Davidson Wildcats

The Davidson Wildcats are the NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletics teams representing Davidson College of Davidson, North Carolina, United States.[2] A member of the Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10),[3] Davidson College sponsors teams in ten men's and nine women's NCAA sanctioned sports.[4] The Wildcats previously competed in the Southern Conference,[5] and the wrestling team retains associate membership in that league since the sport is not sponsored by the A-10. The football team is a member of the Pioneer Football League,[6] a Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) conference of schools that do not offer athletic scholarships for football.

Davidson Wildcats
UniversityDavidson College
ConferenceAtlantic 10 Conference
NCAADivision I FCS
Athletic directorChris Clunie
LocationDavidson, North Carolina
Varsity teams19
Football stadiumRichardson Stadium
Basketball arenaJohn M. Belk Arena
Baseball stadiumT. Henry Wilson, Jr. Field
NicknameWildcats
ColorsBlack and Red[1]
         
Websitewww.davidsonwildcats.com

Sports sponsored
Men's sports Women's sports
BaseballBasketball
BasketballCross country
Cross countryField hockey
FootballLacrosse
GolfSoccer
SoccerSwimming and diving
Swimming and divingTennis
TennisTrack and field†
Track and field†Volleyball
Wrestling
† – Track and field includes both indoor and outdoor

Football
Main article: Davidson Wildcats football

Bowl Games

SeasonBowlWinnerLoser
1969Tangerine BowlToledo56Davidson33
1990Exhibition BowlDavidson35Baptist17
1994Bermuda Bowl[7]Davidson28Sewanee14

Men's basketball
Main article: Davidson Wildcats men's basketball

Davidson's basketball team first reached considerable success in the 1960s under Coach Lefty Driesell, when Sports Illustrated ranked it No. 1 in the country prior to the 1964–65 season.[8]

The Wildcat men have competed in 11 NCAA tournaments (1966, 1968–70, 1986, 1998, 2002, 2006–08, and 2012). Their last tournament victory was in 2008 over Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball in the third round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament. With that victory, the Wildcats advanced to the Elite Eight where they lost to the eventual champion Kansas Jayhawks 59–57, capping off an incredible run that saw the rise of Stephen Curry to national prominence. The Wildcats' NCAA Tournament run came after finishing their regular season undefeated in conference play, at 20–0, and as the champions of the Southern Conference Tournament. Curry led the nation in scoring in 2008–09, his last season at Davidson before declaring for the 2009 NBA Draft.

Under the guidance of Coach Bob McKillop, the Wildcats have consistently posted winning seasons. In 2006–07, the team completed its regular-season conference schedule with only one loss and entered the Southern Conference Tournament as a No. 1 seed, where the team would win the Southern Conference Tournament for the second consecutive season.

In 2005–06, the Wildcats went 20–10 and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament after winning the Southern Conference Tournament. In 2004–05, the Wildcats were undefeated in conference play at 16–0 and advanced to the third round of the NIT. In 2001–02, the Wildcats won the Southern Conference Tournament and lost a close game to Ohio State in the first round of the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship.

In addition to Driesell and McKillop, a number of notable NCAA men's basketball head coaches have coached at Davidson. Matt Doherty, former head coach of SMU, Notre Dame, North Carolina and Florida Atlantic, experienced his first coaching job as an assistant under McKillop, who, not coincidentally, was Doherty's high school coach on Long Island. Former Virginia head coach and current East Carolina athletic director Terry Holland is a Davidson graduate (Class of 1964) and was Driesell's first recruit at Davidson, before advancing to assistant coaching, head coaching and athletic director duties at Davidson. Larry Brown, who would go on to win an NCAA championship with Kansas in 1988 and NBA championship with Detroit in 2004, began his nomadic head coaching career at Davidson, managing to depart before the start of his first season. Jim Larranaga, who took George Mason to the 2006 Final Four, is a former Davidson assistant coach. Rick Barnes of Texas was also a Davidson assistant.

Men's soccer
Main article: Davidson Wildcats men's soccer

The men's soccer team at Davidson was declared a varsity sport in 1956 and had their first All-American player, Claude Finney, just four years later in 1960.

The peak of the soccer program was in 1992 when the team made a run to the NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament Final Four. Led by two-time All-American Rob Ukrop, Davidson finished the regular season 17–5–5, earning an at-large invitation to the NCAA Tournament. Three electrifying wins — two on penalty kicks and one in sudden death overtime — propelled Davidson into the Final Four, which miraculously was being hosted by Davidson on the school's campus. Davidson lost 3–2 in overtime against San Diego in the semifinal game, but the team received plenty of accolades. Ukrop led the nation with 31 goals and 72 points and was awarded the Adi Dassler Award, given to the nation's best player. Head coach Charlie Slagle was awarded NCAA Division I Coach of the Year for men's soccer. Remarkably, all of this was accomplished without the use of a single athletic scholarship on the 1992 team, leading The New York Times to herald the team as "22 educated feet."[9]

Wrestling
Main article: Davidson Wildcats wrestling

The Wildcats wrestling team is coached by Andy Lausier. The team was established in 1920 and has won 293 dual meets, lost 601, and tied 18. The Wildcats last winning season came in 2004–2005 under the coaching of T. J. Jaworsky and Bob Patnesky. Davidson has never had an All-American wrestler at the NCAA Wrestling Team Championship and has had just eleven Southern Conference champions through 2018.[10]

Baseball
Main article: Davidson Wildcats baseball

The Davidson Wildcats baseball team is a varsity intercollegiate athletic team of Davidson College in Davidson, North Carolina, USA. The team is a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference, which is part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. Davidson's first baseball team was fielded in 1902. The team plays its home games at T. Henry Wilson, Jr. Field in Davidson, North Carolina. The Wildcats are coached by Dick Cooke.

Club sports

Croquet

Davidson's two-man golf croquet team has won the National Collegiate Croquet Championship in 2007, 2008, and 2010.[11][12]

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References
  1. 2016–17 Davidson Wildcats Visitors Guide (PDF). September 23, 2016. Retrieved March 5, 2017.
  2. "Davidson College". NCAA & Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
  3. Gleeson, Scott (May 8, 2013). "USA Today". Retrieved August 7, 2013.
  4. "(Wildcat logo) Davidson". Davidson College. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  5. "SoCon". soconsports.com/. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
  6. "Pioneer Football League". Pioneer Football League. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
  7. "Bermuda Bowl II" (PDF). The NCAA News. 14 December 1994. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
  8. "Press and Highlights from Davidson Basketball". Archived from the original on 2009-01-16. Retrieved 2013-08-07.
  9. Yannis, Alex (1992-11-28). "22 Educated Feet Take Davidson to Quarterfinals". The New York Times.
  10. "Davidson College Athletics: wrestling". Davidson College. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
  11. http://www3.davidson.edu/cms/x24273.xml
  12. http://www3.davidson.edu/cms/x39859.xml
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