Stonehill Skyhawks

The Stonehill Skyhawks are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Stonehill College, located in Easton, Massachusetts, in NCAA sporting competitions. All current Skyhawk athletic teams compete at the Division II level and are members of the Northeast-10 Conference. Stonehill has been a member of the NE-10 since 1980.

Stonehill Skyhawks
UniversityStonehill College
ConferenceNortheast-10 Conference
NCAADivision II
Athletic directorDean O'Keefe
LocationEaston, Massachusetts
Varsity teams21
Football stadiumW.B. Mason Stadium
Basketball arenaMerkert Gymnasium
Baseball stadiumLou Gorman Field
Softball stadiumFr. Gartland, C.S.C. Field
Soccer stadiumSkyhawk Field
Other arenasCharles Watt Tennis Courts
Foxboro Sports Center
NicknameSkyhawks
ColorsPurple and White[1]
         
Websitewww.stonehillskyhawks.com

History

Skyhawks nickname

In late 2002, The Strategic Planning Committee determined that the previous Stonehill College mascot, the chieftain, was disrespectful to American Indians and decided that it would be changed. The committee ruled that a new mascot be named as the institution's athletic identity. Therefore, in the following year the college held open forums in which students, alumni, and faculty were asked to submit ideas for the new identity, vote on suggestions, and gauge popularity. Among popular choices were The Stonehill Summit, The Stonehill Skyhawks, The Stonehill Saints, The Stonehill Wolfpack, The Stonehill Crusaders, The Stonehill Mission, The Stonehill Shovelmakers, and The Stonehill Blizzard.

During the fall semester of the 2005 academic year Stonehill College officially changed the name of its athletic teams to the "Stonehill Skyhawks", with a brand new mascot known as 'Ace', an anthropomorphic purple hawk wearing a scarf, goggles, bomber jacket, and an aviator cap. The actual name 'Skyhawks' is not a reference to either a bird or animal. After the school's property was bought by the Congregation of Holy Cross, the airfield was leased to the Navy during World War II and private companies before and after the war until it was closed in 1955 due to increasing student enrollment. The Navy used the field for training exercises and would employ the Skyhawk aircraft between 1954–1995.

Varsity teams

Stonehill currently sponsors 21 varsity sports. Women's swimming & diving will become the 22nd sport in 2020–21, with women's ice hockey following in 2021–22. The ice hockey team will play as a de facto Division I member in the New England Women's Hockey Alliance.[2]

List of teams
  1. The NCAA classifies indoor and outdoor track & field as two separate sports, holding indoor national championships in its winter season and outdoor national championships in its spring season.

National championships

Team
Association Division Sport Year Opponent Score
NCAA Division II Women's Lacrosse[3] 2003 Longwood 9–8
2005 West Chester 13–10

Facilities

The Sally Blair Ames Sports Complex is home to the College staff that sponsors eight intercollegiate club teams featuring Ultimate Frisbee, Rugby, Lacrosse and Golf as well as an extensive intramural sports program offering Basketball, Soccer, Floor Hockey and Flag Football.

W.B. Mason Stadium is a 2,400 seat, multipurpose sports stadium. Opened in 2005 at a cost of $4 million, it is the home of Skyhawk football, lacrosse, field hockey, and track & field.[4] W.B. Mason, an office-supplies dealer based in nearby Brockton, Massachusetts, and its alumni employees contributed $1.5 million toward the project.[5]

The stadium was dedicated on September 10, 2005.[5] The playing field is named Timothy J. Coughlin Memorial Field, in honor of a 1980 Stonehill alumnus and football captain who was killed when the North Tower of the World Trade Center was destroyed on September 11, 2001.[6][7]

Most of the seating is bleacher-style; the two midfield sections have stadium seating with seat-backs.

After the stadium's formal dedication on September 10, 2005, Stonehill defeated Pace University 17–13 in the first football game played in the new stadium.[8]

Individual sports

Football

On Saturday September 8, 2012, the Skyhawks defeated Southern Connecticut State University for the first time in 15 years, by a score of 13–0. In addition to breaking the losing streak, Stonehill also became the first team to shutout the Owls in 12 years.[9]

On Thursday, October 18, 2012, Stonehill hosted the University of New Haven Chargers in Stonehill's first ever nationally televised football game, broadcast as part of CBS Sports Network's Thursday night Division II game of the week. The game drew an overcapacity crowd that saw heavily favored New Haven win 45–41 on a last-second touchdown pass.[10][11][12]

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References
  1. "Colors & Typography". Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  2. "Stonehill to Add Women's Ice Hockey; Accepts Invitation to Join NEWHA" (Press release). New England Women's Hockey Alliance. December 9, 2019. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
  3. "Division II Women's Lacrosse Championship Results" (PDF). NCAA. NCAA.org. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
  4. Paul Harber, "Stonehill Ready to Unveil New Athletic Facility", The Boston Globe, September 1, 2005.
  5. W.B. Mason Stadium, Stonehill College official website.
  6. Alum’s Spirit Lives On Ten Years After 9/11 – News Around Campus – Stonehill College Archived 2013-03-31 at the Wayback Machine
  7. Jim Fenton, "College Notes: Stonehill football team hosts American International College in home opener", The Patriot Ledger, September 11, 2009.
  8. Fan Base. "Pace Setters at Stonehill Skyhawks." "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-02-16. Retrieved 2016-01-08.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. Stonehill Skyhawks. "Stonehill Shuts Out Southern Connecticut State, 13–0." http://www.stonehillskyhawks.com/sports/fball/2012-13/releases/20120908p2f3wb
  10. Jim Fenton, "Stonehill drops 45–41 shootout to third-ranked New Haven in closing seconds" Archived 2013-02-16 at Archive.today, The Enterprise, October 19, 2012.
  11. Stonehill to Host Nationally Televised Football Game- News Around Campus – Stonehill College Archived 2013-02-17 at Archive.today
  12. Stonehill : #3/6 New Haven Rallies Late to Top Stonehill, 45–41
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