The Catholic University of America's intercollegiate sports teams are called the Cardinals (after the bird northern cardinal), and they compete in the NCAA's Division III. They are primarily members of the Landmark Conference, and associate members of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference until July 1, 2017, when the football team will join the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference. The team colors are red (PMS 1805) and black.
Catholic celebrates Homecoming in the fall to coincide with a home football game.
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Origin of the name
Originally known as the Red and Black after the colors they wore, Catholic University's athletes came to be known as the Cardinals (often the Flying Cardinals, occasionally the Fighting Cardinals) in the mid-1920s.
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Varsity teams
History
- From the founding of the NCAA in 1906 through 1955, institutions were not separated into competitive divisions, and CUA won a national championship in boxing (1938). The football team appeared in two major bowl games, the 1936 Orange Bowl, which they won, and the 1940 Sun Bowl, which they tied.
- From 1956 through 1972, teams were classified into University Division (major college) and College Division (small college). The Cardinals competed in the latter. During that period, the men's basketball team classified for the 1964 post season tournament.
- NCAA re-organized into three divisions in 1973, and CUA opted for the Division II level during the 1973-76 seasons, winning two national individual titles in track & field. CUA stayed as member of the Mason-Dixon Conference.
- In 1976, CUA moved to Division I, competing for five years (1976-81). As independent first, and as a member of the Colonial Athletic Association later (1979-1981). During that period, the baseball team played the 1977 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament.
- President Edmund Pellegrino decided to drop the athletic programs to Division III and Catholic finally moved in the academic year of 1981-82, joining the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. In 1989 Catholic became a charter member of the Capital Athletic Conference, leaving the conference in 2007 to join, again as a charter member, the Landmark Conference. During this period at Division III, the men's basketball team won the national championship in 2001.
Women's teams were established after women were admitted as undergraduate students in the 1950s, and a Women's Sports Department was established in 1959. The Department originally offered dance lessons and ping-pong and badminton tournaments. Jone Rastapkevicius was hired as the first coordinator of women's sports in 1961. She went on to become a coach and married fellow CUA coach Martin Dowd. In the early part of her 50 year tenure, she worked to schedule games with other local colleges, thereby turning many of the intramural sports into "extramural" ones. The Metropolitan Sports Association for Women (MISAW) was founded in the mid-1960s by CUA along with Trinity College, Georgetown, American University, and George Washington University. It operated until the early 1970s.
Boxing
As a team, CUA won the national title in 1938. Besides, two cardinals won individual championships:
- David Bernstein won the 1938 national championship in the 115-pound weight class.
- "Bingo" Stant Jr. won the 1939 national championship in the 165-pound weight class.
The NCAA discontinued boxing in 1961.
Football
The football team appeared in two major bowl games (the 1936 Orange Bowl, which they won and the 1940 Sun Bowl, which they tied). In the fall of 2008, already in Division III, the team went to the ECAC Southeast Bowl and defeated Johns Hopkins University 18-17 to give the Cards their first post season win since 1936.
The team made three consecutive trips to the Division III playoffs in the late 1990s.
Baseball
In 1977, the Catholic University Cardinals played the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship after winning the ECAC District II championship.
Basketball
Men's
The 1943-44 men's basketball team won the Mason-Dixon Conference title and made the program's first trip to the NCAA Tournament. The team played in Madison Square Garden, losing to Dartmouth and Temple.
The 1963-64 season, Catholic played the NCAA College Division (Division II) Tournament at Hofstra, losing to Hofstra and Philadelphia.
The men's basketball team won the 2001 NCAA Division III National Championship and was the only program in Division III to reach the Sweet Sixteen five consecutive seasons, from 1998-2002. They also reached the postseason in 1993, 1996, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2013, 2015, and 2016.
Women's
The 2011-12 women's basketball team won the Landmark Conference title and made the program's first trip to the NCAA Tournament. In 2013 they won their second straight Landmark Conference title and again received the LC's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament, repeating in 2015. In 2017 they received an at-large bid.
Track & field
The track & field team has produced three individual national champions:
- Mark Robinson won the NCAA Division II 800 meter outdoor championship in 1974 and 1975.
- Carolyn Hughes won the national championship in the 800 meters at the 1982 NCAA Division III Track & Field Championships.
- Tom Caffrey won the national championship in the 1500 meters at the 1991 Division III Track & Field Championships.
Swimming
The men's swim team has won four Capitol Athletic Conference titles and three National Catholic Division III championships, while women's swimming has won a Catholic Division III title. The swimming program has two individual national titles as well:
- Keats Baugher won the national college division (Division II) championship in the 200 and 400 individual medley in 1965.
Lacrosse
Men's
The men's lacrosse team went to the NCAA tournament in 2015 and 2016 after winning the conference title.
Women's
In 2008, the women's lacrosse team went undefeated in the inaugural year of the Landmark Conference and won the Conference post-season tournament, garnering a birth in the NCAA tournament for the first time in program history, and making it to the regional finals where they lost to Salisbury University. The team has won the Landmark Conference Tournament in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2016.
Soccer
Men's
The men's soccer team went to the NCAA tournament in 2009, 2010, 2013 (at-large bid) and 2014.
Women's
Women's soccer went undefeated in the CAC in 2005 and earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament, repeating in 2009, 2014 and 2015 as LC champions.
Field hockey
The field hockey team advanced to the 2001 ECAC Southern Region championship game and won the ECAC title in 2010. In 2011 CUA won its first conference championship, which propelled the Cardinals to their first-ever NCAA Tournament. They won the conference title again in 2012, and 2013. In 2014, the team earned an at-large bid and a first round bye to big dance. In 2015, they were again Landmark Conference champions.
Volleyball
The volleyball team made its first NCAA tournament appearance in 2001 and followed it up in 2002.
Softball
Softball has an ECAC Southern Region title.
Songs
Alma mater songs
The official Alma Mater Song was adopted in 1920, when students organized a contest for an alma mater song, open to the then all-male student body. The winner was Hail CUA (lyrics by Robert H. Mahoney and music by Victor Herbert), but second-place winner Guardian of Truth (music and lyrics by Thomas J. McLean) became more popular over the years.
Fight song
The cardinal's fight song is C.U. Marching Song (1931): (Music by Michael J. MacDonald & Lyrics by Clement Ducy)
CUA songs and cheers
Students supporting the games in the early 1900s created the following songs and chants to inspire high spirits:
CUA (CU Will Shine)
Drink a Highball
Flying Cardinals
National team championships
Division I
- Boxing: 1938 (unofficial)
Division III
- Men's basketball: 2001
Notable athletes
- Brian Cashman, B.A. 1989, Senior Vice-President and General Manager, New York Yankees
- John Douglas, 1995, shortstop, Toronto Blue Jays
- Edward Lynch, LL.B. 1924, featured at Ripley's Believe It or Not! for making 98 tackles in a single football game.
- Jimmy Patsos, B.A. 1989, men's basketball head coach, Siena Saints men's basketball
- Wally Pipp, A.B. 1914, first base, New York Yankees
- Rocco Pirro, football fullback who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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