George Washington Colonials
The George Washington Colonials are the athletic teams of George Washington University of Washington, D.C. The Colonials compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference for most sports.
| George Washington Colonials | |
|---|---|
 | |
| University | George Washington University |
| Conference | Atlantic 10 Conference Mid-Atlantic Squash Conference |
| NCAA | Division I |
| Athletic director | Tanya Vogel |
| Location | Washington, District of Columbia |
| Varsity teams | 24 teams (11 men, 13 women) |
| Basketball arena | Charles E. Smith Center |
| Baseball stadium | Barcroft Park |
| Softball stadium | Mount Vernon Athletic Fields |
| Soccer stadium | Mount Vernon Athletic Fields |
| Sailing venue | Washington Sailing Marina |
| Rowing venue | Thompson Boat Center |
| Other arenas | GW Swim Center GW Tennis Center |
| Mascot | George, the Colonial |
| Nickname | Colonials |
| Fight song | Hail to the Buff and Blue |
| Colors | Buff and Blue[1] |
| Website | www |
Sports sponsored
| Men's sports | Women's sports |
|---|---|
| Baseball | Basketball |
| Basketball | Cross country |
| Cross country | Gymnastics |
| Golf | Lacrosse |
| Rowing | Rowing |
| Soccer | Soccer |
| Squash | Softball |
| Swimming and diving | Squash |
| Tennis | Swimming and diving |
| Track and field† | Tennis |
| Water polo | Track and field† |
| Volleyball | |
| Water polo | |
| Co-ed sports | |
| Sailing | |
| † – Track and field includes both indoor and outdoor | |
Baseball
The GW Colonials baseball team is a varsity intercollegiate athletic team of George Washington University.[2] The team is a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference, which is part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The team plays its home games at Tucker Field in Barcroft Park, Arlington, Virginia. The Colonials are coached by Gregg Ritchie.
George Washington's first baseball team was fielded in 1891.
Men's basketball
The GW Colonials men's basketball team plays its home games in the Charles E. Smith Center, which is also shared with other GW Colonials athletic programs. The team competes in the Atlantic 10 Conference. It qualified for the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament in 2014 for the first time since 2007 and won the NIT Tournament Championship in 2016. The Colonials' head coach is Jamion Christian.
Soccer
The GW Colonials men's soccer team competes in NCAA Division 1 Men's Soccer in the A10 (Atlantic 10 Conference) along with 13 other teams. The program began in 1967 and has earned two A10 Championships in 2002 and 2004 and two regular-season A10 titles in 1992 and 2011. The team made it to the NCAA Tournament 3 times, including the Round of Sweet 16 in 1989.
The GW Colonials men's soccer team has won the DC College Cup twice in 2007 and 2008. The cup is a competition between four Washington, D.C. universities, including George Mason University, American University, and Howard University.
Women's gymnastics
The women's gymnastics team is coached by Margie Foster Cunningham, and assisted by both, Barry Kistler and Jeff Richards. In the 2013–2014 season, the Colonials were led by senior captains, Taylor Henderson, Kayla Carto, and Betsy Zander.
Men's rowing
Men's rowing competes in the Intercollegiate Rowing Association. The program began in 1956 and in 2019 the Colonials First Varsity 8+ placed 13th at the IRA National Championships; the highest end of season national ranking of any GWU athletics program in school history.
In 2020, Eric Gehrke became the new head coach for the men's rowing team. He is assisted by GW alumni David Lincoln and Maddux Castle.
Sailing
The sailing team competes in the Middle Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association of the Intercollegiate Sailing Association.
Other sports
The gymnastics team competes as a member of the East Atlantic Gymnastics League
Squash is sanctioned by the College Squash Association (CSA), not by the NCAA.
The men's and women's water polo teams compete as members of the Southern-East Division of the Collegiate Water Polo Association.
Discontinued teams
Football
George Washington University's football program ran from 1881 to 1966.
The final George Washington game came on Thanksgiving Day, 1966, when the team lost to Villanova, 16–7. GW ended the season with a 4–6 record (conference: 4–3) and Jim Camp was named Southern Conference Coach of the Year.[3] On January 19, 1967, the Board of Trustees voted to end the football program. Poor game attendance and the expense of the program contributed to the decision. A former GW player, Harry Ledford, believed that most people were unwilling to commute into Washington, D.C., which did not have a metro rail at the time, on Friday nights to RFK Stadium. Additionally, Maryland and Virginia were nationally competitive teams that drew potential suburban spectators away from GW.[4]
Facilities
Source[5]
| Sport | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| Baseball | ||
| Basketball | ||
| Cross Country | ||
| Gymnastics | Charles E. Smith Center | |
| Golf | ||
| Lacrosse | Mount Vernon Athletic Fields | |
| Rowing | ||
| Sailing | ||
| Soccer | ||
| Softball | Mount Vernon Athletic Fields | |
| Squash | ||
| Swimming | ||
| Tennis | ||
| Volleyball | Charles E. Smith Center | |
| Water Polo | ||
References
- "Athletics logo - George Washington University". July 23, 2018. Retrieved August 25, 2018.
- "George Washington Colonials". d1baseball.com. Retrieved 2013-04-16.
- When we played football: the GW boys of fall, 1890-1966 Archived 2011-07-27 at the Wayback Machine, The GW Hatchet, August 30, 1999.
- When we played football: the GW boys of fall, 1890-1966 Archived 2011-07-27 at the Wayback Machine, The GW Hatchet, August 30, 1999.
- "Facilities". gwsports.com. Archived from the original on 2009-10-18. Retrieved October 18, 2009.
