Middlebury Panthers

Middlebury Panthers
University	Middlebury College
Association	NCAA Division III
Conference	NESCAC (primary) EISA (skiing)
Athletic director	Erin Quinn
Location	Middlebury, Vermont
Varsity teams	31
Football stadium	Alumni Stadium
Basketball arena	Pepin Gymnasium
Nickname	Panthers
Colors	Blue and white [1]
Website	athletics.middlebury.edu

The Middlebury Panthers are the 31 varsity teams of Middlebury College that compete in the New England Small College Athletic Conference. The Panthers lead the NESCAC in total number of national championships, having won 42 team titles ^[2] since the conference lifted its ban on NCAA play in 1994. ^[3] Middlebury enjoys national success in soccer, cross country running, field hockey, men's basketball, women's hockey, skiing, men's lacrosse and women's lacrosse, and fields 31 varsity NCAA teams and several competitive club teams including a sailing team (MCSC), ^[4] a crew team, a water polo team, an ultimate frisbee team, and a rugby team. Since 2000, Middlebury's varsity squads have won 84 NESCAC titles. Currently,^{[ when? ]} 28% of students participate in varsity sports.

In the early 20th century, the Panthers' traditional athletic rivals included the University of Vermont and Norwich University. Today, rivalries vary by sport but typically include Williams College, Hamilton College and Amherst College.

Varsity sports

Men's sports	Women's sports
Alpine skiing	Alpine skiing
Baseball	Basketball
Basketball	Cross country
Cross country	Field hockey
Football	Golf
Golf	Ice hockey
Ice hockey	Lacrosse
Lacrosse	Nordic skiing
Nordic skiing	Soccer
Soccer	Softball
Squash	Squash
Swimming	Swimming
Tennis	Tennis
Track and field	Track and field
	Volleyball

Club sports

See also: Middlebury College Rugby Club

Facilities

Youngman Field at Alumni Stadium, with the Ralph Myhre 18-hole golf course in the background

The 2011 Princeton Review ranks Middlebury's athletic facilities as #18 best in the United States. ^[5]

Middlebury's athletic facilities include:

• Middlebury's newest athletic facility, Virtue Field House, opened in January 2015. The 110,000-square-foot structure houses the New Balance Foundation Track, a 200-meter track with nine 60-meter sprint lanes. Dedicated jumping and vaulting areas beyond the oval for field events are also part of the facility, as is McCormick Field, a 21,000-square-foot Field Turf surface inside the track for varsity, club, intramural and recreational purposes as well as throwing events.
• 50-meter by 25-yard (23 m) Olympic-size swimming pool
• 3,500-seat Youngman Field at Alumni Stadium for football and lacrosse
• 2,100 spectator hockey arena
• 1,000 spectator natatorium
• Regulation rugby pitch
• Middlebury College Snow Bowl, the college-owned ski mountain
• 18-hole Ralph Myhre golf course ^[6]
• Rikert Nordic Center at the Bread Loaf Mountain campus ^[7]
• Fitness Center
• Allan Dragone Track and Field Complex
• Pepin gymnasium, home of the men's and women's basketball and volleyball teams
• Field Turf men's soccer field
• Indoor and outdoor tennis courts, paddle tennis courts, squash courts
• Rock climbing wall
• 12 FJ-class sailboats, docks, and a practice facility in Panton, Vermont ^[4]
• Turf Baseball and Softball fields

Notable achievements

A statue of the Middlebury Panther mascot outside the Alumni Stadium

Middlebury's success in intercollegiate sports is evidenced by the college's second-place ranking in the 2001, 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2011 National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Directors' Cup. ^[8] The college won the honor for the 2011–12 season.

• Middlebury boasts nearly 40 athletes who have competed in the Olympic Games. ^[9]
• In 1979 and 1980 the women's ski team won two AIAW national championships. ^[10]
• The 2000 Men's Football team earned a share of the NESCAC Championship with a 7-1 season, which was also the final one for Middlebury Athletics Hall of Fame Coach Mickey Heinecken, who finished his 28-year career with 126 wins ^[11]
• In 2003, Middlebury Water Polo won the Men's Division III Collegiate Club Championship.^{[ citation needed ]}
• From 2004 to 2006, both the men's and women's ice hockey teams won three consecutive NCAA Division III National Championships, an unprecedented feat for a college at any level. The men have won eight cumulative titles, while the women own six.
• In 2007, Middlebury's Men's Soccer team captured its first NCAA Championship in the 54-year history of the program.
• In 2007 and 2009, the Middlebury College Rugby Club won Division II USA Rugby Championships.
• In 2010, two Middlebury Alumni, Garrott Kuzzy '06 and Simi Hamilton '09, represented the United States in Nordic Skiing at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. ^[12]
• In 2011, the Middlebury men's basketball team reached the 2011 NCAA Men's Division III Tournament for the first time in school history.
• In 2013, the Middlebury women's soccer team reached the NCAA Division III Final Four for the first time in school history and appeared in the NCAA Championship match in 2018.
• In 2019, Middlebury Water Polo won the Women's Division III Collegiate Club Championship.
• In 2019, the Middlebury football team won the NESCAC Championship with a perfect 9–0 record, the first in NESCAC history.
• From 2015 to 2022, the Women's Field Hockey team won six national championships and has won five-straight NCAA titles from 2017 to 2022.
• During the 2021–22 academic year, the Panthers won NCAA Championships in field hockey (22–0), women's ice hockey (27–0–0) and women's lacrosse (22–1).
• From 2018 - 2025 the Men's Club Ultimate Frisbee team appeared in 6 of 7 semifinals, 4 of 7 finals, and won the championship in 2019. The 2020 tournament was cancelled.
• From 2021 - 2025 the Women's Club Ultimate Frisbee team appeared in every national semifinal, 3 of 5 finals, and won the championship in 2021, 2022, and 2023.

National Championships

• Men's Ice Hockey – 8 (1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2006)
• Women's Lacrosse – 11 (1997, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2016, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025)
• Women's Field Hockey – 9 (1998, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024)
• Women's Cross Country – 6 (2000, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2008, 2010)
• Women's Ice Hockey – 6 (2000, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2022)
• Men's Lacrosse – 3 (2000, 2001, 2002)
• Men's Tennis – 3 (2004, 2010, 2018)
• Women's Club Ultimate Frisbee - 3 (2021, 2022, 2023)
• Men's Club Ultimate Frisbee - 2 (2013, 2019)
• Men's Club Rugby – 2 (2007, 2009)
• Men's Soccer (2007)
• Men's Club Water Polo (2003)
• Women's Club Water Polo (2019)

See also

• List of Middlebury College alumni
• Middlebury College Rugby Club

References

1. "Middlebury Visual Identity System" (PDF). Retrieved December 7, 2018.
2. "Middlebury's Team National Champions - Middlebury College Athletics". athletics.middlebury.edu.
3. Burlington Free Press.com | Sports ^{[ permanent dead link ]}
4. "Middlebury College Sailing - About". sites.middlebury.edu. Retrieved 2018-03-15.
5. "College Rankings 2011". The Princeton Review. Retrieved 2018-03-15.
6. "Ralph Myhre Golf Course". Middlebury Golf VT. Ralph Myhre Golf Course.
7. "Rikert Nordic Center". Rikert Nordic Center. Middlebury College. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
8. "Directors' Cup Division III Standings" (PDF).
9. "Middlebury Olympians". Middlebury College Athletics. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
10. "Middlebury Announces Class of 2018 For Its Hall of Fame - Middlebury College Athletics". athletics.middlebury.edu. Retrieved 2019-08-29.
11. https://athletics.middlebury.edu/news/2020/9/25/look-back-2000-nescac-football-champions.aspx ^{[ bare URL ]}
12. "Chairlift Dedication | Middlebury". Archived from the original on 2011-06-14. Retrieved 2010-04-29.

External links

• Official website