Wheeling Jesuit Cardinals

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Wheeling University Cardinals
Wjuathletics.jpg
UniversityWheeling University
Conference Mountain East Conference
NCAA Division II
Athletic directorRudy Yovich
Location Wheeling, West Virginia
Varsity teams16
Basketball arena McDonough Center
Baseball stadiumJ.B. Chambers Baseball/Softball Complex
Soccer stadiumBishop Schmitt Field
MascotIggy the Cardinal
NicknameCardinals
ColorsRed, Gold, and Black
         
Website athletics.wju.edu

The Wheeling University Cardinals are the athletic teams that represent Wheeling Jesuit University, located in Wheeling, West Virginia, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. The Cardinals compete as members of the Mountain East Conference for all 21 varsity sports. Wheeling Jesuit was an early member of the Mountain East following the 2013 demise of the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, of which the university had been a member since 1957.

Wheeling University is a private Roman Catholic university in Wheeling, West Virginia. It was founded as Wheeling College in 1954 by the Society of Jesus and was a Jesuit institution until 2019. Approximately 473 undergraduate students attend the university. Wheeling University competes in Division II of the National Collegiate Athletic Association as a member of the Mountain East Conference.

Wheeling, West Virginia City in West Virginia, United States

Wheeling is a city in Ohio and Marshall counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Located almost entirely in Ohio County, of which it is the county seat, it lies along the Ohio River in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. Wheeling was originally a settlement in the British colony of Virginia and later an important city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Wheeling was the first state capital of West Virginia. Due to its location along major transportation routes, including the Ohio River, National Road, and the B&O Railroad, Wheeling became a manufacturing center in the late nineteenth century. After experiencing the closing of factories and substantial population loss following World War II, Wheeling's major industries now include healthcare, education, law and legal services, entertainment and tourism, and energy.

NCAA Division II

Division II is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environment offered in Division III.

Contents

History

Wheeling University competes in NCAA Division II as part of the MEC. It had been a member of the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC) from 1957 to 2013, but in June 2012, the nine football-playing schools in the WVIAC announced their intention to break away and form a new conference, which eventually became the MEC. [1] Although the university was initially left out of the split, it would soon receive an invitation to become a charter member of the new conference, which was officially unveiled on August 20, 2012 with competition to begin in the 2013–14 school year.

West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

The West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC) was a collegiate athletic conference which historically operated exclusively in the state of West Virginia, but briefly had one Kentucky member in its early years, and expanded into Pennsylvania in its final years. It participated in the NCAA's Division II, but held its final athletic competitions in spring 2013, and officially disbanded on September 1 of that year. Its football-playing members announced in June 2012 that they planned to withdraw to form a new Division II conference effective at the end of the 2012–13 season; this led to a chain of conference moves that saw all but one of the WVIAC's members find new conference homes.

The university amassed 47 WVIAC titles during its tenure in that conference, and also boasts 40 Academic All-Americans. On Feb 28, 2009, the men's basketball team was televised nationally on CBS Sports against West Liberty University in a conference basketball match.

Varsity teams

The Van Horne Grandstands, part of WJU's outdoor athletic complex. Van Horne Grandstand.jpg
The Van Horne Grandstands, part of WJU's outdoor athletic complex.

List of teams

Individual sports

Rugby

Rugby, formerly offered as a club sport from 1967 to 1994, was restarted after an 18-year hiatus in December 2011. The university restarted its rugby program in part because the increasing popularity of rugby in Jesuit high schools meant that offering college rugby would be one way to attract more students. [2] The rugby team is a full varsity men's sport and provides scholarships for athletes. [3] The team is coached by Eric Jerpe, who has previously held various leadership positions, including with the Pittsburgh Harlequins, as manager of the US U-17 national team, and as a member of the USA Rugby board of directors. [4]

College rugby

College rugby, more specifically rugby union, is played throughout universities in the United States of America. College rugby is governed by USA Rugby, and does not fall under the auspices of the NCAA with the exception of 15 NCAA women's programs. Women's Rugby has been classified as an NCAA Emerging Sport since 2002.

Pittsburgh Harlequins

The Pittsburgh Harlequins are an American rugby union founded in 1973. The team is a member of the USA Rugby Football Union, the Mid-Atlantic Rugby Football Union, and the Potomac Rugby Union.

Wheeling played its first rugby sevens tournament in September 2012, where Wheeling finished fourth in the MAC Sevens despite fielding a team composed entirely of freshmen. [5] Wheeling notched its first win in fifteens on September 8, 2012, when Wheeling defeated the West Virginia Mountaineers 10–6 at home in front of a large crowd at James Larosa Stadium. [6]

Wrestling

In January 2013, athletic director Danny Sancomb announced that Wheeling Jesuit would be adding wrestling at the school's 20th intercollegiate sport. [7] Wheeling native and Cornell graduate, Sean Doyle was hired to build the program to compete in the fall of 2013. [8] All-American wrestler JD Ramsey was hired as a Graduate Assistant, while Matt Littleton and BJ Hedger were hired to serve as volunteer assistants in the first year. The first recruiting class of 29, includes wrestlers from 7 different states and the team will compete as an NCAA Division II program immediately. [9]

The university has designed a new wrestling facility, which will be ready for use in the fall of 2013. With athletic aid available, the program is positioned to become competitive in a short period of time. [10]

Volleyball

The lady Cardinals captured the school's very first NCAA Division II National Championship on Dec. 12, 2015. The teams record for the 2015 season was 39-4.

Football

In 2017 the athletic department announced that WJU would be adding football with an exhibition schedule in 2018. Zac Bruney the Offensive Coordinator at Ohio Dominican University was named the program's first head coach on July 7th 2017. [11] [12]

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References

  1. ↑ Rine, Shawn (August 20, 2012). "Cards, Toppers Set To Jump Into New League". The Intelligencer & Wheeling News Register . Wheeling, WV. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
  2. ↑ Rugby Mag, Wheeling Jesuit Hires Varsity Rugby Coach, Jan 6, 2012, http://www.rugbymag.com/college-news/3052-wheeling-jesuit-hires-varsity-rugby-coach.html
  3. ↑ Pittsburgh Press, Eric Jerpe named Director of Rugby at Wheeling Jesuit University, http://www.pittsburgh-press.com/article.cfm?id=4201&sport=0&news=1
  4. ↑ "Eric Jerpe named Director of Rugby at Wheeling Jesuit University". Wheeling Jesuit University. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
  5. ↑ Rugby Mag, First Run-Out for Wheeling Jesuit, Sep 1, 2012, http://www.rugbymag.com/men's-di-college/5675-first-run-out-for-wheeling-jesuit.html
  6. ↑ Rugby Mag, Wheeling Wins Varsity Opener in Dramatic Fashion, Sep 8, 2012, http://www.rugbymag.com/men's-di-college/5712-wheeling-wins-varsity-opener-dramatic-fashion.html
  7. ↑ http://athletics.wju.edu/news/2012/12/21/Wrestling_1221123637.aspx
  8. ↑ http://athletics.wju.edu/news/2012/12/21/Wrestling_1221123402.aspx
  9. ↑ http://athletics.wju.edu/news/2013/8/12/GEN_0812135753.aspx
  10. ↑ http://athletics.wju.edu/news/2013/7/26/Wrestling_0726133103.aspx
  11. ↑ "Wheeling Jesuit University to Launch Football Program". Wheeling Jesuit University. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  12. ↑ "WJU Tackles Coaching Selection – Names Martins Ferry Native Zac Bruney Football Coach". Wheeling Jesuit University. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
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