Robert Morris Colonials

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Robert Morris Colonials
RMU Colonials logo.svg
University Robert Morris University
Conference Horizon League (primary)
NEC (football, men's lacrosse)
Mid-American Conference (women's lacrosse)
College Hockey Mid-America (ACHA)
MAAC (women's rowing),
AHA (men's & women's ice hockey)
NCAA Division I (FCS)
Athletic directorChris King
Location Moon Township, Pennsylvania
Varsity teams16
Football stadium Joe Walton Stadium
Basketball arena UPMC Events Center
Ice hockey arena Colonials Arena
Softball stadium North Athletic Complex
Soccer stadiumNorth Athletic Complex
Lacrosse stadiumJoe Walton Stadium
MascotRoMo
NicknameColonials
Fight songGo Colonials
ColorsBlue, white, and red [1]
     
Website www.rmucolonials.com

The Robert Morris Colonials are the athletic teams for Robert Morris University, in Moon Township, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh. The Colonials compete in NCAA Division I (FCS, formerly Division I-AA, in football). In 2020, the school joined the Horizon League as a full member after leaving the Northeast Conference (NEC). Several RMU sports that are not sponsored by the Horizon League play in other conferences. Football and men's lacrosse compete in the NEC, men's and women's ice hockey in Atlantic Hockey America, women's lacrosse in the Mid-American Conference, and women's rowing in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. The school colors are RMU Blue, RMU Red, and RMU Gray/Silver.

Contents

In December 2013, Robert Morris announced the school was cutting seven sports programs after the 2013–14 season: men's indoor and outdoor track, tennis and cross country and women's golf, tennis and field hockey. [2]

Teams

Men's sportsWomen's sports
Basketball Basketball
Football Cross country
Golf Ice hockey
Ice hockey Lacrosse
LacrosseRowing
SoccerSoccer
Softball
Track and field†
Volleyball
† – Track and field includes both indoor and outdoor

Men's and women's basketball

The men's team, which achieved NCAA Division I status starting with the 1976–77 season, has played in eight NCAA Tournaments:

In 1983, they won their first NCAA Tournament game, a "play-in" game against Georgia Southern, which earned them the right to play Purdue in the first round.

The men's team played in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) in 2008, 2013, and 2014. They defeated defending national champion Kentucky in the first round of the 2013 NIT, a game that was played on the Robert Morris campus because Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY, was not available.

In recent years, both the men's and women's teams have had success in their conference. The women's team won the NEC Championship in 2008 and made an appearance in the 2008 NCAA Tournament, only to bow out in the first round to Rutgers. The women's team won the NEC Championship again in 2014, losing to Notre Dame in the first round of the 2014 NCAA Tournament.

The men's team won the 2009 NEC Championship, beating Mount St. Mary's 48–46. With the win, the school qualified for the 2009 NCAA Tournament, their sixth trip to the tournament. Their seventh trip came a year later, when the Colonials became the first team to beat Quinnipiac University on the Bobcats' home court all season. The 52–50 win set up a date with Villanova in the 2010 NCAA Tournament. Behind 23 points from freshman guard Karon Abraham, No. 15 Robert Morris nearly pulled off an upset of the No. 2 Wildcats, leading much of the game before falling 73–70 in overtime.

The 2015 men's team followed their NEC Championship with the second NCAA Tournament game victory in school history, an 81–77 "play-in" game triumph over the University of North Florida. The victory earned the team a first-round match-up with the eventual national champion, Duke Blue Devils.

The 2019-20 season was a special one for the Colonials, as they played their inaugural season at the UPMC Events Center. The first game in the new building marked the first time the RMU men would play host to their intra-county rivals, the Pitt Panthers. Although they would go on to lose that game, the men's team capped off the season with their record ninth—and final—NEC tournament title as they defeated Saint Francis University. That championship would have earned them an automatic bid to the 2020 NCAA Tournament, but it was canceled due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was also the Colonials' last season in the NEC, as they would join the Horizon League after that season.

Ice hockey

The men's and women's ice hockey teams competes in NCAA Division I as members of Atlantic Hockey America, formed after the 2023–24 season by the merger of the former men's home of the Atlantic Hockey Association and the women's home of College Hockey America. RMU also fields a men's ACHA DI team that is a member of College Hockey Mid-America.

Since 2006, the ice hockey team has hosted the Three Rivers Classic (previously known as the Pittsburgh Collegiate Hockey Showcase until 2012), currently played at PPG Paints Arena (previously played at the now-demolished Mellon Arena.) The 2010 match-up featured No. 1 ranked Miami (Ohio). The 3–12–3 Colonials upset the RedHawks, 3–1. Two days later the Colonials won again at Miami. [3] The Colonials' biggest previous win since the program was started in 2004 was against No. 2 Notre Dame in 2007. [4] Former professional hockey-player David Hanson (of Slap Shot fame) currently manages RMU's Island Sports Complex.

On May 26, 2021, Robert Morris University terminated both the men's and women's varsity hockey programs. [5] On December 17, 2021, the school announced that, after successful fundraising efforts, the two teams would return for the 2023–24 season. [6] RMU was soon reinstated to its former conference homes of the Association and CHA. [7] [8] The two conferences merged shortly after the 2023–24 season to create the current Atlantic Hockey America. [9]

Other athletic teams

The football and lacrosse teams play in Joe Walton Stadium, named in honor of former football team head coach Joe Walton, formerly the head coach of the NFL's New York Jets in the 1980s, and who started the program at Robert Morris in 1993. Walton led the team to the first Northeast Conference championship in 1996 and guided it to a perfect 10–0 season in 2000. Also, in 2010, Walton coached the Colonials football team to the NEC's inaugural bid to the FCS Playoffs with their league-high sixth regular-season championship. [10] Walton retired after the 2013 program, handing the reigns over to top assistant John Banaszak, who won multiple Super Bowls as a defensive end with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The school's soccer teams both play on the North Athletic Complex, and the hockey teams played their games at the RMU Island Sports Complex, just down the road from the campus on Neville Island.

On February 14, 2009, the men's lacrosse team defeated Penn State 12–11 in double overtime in the program's biggest victory at Joe Walton Stadium.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northeast Conference</span> D-1 college athletic conference

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">College Hockey America</span> College ice hockey conference in the United States

College Hockey America (CHA) was a college ice hockey conference in the United States. It participated in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. The conference's final membership featured six women's teams, with three in Pennsylvania; two in New York, and one in Missouri.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Morris University</span> Private university in Moon Township, Pennsylvania, U.S.

Robert Morris University (RMU) is a private university in Moon Township, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1921 and is named after Robert Morris, known as the "financier of the American revolution". It enrolls nearly 5,000 students and offers 60 bachelor's degree programs and 35 master's and doctoral programs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Walton</span> American football player and coach (1935–2021)

Joseph Frank Walton was an American football player and coach who retired after 20 years as the head coach and creator of the football program at Robert Morris University. Walton played eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL) as a pass catching tight end for the Redskins and Giants. He served as head coach of the New York Jets for seven seasons, guiding them to the playoffs twice. He also served as an assistant coach for the New York Giants, the Washington Redskins, the New York Jets and the Pittsburgh Steelers during a 20-year period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Walton Stadium</span> 3000-seat multi-purpose stadium in Pennsylvania, United States

Joe Walton Stadium is a 3,000-seat multi-purpose stadium that is located in Moon Township, Pennsylvania. It is home to the Robert Morris University Colonials football team and men's and women's lacrosse team.

Derek Schooley is an American ice hockey head coach and former player. Since 2004 he has been the head coach for Robert Morris, with his tenure interrupted during the program's 2021-23 disbandment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Morris Colonials football</span> Football team that represents Robert Morris University

The Robert Morris Colonials football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the Robert Morris University located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). Formerly members of the Northeast Conference, the Colonials were originally intended to compete in the 2020 season as an FCS independent before becoming a football-only member of the Big South Conference in July 2021. The Colonials would ultimately join Big South football several months ahead of schedule. After COVID-19 caused the Big South to move its fall 2020 season to spring 2021, with two teams playing in the fall and a third not playing at all in 2020–21, the conference brought RMU into its football league for its spring 2021 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Morris Colonials men's ice hockey</span> College ice hockey team

The Robert Morris Colonials men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents Robert Morris University. The team plays its home games at the Clearview Arena, located at the RMU Island Sports Center in Neville Township, Pennsylvania, United States. The Colonials are members of Atlantic Hockey America, formed shortly after the 2023–24 season by the merger of RMU's former men's league of the Atlantic Hockey Association and the women-only College Hockey America (CHA), in which RMU had been a member. The Colonials men had been members of CHA until its men's division disbanded at the end of the 2009–10 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Morris Colonials men's basketball</span> Basketball team that represents Robert Morris University

The Robert Morris Colonials men's basketball team is the basketball team that represents Robert Morris University in Moon Township, Pennsylvania, United States. The school's team currently competes in the Horizon League. The Colonials current head coach is Andrew Toole who is in his fourteenth season at RMU. Toole was hired when, after three years in charge and 73 wins, head coach Mike Rice Jr. left the program in 2010 to take the head coaching job at Rutgers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Morris Colonials women's ice hockey</span> College ice hockey team

Robert Morris Colonials women's ice hockey is a college ice hockey program representing Robert Morris University in NCAA Division I as a member of the Atlantic Hockey America (AHA) conference.

The Saint Joseph's men's lacrosse team represents Saint Joseph's University in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's lacrosse. The Hawks were elevated to the varsity level in 1992 after competing several years at club level. Starting in 2023, Hawks began playing in the newly established Atlantic 10 Conference men's lacrosse conference. They play home games at Sweeney Field in Wynnefield, Philadelphia

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Morris Colonials men's lacrosse</span> College lacrosse team

The Robert Morris Colonials men's lacrosse team represents Robert Morris University in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's lacrosse. The Colonials became a varsity program in 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Morris Colonials women's basketball</span> College basketball team

The Robert Morris Colonials women's basketball team is the basketball team that represents Robert Morris University in Moon Township, Pennsylvania, United States. The school's team currently competes in the Horizon League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlie Buscaglia</span> American basketball coach

Charlie Buscaglia is an American college basketball coach and the former head coach of the Robert Morris Colonials women's basketball program. Before he succeeded his father, Sal, as head coach following the 2015-16 season, Buscaglia spent 13 years on the Colonials' coaching staff and previously assisted at his alma mater, Manhattan College.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brittany Howard (ice hockey)</span> Canadian ice hockey player

Brittany Howard is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. She played one season in the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) for PWHL Toronto. She played college ice hockey at Robert Morris and was the first Colonial player to win the CHA Player of the Year award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020–21 Robert Morris Colonials men's ice hockey season</span> College ice hockey team season

The 2020–21 Robert Morris Colonials men's ice hockey season was the 17th season of play for the program and the 11th season in the Atlantic Hockey conference. The Colonials represented Robert Morris University and were coached by Derek Schooley, in his 17th season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021–22 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season</span>

The 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season began on October 2, 2021, and concluded with the NCAA championship on April 9, 2022. This was the 74th season in which an NCAA ice hockey championship was held, and was US college hockey's 128th year overall.

The 2023–24 NCAA Division I women's ice hockey season began in September 2023 and ended with the 2024 NCAA National Collegiate women's ice hockey tournament's championship game at Whittemore Center in Durham, New Hampshire on March 24, 2024.

References

  1. ↑ "RMU Brand Style Guide" (PDF). March 15, 2023. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  2. ↑ Robert Morris to cut 7 programs
  3. ↑ "History Made: Colonials Stun College Hockey World - RMUColonials.com—Official Web site of Robert Morris University Athletics". www.rmucolonials.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-20.
  4. ↑ Sanserino, Michael (January 9, 2010). "Pittsburgh Hockey Showcase: Colonials upset Miami, 3-1". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  5. ↑ "RMU Charts Strategic Course Headed into its Centennial Year | Robert Morris University". www.rmu.edu. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  6. ↑ "RMU Reinstates Hockey Programs For 2023-24" (Press release). Robert Morris Colonials. December 17, 2021. Retrieved January 5, 2022.
  7. ↑ "Atlantic Hockey Reinstates Robert Morris" (Press release). Atlantic Hockey Association. April 15, 2022. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  8. ↑ "College Hockey America Reinstates RMU" (Press release). Robert Morris Colonials. March 3, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  9. ↑ "Atlantic Hockey and College Hockey America Join to Form Atlantic Hockey America" (Press release). Atlantic Hockey America. April 30, 2024. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  10. ↑ RMU Colonials Head Coach Joe Walton bio at RMU Colonials Athletics website
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