| Davidson Wildcats | |
|---|---|
 | |
| University | Davidson College |
| Conference | Atlantic 10 Conference (primary) Pioneer Football League Southern Conference (wrestling) |
| NCAA | Division I (FCS) |
| President | Douglas A. Hicks |
| Athletic director | Chris Clunie |
| Location | Davidson, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Varsity teams | 19 |
| Football stadium | Davidson College Stadium |
| Basketball arena | John M. Belk Arena |
| Baseball stadium | T. Henry Wilson Jr. Field |
| Nickname | Wildcats |
| Colors | Red and black[1] |
| Website | davidsonwildcats |
 | |
TheDavidson Wildcats are theNCAADivision I intercollegiate athletics teams representingDavidson College ofDavidson, North Carolina, United States.[2] A member of theAtlantic 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 theSouthern 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 thePioneer Football League,[6] aFootball Championship Subdivision (FCS) conference of schools that do not offer athletic scholarships for football.
| Men's sports | Women's sports |
|---|---|
| Baseball | Basketball |
| Basketball | Cross country |
| Cross country | Field hockey |
| Football | Lacrosse |
| Golf | Soccer |
| Soccer | Swimming and diving |
| Swimming and diving | Tennis |
| Tennis | Track and field† |
| Track and field† | Volleyball |
| Wrestling | |
| † – Track and field includes both indoor and outdoor | |
| Sport | Association | Division | Year | Opponent/Runner-up | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Women's tennis (1) | NCAA | Division III | 1984 | UC San Diego | 15–14 |
Bowl Games
| Season | Bowl | Winner | Loser | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Tangerine Bowl | Toledo | 56 | Davidson | 33 |
| 1990 | Exhibition Bowl | Davidson | 35 | Baptist | 17 |
| 1994 | Bermuda Bowl[7] | Davidson | 28 | Sewanee | 14 |
 | This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(August 2013) |
Davidson'sbasketball team first reached considerable success in the 1960s under CoachLefty Driesell, whenSports 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 in2008 overWisconsin in the Sweet Sixteen. With that victory, the Wildcats advanced to the Elite Eight where they lost to the eventual championKansas Jayhawks 59–57, capping off an incredible run that saw the rise ofStephen 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 theSouthern 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 CoachBob McKillop, the Wildcats have consistently posted winning seasons. In2006–07, the team completed its regular-season conference schedule with only one loss and entered theSouthern Conference tournament as a No. 1 seed, where the team would win the Southern Conference tournament for the second consecutive season.
In2005–06, the Wildcats went 20–10 and earned an automatic bid to theNCAA 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 theNIT. In 2001–02, the Wildcats won the Southern Conference tournament and lost a close game to Ohio State in the first round of theNCAA tournament.
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 ofSMU,Notre Dame,North Carolina andFlorida Atlantic, experienced his first coaching job as an assistant under McKillop, who, not coincidentally, was Doherty's high school coach on Long Island. FormerVirginia head coach and currentEast Carolinaathletic directorTerry 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 Larrañaga, who tookGeorge Mason to the2006 Final Four, is a former Davidson assistant coach.Rick Barnes ofTexas was also a Davidson assistant.
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-AmericanRob 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 coachCharlie 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, leadingThe New York Times to herald the team as "22 educated feet."[9]
The Wildcatswrestling 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 anAll-American wrestler at theNCAA Wrestling Team Championship and has had just elevenSouthern Conference champions through 2018.[10]
The Davidson Wildcats baseball team is a varsity intercollegiate athletic team ofDavidson College in Davidson, North Carolina, USA. The team is a member of theAtlantic 10 Conference, which is part of theNational Collegiate Athletic Association'sDivision I. Davidson's first baseball team was fielded in 1902. The team plays its home games atT. Henry Wilson, Jr. Field in Davidson, North Carolina. The Wildcats are coached byDick Cooke.
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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