Vermont Catamounts

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Vermont Catamounts
Vermont Catamounts logo.svg
University University of Vermont
Conference America East Conference (primary)
Hockey East
EISA (skiing)
NCAA Division I
Athletic directorJeff Schulman
Location Burlington, Vermont
Varsity teams18 (8 men's, 10 women's)
Basketball arena Patrick Gym
Soccer stadium Virtue Field
Lacrosse stadiumVirtue Field
Other venues Gutterson Fieldhouse
MascotRally
Nickname Catamounts
Fight song"Vermont Victorious"
ColorsGreen and gold [1]
   
Website uvmathletics.com
Vermont Athletics wordmark.png

The Vermont Catamounts are the varsity intercollegiate athletic programs of the University of Vermont, based in Burlington, Vermont, United States. The school sponsors 18 athletic programs (8 men's, 10 women's), [2] most of which compete in the NCAA Division I America East Conference (AEC), of which the school has been a member since 1979. [3] The men's and women's ice hockey programs compete in Hockey East. [4] [5] The men's and women's alpine and nordic skiing teams compete in the Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association (EISA). [6] The school's athletic director is Jeff Schulman. [7]

Contents

The Catamounts have won seven national championships, 6 in skiing and 1 in men's soccer. [8] The program's mascot is Rally and colors are green and gold. [9]

Teams

Men's sportsWomen's sports
Basketball Basketball
Cross countryCross country
Ice hockey Field hockey
Lacrosse Ice hockey
Soccer Lacrosse
Track and fieldSoccer
Swimming & diving
Track and field
Co-ed sports
Skiing
† – Track and field includes both indoor and outdoor
America East Conference logo in Vermont's colors America East logo in Vermont colors.svg
America East Conference logo in Vermont's colors

Vermont is one of only four NCAA Division I schools that do not sponsor volleyball or baseball. The other three are Boston University, Detroit Mercy, and Drexel.

Basketball

The men's basketball team won the 2003, 2004, 2005, 2010, 2012, 2017, 2019, 2022, 2023, and 2024 America East Conference Championships, qualifying for the NCAA Tournament in each of those seasons. [8] In the 2005 NCAA tournament, the team, seeded #13 in the Austin Regional, upset #4 Syracuse 60–57 in overtime. Sports Illustrated named the upset one of the top 10 NCAA Tournament upsets of the 2000s. [10]

Ice hockey

A Catamounts men's ice hockey game in 2014 Brody Hoffman (13208267263).jpg
A Catamounts men's ice hockey game in 2014

The men's ice hockey team appeared in the NCAA Tournament Frozen Four in 1996 and 2009. They also qualified for the NCAA Tournament in 1988, 1997, 2010, and 2014. [8]

UVM's men's hockey team has produced 18 NHL players in its history. UVM alumni currently in the NHL include Viktor Stålberg '09 (New York Rangers), Torrey Mitchell '07 (Montreal Canadiens), Patrick Sharp '02 (Dallas Stars), Kevan Miller '11 (Boston Bruins), Connor Brickley '14 (Florida Panthers) and Michael Paliotta '15 (Chicago Blackhawks). [11] Martin St. Louis '97, [12] Eric Perrin '97, [13] Sharp, [14] Tim Thomas '97, [15] and former NHL All-Star John LeClair '91 [16] won the Stanley Cup in their careers. In 2004, St. Louis was awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL's MVP, the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer, and the Lester B. Pearson Award as the league's most outstanding player in the regular season as judged by the members of the NHL Players Association. [17] Thomas was awarded the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goaltender in 2009 and 2011, and the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the 2011 Stanley Cup playoffs. [18] UVM is the only NCAA program in history to count alumni who have won both the Hart Trophy and the Vezina Trophy, as well as the only NCAA program to generate an Art Ross winner.[ citation needed ]

Skiing

The UVM ski team has won six national championships (1980, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1994, 2012) and 33 EISA titles, most recently in 2014. The team has had 54 individual national champions, over 273 All-Americans, and 66 US Ski Team members. [19]

Soccer

The men's soccer team has appeared in the NCAA Tournament twelve times, including trips to the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals in 1989 and 2022, and the finals in 2024, winning the National Championship game against the Marshall Thundering Herd 2-1 in extra time.

Women's teams

Basketball

Vermont's women's basketball team has performed well in the America East tournament. In 2013, it made a conference-record 18th appearance in the semifinals. It has the most wins in tournament play, with 35 (2013 field). It has advanced at least one round in 19 of the 24 tournaments. [20]

The Catamounts were the first women's basketball program to go undefeated during the regular season in back-to-back seasons (1991–1992 and 1992–1993), a feat matched only by Connecticut (2008–2009 and 2009–2010).

In the 2012–2013 season, the program had a total attendance mark of 10,579. [21]

Former varsity teams

Baseball

Vermont Division for Historic Preservation marker at former site of University of Vermont Athletic Park, home to UVM baseball, football, and track and field, 1887 to 1904. (June 2014). Athletic Park, UVM Baseball, Football, and Track & Field, 1887-1904. (June 2014).jpg
Vermont Division for Historic Preservation marker at former site of University of Vermont Athletic Park, home to UVM baseball, football, and track and field, 1887 to 1904. (June 2014).

After the 2009 season, the Vermont baseball program, which played at Centennial Field, was cut along with softball as a part of the university's budget cuts. [22] Prior to the cuts of 2009, Vermont baseball was the winningest program at UVM with a .532 winning percentage (1485–1306).[ citation needed ]

Ten Vermont baseball players reached the major leagues, including Larry Gardner, who started at third base for four World Series champions in his 17-year (1908–24) big league career, [23] lefthanded pitcher Ray Collins, who won 87 games in seven MLB seasons and started the first World Series game ever played at Fenway Park, [24] and Kirk McCaskill, who won 110 games during his Major League career. [25]

Football

Vermont had a varsity football team that competed from 1886 until 1974. They were members of the Yankee Conference from 1947 until the program was disbanded. [26] [27]

Nickname and mascot history

On February 6, 1928, The Vermont Cynic asked the University of Vermont undergraduates if they would like to have a mascot. The choices offered up by ballot were a tomcat, camel, cow, or catamount. By a vote of 138–126 the catamount became the first University of Vermont Mascot, Charlie Catamount. [28] [29]

For a brief time between 1968 and 1969 UVM had a live mascot named "Rink". Rink was a puma cub born in captivity at a Peoria, Illinois zoo and owned by avid hockey fans Nancy and Robert "Tiny" Leggett, of South Burlington, VT. As Rink grew from 10 lbs to over 100 lbs the couple became unable to care for him and were reported plans to donate him to Canada's Granby Zoo. [30]

Kitty Catamount joined Charlie as a "Catamount Couple" and the two mascots were married at a UVM hockey game in the 1970s. [28]

A taxidermied catamount named Greta is kept on display in the UVM Dudley H. Davis Student Center, as of 2023. [31] Prior to her restoration in 2021, she was kept in the UVM Marsh Life Science building. Greta is one of 15 remaining specimens of her species. [31] She also has multiple student-run Instagram pages (@greta_uvm, @officialgretathecatamount).

In a rebranding of mascots, Rally Cat was introduced in 2003. [32]

Facilities

As of 2020, Vermont is in the process of replacing Patrick Gym. The new arena named the Tarrant Center is being constructed next to Gutterson Field House and will have a capacity of 3,200 people. [33]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Vermont</span> Public university in Burlington, Vermont, U.S.

The University of Vermont (UVM), officially titled as University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a public land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. Founded in 1791, the university is the oldest in Vermont and the fifth-oldest in New England, making it among the oldest in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin St. Louis</span> Canadian ice hockey player (born 1975)

Martin St. Louis is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player who is the head coach for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). An undrafted player, St. Louis played a total of 1,134 games, scoring 391 goals and 1,033 points in an NHL career that began with the Calgary Flames in 1998 and ended with the New York Rangers in 2015. He is best remembered for having played with the Tampa Bay Lightning and was a member of the Lightning's 2004 Stanley Cup championship team. St. Louis also briefly played with HC Lausanne of the Swiss National League A. He was elected into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2018; his first year of eligibility. St. Louis is widely considered one of the best undrafted players of all time. On January 17, 2017, St. Louis' number 26 became the first to be retired in Lightning history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrick Gym</span> Arena in Burlington, Vermont; Home of the Vermont Catamounts

The Roy L. Patrick Gymnasium is a 3,228-seat multi-purpose arena in Burlington, Vermont. It was built in 1963 to replace the Old Gymnasium, a then-60-year-old facility now known as the Royall Tyler Theater. It is used mainly as the home arena of the Vermont Catamounts men's and women's basketball teams. It has been the site of the 2004, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2022 America East men's basketball tournament championship games, as the higher seed in the final hosts the game. The championship games were all televised on ESPN or ESPN2. Vermont has consistently been among the America East leaders in home attendance and in 2004–05, it became the only America East men's basketball program to sell out every game for an entire season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tim Thomas (ice hockey, born 1974)</span> American ice hockey player

Timothy James Thomas Jr. is an American former professional ice hockey goaltender who mainly played in the National Hockey League (NHL), most notably with the Boston Bruins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UMass Minutemen and Minutewomen</span> Intercollegiate sports teams of University of Massachusetts Amherst

The UMass Minutemen are the athletic teams that represent the University of Massachusetts Amherst; strictly speaking, the Minutemen nickname applies to men's teams and athletes only — women's teams and athletes are known as Minutewomen. The Minutemen and Minutewomen compete in NCAA Division I sports competition primarily as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. UMass is one of only 16 universities in the nation that plays Division I FBS football and Division I men's ice hockey. The nickname is also applied to club teams that do not participate within the NCAA structure.

The 2010–11 Vermont Catamounts season was their sixth in Hockey East. Led by head coach Tim Bothwell, the Catamounts were unable to qualify for the NCAA hockey tournament. Of note, Roxanne Douville, who was a projected to be a top 10 CWHL draft pick, became only the second Vermont player to be named to the Hockey East All-Rookie Team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vermont Catamounts men's ice hockey</span> Mens ice hockey team

The Vermont Catamounts men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents the University of Vermont. The Catamounts are a member of Hockey East, joining in 2005 after competing in ECAC Hockey from 1974 to 2005. They play home games at Gutterson Fieldhouse in Burlington, Vermont. Vermont has appeared in the NCAA Men's Hockey Championship six times since making the move to Division I in 1974–75, including trips to the Frozen Four in 1996 and 2009.

John Becker is an American college basketball coach, currently the head coach of the Vermont Catamounts of the America East Conference. He replaced Mike Lonergan, who left to become the coach at George Washington University.

Klara Myrén is a Swedish ice hockey player and former member of the Swedish national ice hockey team. She represented Sweden at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Her college ice hockey career was played with the Vermont Catamounts women's ice hockey program of the NCAA Division I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vermont Catamounts women's basketball</span> College basketball team

The Vermont Catamounts women's basketball team is the basketball team that represents the University of Vermont in Burlington, Vermont. The school's team currently competes in the America East Conference and plays its home games at Patrick Gym.

Rob Dow is a Canadian soccer coach and a former soccer player. He is the head coach of the Vermont Catamounts men's soccer team; a position he has held since 2017.

Kevin Sneddon is a Canadian American ice hockey coach. He is the former head coach of Vermont, a position he held from 2003 to 2020. He previously served as the head men's ice hockey coach at Union.

Jim Plumer is an American ice hockey coach. He is the current head coach of the Vermont Catamounts women's ice hockey team. He previously served as the women's hockey head coach at Amherst, where he guided them to back-to-back NCAA Division III national championships.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Cross (ice hockey coach)</span> American ice hockey player and coach (1933–2020)

James M. Cross was an American ice hockey player and coach who led the Vermont Catamounts of the University of Vermont for nineteen seasons.

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Colin Francis Markison is an American professional ice hockey player who is currently playing for the Texas Stars in the American Hockey League (AHL) on loan from fellow club, the Chicago Wolves. He played four seasons of NCAA Division 1 ice hockey with the Vermont Catamounts before signing with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020–21 Vermont Catamounts men's ice hockey season</span> Salaam Alaikum iamhere Shah Ali

The 2020–21 Vermont Catamounts men's ice hockey season was the 65th season of play for the program, the 48th at the Division I level, and the 16th season in the Hockey East conference. The Catamounts represented the University of Vermont and were coached by Todd Woodcroft, in his 1st season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021–22 Vermont Catamounts men's ice hockey season</span> College ice hockey team season

The 2021–22 Vermont Catamounts men's ice hockey season was the 66th season of play for the program, the 49th at the Division I level, and the 17th season in the Hockey East conference. The Catamounts represented the University of Vermont and were coached by Todd Woodcroft, in his 2nd season.

The 2022–23 Vermont Catamounts women's ice hockey season will represent University of Vermont during the 2022–23 NCAA Division I women's ice hockey season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theresa Schafzahl</span> Austrian ice hockey player

Theresa Schafzahl is an Austrian professional ice hockey player for the Boston Fleet of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) and member of Austria women's national ice hockey team. She played college ice hockey at Vermont, where she is the program's all-time leader in goals, assists and points.

References

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