| NJIT Highlanders | |
|---|---|
 | |
| University | New Jersey Institute of Technology |
| Conference | America East (primary) Big South (men's & women's tennis) EIVA (men's volleyball) |
| NCAA | Division I |
| Athletic director | Lenny Kaplan |
| Location | Newark, New Jersey |
| Varsity teams | 19 |
| Basketball arena | Wellness and Events Center |
| Baseball stadium | Yogi Berra Stadium |
| Soccer stadium | J. Malcolm Simon Stadium |
| Other venues | Prudential Center |
| Mascot | The Highlander |
| Nickname | Highlanders |
| Colors | Red and white[1] |
| Website | njithighlanders.com |
 | |
TheNJIT Highlanders, formerly theNew Jersey Tech Highlanders, are the varsity sport members of theDivision INCAA-affiliated sports teams ofNew Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT). There are ten men's teams, seven women's teams, and three club teams along with a variety of intramural teams. The school's primary conference is theAmerica East Conference. In November 2017 NJIT opened theWellness and Events Center (WEC) which incorporates upgraded facilities for most Division I sports including a 3,500-seat arena for basketball and volleyball.[2]
NJIT athletics moved to NCAA Division I, the top level of college athletics, in 2006.
Prior to the reclassification of the athletic program, all teams competed at the Division II level. In the process of reclassification, both men's and women'ssoccer programs moved up to Division I faster than the other programs by taking advantage of a policy that allows lower division schools to elevate one sport in each gender to Division I in two years. NJIT men's soccer became a full member of NCAA Division I with championship eligibility at the start of the 2005 season. NJIT women's soccer began a similar two-year process in 2005, with full Division I status and championship eligibility arriving with the 2007 season.
NJIT athletics officially gained across-the-board active membership in NCAA Division I, beginning September 1, 2009.[3]
Men's lacrosse, which was elevated from club to full varsity status for the 2015 season (2014–15 school year), competed as an independent through the 2019 season, after which the team joined theNortheast Conference.[4]
NJIT is located in an area of Newark presently known as University Heights, and formerly known as the Newark Highlands. In addition, NJIT's mailing address used to be High Street until the street was renamed in memory of Dr.Martin Luther King Jr. These various references to 'High' are, in large measure, what led the school's students to chooseThe Highlander as its mascot. Upon moving up toNCAADivision I in 2006–07, NJIT athletics updated its graphics. This included a new logo which depicts a stylized Scottish Highlander warrior in traditional garb.
NJIT competed independently until 2009, when the Highlanders became a part of theGreat West Conference in the summer of 2008 as one of six programs to form a Division I all-sports league that began full conference scheduling and championships in 2009–10. The Great West Conference was formerly a football-only league.Chicago State University joined the conference in October 2008, increasing the total full-sports members to 7.[5]
The newly expanded conference was not eligible for automatic Division I championship postseason qualification, men's basketball tournament champion was granted an automatic bid to theCollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT).[6]
During the 2012–13 basketball season, the NCAA underwent major changes inconference realignment where theWAC added three of five Great West schools, while Houston Baptist accepted an invitation to theSouthland Conference. With only NJIT left, the conference folded. Although theNortheast Conference andAtlantic Sun Conference were discussed,[7] it was not offered a spot in either for the 2013–2014 season.
Some teams began competing as associate members in various conferences. The men's volleyball team joined theEastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA). In 2013–14, the NJIT men's swimming and diving team began competing in theCoastal Collegiate Swimming Association (CCSA). In 2014, NJIT women's tennis became an associate member of the America East Conference and in 2014–15, soccer began play in the Sun Belt Conference.
After two years as an independent, NJIT announced on June 12, 2015, that it would become a full member of the Atlantic Sun Conference, now known as theASUN Conference, beginning nineteen days later on July 1.[8] The university confirmed on June 12, 2020, its departure from the ASUN after five years to join theAmerica East Conference beginning nineteen days later on July 1.[9] With the America East not sponsoring tennis for either men or women, both tennis teams were independent in the 2020–21 school year before joining the Southland Conference in July 2021.[10]
A member of theAmerica East Conference, NJIT sponsors teams in ten men's, seven women's, and one coedNCAA sanctioned sports.
| Men's sports | Women's sports |
|---|---|
| Baseball | Basketball |
| Basketball | Cross country |
| Cross country | Soccer |
| Lacrosse | Tennis |
| Soccer | Track and field† |
| Swimming and diving | Volleyball |
| Tennis | |
| Track and field† | |
| Volleyball | |
| Co-ed sports | |
| Fencing | |
| † – Track and field includes both indoor and outdoor | |
Wellness and Events Center is home to the NJIT basketball teams. Theice hockey club team, competing in theColonial States College Hockey Conference, play their home games atPrudential Center.
Branch Brook Park, located approximately a 1/2 mile away from campus is the home for NJIT cross country teams.
TheEstelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center, was the former athletic facility for the NJIT Highlanders. The facility and adjoining field were demolished in 2016 to make way for the Wellness & Events Center and Lubetkin Field at Mal Simon Stadium.Bears & Eagles Riverfront Stadium was the former home of the NJIT baseball team. The facility was demolished in 2019 to make way for a commercial-residential project named Riverfront Square.
Men's soccer
In 1960, NJIT was NAIA men's soccer co-champions withElizabethtown College. The title game went into four overtimes and ended in a 2–2 draw.
NCAA Division I men's basketball recognitions for futility
NJIT's men's basketball program set the record of the most winless team in D-I history in the2007–2008 season with a losing streak of 51 games, breakingSacramento State’s old D-I record. This acknowledgment has given NJIT's athletic program national recognition for futility. The unofficial NCAA record was set during NJIT's secondNCAADivision I transitional season. It came despite a promising 5–24 debut Division I transitional season (2006–07) during which the team won its first two matches (away and home).[11] With a new head coach (Jim Engles), an entirely new coaching staff and additional new recruits, the NJIT men's basketball team ended the 51-game losing streak on January 21, 2009, with a 61–51 win over theBryant Bulldogs and finished the 2008–09 season with a 1–30 record. The Highlanders improved the following season (2009–10) and ended with a 10–21 record[12] during its first officialNCAA Division I season.
NJIT currently holds three NCAA Division I men's basketball reclassifying records:[13]
NCAA Division III men's basketball recognitions for best performances
Despite performing way below Division I standards during its reclassifying seasons from Division II, the Highlanders till this day still hold several Division III men's basketball records more than a decade after elevation from Division III. These records[14] include:
