed to be the third-oldest intercollegiate contest in America, after the 1852 Harvard-Yale crew and 1859 Amherst-Williams baseball matches. The Intercollegiate Cricket Association existed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries (1881–1924), and Haverford won its championship 19 times (1884, [8] [9] 1890 (tie), [10] [11] 1892 (tie), [12] 1893, [13] [14] 1895, [15] 1896, [13] [16] 1898, [17] 1902, [18] 1903 (tie), [19] 1904, [13] [20] [21] [22] [23] 1905, [13] [24] [25] [26] 1906 (tie), [13] [26] 1910, [27] 1915, [28] [29] 1916, [28] 1919, [30] 1922 (tie), [31] 1923, [32] [33] 1924 [34] [35] ). Haverford's current team has a heavy contingent of students of South Asian heritage, and the XI team regularly travels to Oxbridge for games. The current coach is Kamran Khan, former player for the United States national cricket team from 1979 to 1990 and President of the United States of America Cricket Association from 1999 to 2000. He has coached Haverford's cricket team since 1974. [36]

Cope Field at Haverford, Cricket Pitch (circa 1900) Cope Field at Haverford.jpg
Cope Field at Haverford, Cricket Pitch (circa 1900)
Cope Field at Haverford College, Cricket Pitch (circa 1956) Haverford College - Cricket (1956).jpg
Cope Field at Haverford College, Cricket Pitch (circa 1956)
Cope Field at Haverford, Cricket Pitch (circa 1993) Haverford College - Cricket (1993).jpg
Cope Field at Haverford, Cricket Pitch (circa 1993)

Track and cross country

The men's and women's track and field and cross country teams are perennial powerhouses in their division. The men's outdoor track and field team won the first 16 Centennial Conference championships, while the men's cross country team has won all but two Centennial Conference championships, reclaiming the title from Dickinson in the 2010 fall season. In the 2010 NCAA National Cross Country Championship, the men's team finished first, its highest finish ever and the only NCAA championship ever won by any Haverford team. The women's team recently captured at least four consecutive conference titles. In 1997, Karl Paranya '97 became the first (and only) Division III athlete to run a four-minute mile, clocking 3:57.6. The history of Haverford track also includes former team captain Philip Noel-Baker 1908, who later captained Great Britain's 1924 Olympic team, upon which the movie Chariots of Fire is based, and became a Nobel peace prize winner years later in 1959. Also of note is former captain Andrew Lanham, a winner of the 2010 Rhodes Scholarship. Three Haverford runners have won individual Division III men's cross country national championships: Seamus McElligott in 1990, JB Haglund in 2001, and Anders Hulleberg in 2010.

Soccer

Haverford's soccer team, the nation's oldest, won the first match of the newly-formed Intercollegiate Soccer Football League in 1905, beating Harvard College. It is of interest that Harvard's team was founded by a Haverford alumnus during his graduate education there. Haverford soccer squads were named national intercollegiate champions three times by the Intercollegiate Soccer Football Association in 1911, 1915 and 1917. This was well prior to the NCAA's inaugural post-season national championship tournament, which began in 1959. The men's soccer team won its first NCAA playoff game in 1980, defeating Elizabethtown College 4-3. In 2013, both the men's and women's soccer teams were crowned Centennial Conference Champions. While the men's team defeated Wesleyan College in the first round of the 2013 NCAA tournament, the women's team lost to MIT in the first round. The 2015 season was the most successful in the history of Haverford men's soccer, as the team won the Centennial Conference championship and advanced to the NCAA playoff's Elite Eight.

Lacrosse

The Haverford men's lacrosse team has fallen from its national power status. After defeating Gettysburg College in 2009 and 2010, qualifying for the 2008, 2009 and 2010 NCAA tournaments, advancing to the 2010 NCAA tournament quarterfinals (where it took Salisbury University into overtime) and registering other high profile wins, the team has in recent years struggled. The current head coach is Nick Taylor who has been at the helm for three seasons. Former head coach Brendan Dawson is now the head coach of the Haverford School. Former head coach Colin Bathory is an alumnus of the College. Former head coach Mike Murphy is now the head coach of the Penn Quakers men's lacrosse.

Fencing

The fencing team has competed since the early 1930s and is a member of both the Middle Atlantic Collegiate Fencing Association (MACFA) and the National Intercollegiate Women's Fencing Association (NIWFA). Recently retired coach, David Littell, fenced in the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. In 2007, the Haverford fencing team fenced an undefeated MACFA season (a school record, since repeated in 2010) and won its third championship. Other championships were won in 1983 and 2004. The current Haverford coach is Chris Spencer, formerly head coach of Mount Holyoke College. Under Spencer the Haverford team has become a top Division III program, defeating Division I teams such as New York University and UNC. Haverford won three consecutive MACFA championships in 2010-2012.

Volleyball

The women's volleyball team competed in the NCAA tournament in 2006 and 2007 after winning its first Centennial Conference titles. In 2007, the team hosted the regional NCAA tournament, where it advanced to the regional championship, ultimately losing to the defending national champion, Juniata.

Basketball

The first intercollegiate basketball game played east of the Mississippi River occurred in Ryan Gym (now a lounging area for students) in 1895 between Haverford and Temple University. A former varsity star is Hunter R. Rawlings III, the former president of Cornell University.

Baseball

The New York Times called Haverford a pipeline to a front-office career in professional baseball, with a focus on sabermetrics (advanced statistics). As of summer 2015, it notes, "there are about 15 to 20 Haverford graduates working in prominent baseball-related jobs, as front-office executives, agents and talent evaluators." [37] The current head coach is Dave Beccaria, an alumnus of and former junior varsity head coach at Johns Hopkins.

Football

Haverford used to have a football team, starting in 1879. [38] [39] The team was rivals with Swarthmore.

National championships

Team

SportAssociationDivisionYearOpponent/Runner-upScore
Men's cross country (1) NCAA Division III 2010 North Central (IL) 87–104

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haverford College</span> Private liberal arts college in Haverford, Pennsylvania

Haverford College is a private liberal arts college in Haverford, Pennsylvania. It was founded as a men's college in 1833 by members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). Haverford began accepting non-Quakers in 1849 and women in 1980.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harvard Crimson</span> Intercollegiate athletic teams of Harvard College

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association</span>

The Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) is a college athletic conference whose member schools compete in men's volleyball. Its member institutions are located in the Northeast United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yale Bulldogs</span> Intercollegiate sports teams of Yale University

The Yale Bulldogs are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Yale University, located in New Haven, Connecticut. The school sponsors 35 varsity sports. The school has won two NCAA national championships in women's fencing, four in men's swimming and diving, 21 in men's golf, one in men's hockey, one in men's lacrosse, and 16 in sailing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penn State Nittany Lions</span> Intercollegiate sports teams of Penn State University

The Penn State Nittany Lions are the athletic teams of Pennsylvania State University, except for the women's basketball team, known as the Lady Lions. The school colors are navy blue and white. The school mascot is the Nittany Lion. The intercollegiate athletics logo was commissioned in 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Columbia Lions</span> Athletic teams of Columbia University

The Columbia University Lions are the collective athletic teams and their members from Columbia University, an Ivy League institution in New York City, United States. The current director of athletics is Peter Pilling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NYU Violets</span> Sports teams that represent New York University

NYU Violets is the nickname of the sports teams and other competitive teams at New York University. The school colors are purple and white. Although officially known as the Violets, the school mascot is a bobcat. The Violets compete as a member of NCAA Division III in the University Athletic Association conference. The university sponsors 23 varsity sports, as well as club teams and intramural sports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brandeis Judges</span> Athletic teams representing Brandeis University

The Brandeis Judges are 17 intercollegiate sports teams that represent Brandeis University. They compete in the NCAA's Division III in the University Athletic Association conference, which they joined in May 1987. The team colors are blue and white, and their mascots are The Judge and Ollie the Owl.

The United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association is an association of member institutions and organizations with college lacrosse programs at all levels of competition, including the three NCAA divisions and non-NCAA schools, at both the varsity and club levels for men and women. The association traces its history through predecessor organizations back to 1882, although it received its present name and became a governing body with unlimited membership in 1926. The association is based in Louisville, Kentucky.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California Vulcans</span> Athletic teams representing Pennsylvania Western University, California

The California Vulcans are the intercollegiate sports teams and players that represent Pennsylvania Western University California, located in California, Pennsylvania. The Vulcans participate in the NCAA Division II in all sports and the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) in most sports. The school colors are Red and Black. The mascot of California is Blaze the Vulcan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Princeton Tigers</span> Athletic teams of Princeton University

The Princeton Tigers are the athletic teams of Princeton University. The school sponsors 35 varsity teams in 20 sports. The school has won several NCAA national championships, including one in men's fencing, three in women's lacrosse, six in men's lacrosse, and eight in men's golf. Princeton's men's and women's crews have also won numerous national rowing championships. The field hockey team made history in 2012 as the first Ivy League team to win the NCAA Division I Championship in field hockey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penn Quakers</span> Intercollegiate sports teams of the University of Pennsylvania

The Penn Quakers are the athletic teams of the University of Pennsylvania. The school sponsors 33 varsity sports. The school has won three NCAA national championships in men's fencing and one in women's fencing.

Lacrosse has been played in Pennsylvania since the 19th century. The state has amateur programs at the club, college, and high school level, and several past and present professional teams in the National Lacrosse League (NLL) and Major League Lacrosse (MLL).

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).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Stroudsburg Warriors</span> Intercollegiate sports teams of East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania

The East Stroudsburg Warriors are the athletic teams that represent East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania, located in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muhlenberg Mules</span> Athletic teams of Muhlenberg College

The Muhlenberg Mules are the collegiate athletic teams of Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The college competes in NCAA Division III of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Muhlenberg has 2- intercollegiate sports, including ten for women and ten for men. Each team competes in either the Centennial Conference or Eastern College Athletic Conference.

The Penn State Nittany Lions men's soccer team is an intercollegiate varsity sports team of Pennsylvania State University. The team is a member of the Big Ten Conference of the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haverford Fords men's soccer</span> American college soccer team

The Haverford Fords men's soccer team is a varsity intercollegiate athletic team of Haverford College in Haverford, Pennsylvania, United States. The team is a member of the Centennial Conference, which is part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division III. Haverford's first men's soccer team was fielded in 1901. The team plays its home games at Walton Field on the Haverford campus. The Fords are coached by Zach Ward.

References

  1. "Inside Athletics: Quick Facts". Haverford College Athletic Department.
  2. "About Haverford: The Campus". haverford.edu. Archived from the original on November 25, 2014.
  3. "Centennial Conference (1981-1982 through present)" . Retrieved October 24, 2020.
  4. "Ann Koger Announces Retirement at Haverford". Haverford College. August 4, 2016. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  5. https://www.haverford.edu/campus-map/239917#:~:text=C.%20C.-,Morris%20Cricket%20Library,Cricket%20Pavilion%20on%20Cope%20Field
  6. The Capital of Cricket sports.espn.go.com. URL accessed February 9, 2007.
  7. Murdoch, Joseph (n.d.). "Philadelphia Cricket Club View Library Document: History". Philadelphia Cricket Club. Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-03-30.
  8. "Cricket Cup". The Crimson. 28 April 1900. Retrieved 2016-05-20.
  9. "Intercollegiate Cricket". New York Times. New York, NY. 12 April 1885.
  10. "Harvard Beaten at Cricket". New York Times. New York, NY. 12 June 1890.
  11. "Outing; Sport, Adventure, Travel, Fiction". 16. W. B. Holland. August 1890: 416.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  12. "Intercollegiate Cricketers". New York Times. New York, NY. 11 March 1893.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 Bushnell, Edward R., ed. (1909). The History of Athletics at the University of Pennsylvania Volume II, 1896–97—1907–08. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The Athletic Association of the University of Pennsylvania. pp. 123–136.
  14. "Harvard College v Haverford College (26th May 1893)" . Retrieved 2016-05-21.
  15. "News of the Cricketers". New York Times. New York, NY. 7 June 1895.
  16. "Haverford College v Harvard College (23rd May 1896)" . Retrieved 2016-05-21.
  17. "Harvard-Haverford Cricket Game". New York Times. New York, NY. 24 May 1898.
  18. "Cricket With Mohair C. C. Today". The Crimson. May 1904. Retrieved 2016-05-20.
  19. The American Almanac, Year-book, Cyclopedia and Atlas. New York, NY: New York American and Journal. 1904. p. 700.
  20. "CRICKET TEAM LOST TWICE Haverford Won Friday, 306 to 59; U. of P. Won Saturday, 187 to 78". The Crimson. 23 May 1904. Retrieved 2016-05-20.
  21. Harvard College Class of 1904 (1905). Secretary's First Report. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The University Press. pp. 89–90.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  22. "Pennsylvania Defeats Cornell". The Cornell Daily Sun. Vol. XXIV, no. 174. 27 May 1904. Retrieved 2016-05-20.
  23. "Intercollegiate Championship 1904" . Retrieved 2016-05-20.
  24. "Penn Cricketers Won". New York Times. New York, NY. 21 May 1905.
  25. "Intercollegiate Championship 1905". Archived from the original on 2016-06-11. Retrieved 2016-05-20.
  26. 1 2 Harvard College Class of 1907 (1907). Secretary's First Report. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The University Press. pp. 87–88.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  27. Haverford College Record Yearbook - Class of 1911. Haverford, PA: Haverford College. pp. 121–122. Last year ... [t]he biggest feat of the year was the victory over Penn and the placing of the Intercollegiate cup once more in its proper cabinet in the trophy room.
  28. 1 2 "Haverford Cricket Dates". New York Times. New York, NY. 1 April 1917.
  29. University of Pennsylvania Record Yearbook - Class of 1916. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania. p. 291. Haverford defeated Penn, 241-58.
  30. Haverford College Record Yearbook - Class of 1919. Haverford, PA. p. 91. Haverford defeated Penn, 196-54
  31. Haverford College Athletics 1921-1922. Haverford, PA: Haverford College. 1922. pp. 75–82. Penn defeated Haverford, 209-109, on May 10, 1922; Haverford defeated Penn, 190-63, on May 24, 1922.
  32. Haverford College Record Yearbook - Class of 1923. Haverford, PA. p. 89. So far the team has not lost a single match, having beaten Penn for the Intercollegiate Cup.
  33. "Haverford College Bulletin". XXI (4). Haverford, PA: Haverford College. June 1923: 75–80.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help) Two Haverford-Penn matches were scheduled. On May 11, Haverford defeated Penn, 85-77. On May 18, Haverford defeated Penn, 161-44.
  34. Haverford College Record Yearbook - Class of 1925. Haverford, PA. p. 122. In 1924 "the team ... was undefeated."
  35. "Haverford College Bulletin". XXII (4). Haverford, PA: Haverford College. June 1923: 62, 65.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help) Two Haverford-Penn matches were scheduled. The May 7, 1924, match was cancelled. On May 14, 1924, Haverford defeated Penn, 94-34.
  36. "Kamran Khan Bio" . Retrieved 2018-09-30.
  37. Pennington, Bill (July 28, 2015). "A Thesis Could Be Written on Haverford College's Influence in Baseball". New York Times . Retrieved July 28, 2015.
  38. "Lack of Players Cancels Football at Haverford". The New York Times. September 15, 1972.
  39. https://tripod.swarthmore.edu/discovery/fulldisplay?vid=01TRI_INST:SC&search_scope=SC_All&tab=Everything&docid=alma991012377669704921