The Ocean State Rivalry is an American college basketball rivalry between the Providence Friars and Rhode Island Rams. The Ocean State Rivalry is thought to be a competitive college basketball rivalry in the New England region, though Providence has won 9 of the last 11 games. It is the biggest game of the year on the schedule for Rhode Island. It is also a crucial game for the Ocean State Cup. [1] [2] [3] [4] The name of the rivalry comes from the nickname of the State of Rhode Island which is the Ocean State.
Sport | College Basketball |
---|---|
First meeting | 1933–34 season |
Latest meeting | December 4, 2021 Providence, 66–52 |
Next meeting | December 7, 2024 Kingston, Rhode Island |
Stadiums | Amica Mutual Pavilion Ryan Center |
Statistics | |
Meetings total | 133 |
All-time series | Providence leads, 75–58 |
Current win streak | Providence, 2 (2021–present) |
The Providence Friars and the Rhode Island Rams have met 133 times since the 1933-34 college basketball season. The Ocean State Rivalry game is usually played in December, and the venue alternates between the Amica Mutual Pavilion in Downtown Providence in odd-numbered years and the Ryan Center on the campus of the University of Rhode Island in Kingston in even-numbered years. Providence leads the series 75–58.
Providence victories | Rhode Island victories |
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Providence College is a private Catholic university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1917 by the Dominican Order and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence, it offers 47 undergraduate majors and 17 graduate programs.
The Providence Bruins are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL), and are the primary development team for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). They play at the Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, Rhode Island.
The Amica Mutual Pavilion is an indoor arena located in downtown Providence, Rhode Island. It was built in 1972, as a home court for the Providence College Friars men's basketball program, due to the high demand for tickets to their games in Alumni Hall, as well as for a home arena for the then–Providence Reds, who played in the nearly 50-year-old Rhode Island Auditorium. Current tenants include the Providence Bruins ice hockey team, of the American Hockey League (AHL) and the Providence College Friars men's basketball team, of the Big East Conference. The center is operated by the Rhode Island Convention Center Authority, which also operates the Rhode Island Convention Center and Veterans Memorial Auditorium.
Schneider Arena was named in honor of Rev. Herman D. Schneider, O.P., the founder of Providence College hockey and a longtime teacher at the school. It is located at the far northern end of campus, on the corner of Huxley Ave. and Admiral St., and is notable for the reflective energy-conserving ceiling that was installed in 1992.
Ryan Center is an 8,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Kingston, Rhode Island. The arena opened as a replacement for Keaney Gymnasium, which was built in 1953 for the needs of a much smaller student population at URI. It is home to the University of Rhode Island Rams basketball. The building is named for Thomas M. Ryan, Class of 1975, former CEO of Rhode Island–based CVS Pharmacy and lead benefactor of the arena.
Ernest A. Calverley was an American professional basketball player. He was an All-American while playing for the University of Rhode Island. He played professionally with the Providence Steamrollers of the Basketball Association of America for three seasons from 1946 to 1949. Calverley led the league in assists and was an All-BAA Second Team selection in his first season in the league.
Ed Cooley is an American college basketball coach and currently the head coach of the Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball program. Cooley held the same position at Providence College from 2011 to 2023, and Fairfield University from 2006 to 2011. In 2022, he received national honors as the Naismith College Coach of the Year. Additionally, he received the inaugural 2010 Ben Jobe National Coach of the Year Award.
Cox Sports was a regional sports network that served the United States New England region until 2012. Cox Sports New England served as the local programming outlet for Cox Communications, the cable service provider in Rhode Island and parts of Connecticut.
The Rhode Island Rams are the intercollegiate athletic programs that represent the University of Rhode Island, based in Kingston, Rhode Island, United States. The Rams compete in the NCAA's Division I as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference. The football team, however, competes in the Coastal Athletic Association Football Conference of the NCAA's Football Championship Subdivision, as the A-10 does not sponsor football. The program's athletic director is Thorr Bjorn.
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Sylvester Williams is a retired American basketball player. Born in New Haven, Connecticut. In 1979 he was drafted 21st overall by the New York Knicks and he played parts of seven seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the New York Knicks, Atlanta Hawks and Boston Celtics, appearing in 305 regular season games and seven in the playoffs. In 1985 he signed for the Celtics, but was released on December 2 after a number of personal issues. The Celtics went on to win the 1986 NBA Finals in his absence. As a member of the Knicks, Williams was the last player to wear No. 33 before Patrick Ewing.
The Rhode Island Convention Center is an exposition center in downtown Providence, RI. Opened in 1993, it is the largest convention center in Rhode Island, with about 130,000 square feet (12,000 m2) of exhibition space, including a 100,000-square-foot (9,300 m2) exhibit hall. It is connected by skybridges to the Amica Mutual Pavilion, and the adjacent Omni Hotels Omni Providence Hotel. The ground level features a main exhibition hall with 100,000 square feet, and the upper level has a ballroom and meeting halls. The building has a five-story glass front with a large space outside the meeting rooms and exhibit halls where visitors can gather and mingle. The center is operated by the Rhode Island Convention Center Authority, which also operates the Amica Mutual Pavilion and Veterans Memorial Auditorium.
The Brown–Rhode Island football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Brown Bears and Rhode Island Rams.
The Providence Friars men's basketball team represents Providence College in NCAA Division I competition. They were a founding member of the original Big East Conference from 1979 until 2013, and are now a member of the current Big East Conference. They play their home games at the Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, Rhode Island.
The Rhode Island Rams women's ice hockey team represents the University of Rhode Island (URI) in Women's Division 1 of the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA). Since the team's 1999 inauguration, the Rams have been one of the most successful programs in intercollegiate women's ice hockey, winning nine regular season and nine playoff titles in the 15-year existence of the Eastern Collegiate Women's Hockey League, both ECWHL records. The Rams have also qualified for 12 of the 18 ACHA National Tournaments held for women's teams, a number that trails only Massachusetts, Michigan and Michigan State. Highlighting Rhode Island's 12 ACHA tournament bids are eight semifinal appearances, including five in a row from 2004 through 2008. The team's present coach, Ashley Pagliarini, was a standout defenseman at URI from 2004 through 2009 and is just the second head coach in team history, taking over for program founder Beth McCann for the 2014–15 season.
James Thomas Foster is an American baseball coach and former catcher, who was most recently the head coach of Northwestern Wildcats. He played college baseball for the Providence Friars from 1990 to 1993. He served as the head coach of the Rhode Island Rams (2006–2014) and the Army Black Knights (2017–2022).
The Brown–Providence men's ice hockey rivalry is a college ice hockey rivalry between the Brown Bears men's ice hockey and Providence Friars men's ice hockey programs. The first meeting between the two occurred on 1 March 1927 but wasn't played annually until 1952.
The 2022–23 Providence Friars men's basketball team represented Providence College during the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by 12th-year head coach Ed Cooley, and played their home games at Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, Rhode Island as a member of the Big East Conference. They finished the season 21–12, 13–7 in Big East play to finish in a tie for fourth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament to UConn. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 11 seed in the East region. There they lost to Kentucky in the first round.
The 2023–24 Providence Friars men's basketball team represented Providence College during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by 1st-year head coach Kim English, and played their home games at Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, Rhode Island as a member of the Big East Conference.
The 2024–25 Providence Friars men's basketball team represented Providence College during the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team is led by 2nd-year head coach Kim English, and played their home games at Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, Rhode Island as a member of the Big East Conference.