| Jacksonville Dolphins | |
|---|---|
 | |
| University | Jacksonville University |
| Conference | ASUN Conference (primary) MAAC (rowing) |
| NCAA | Division I |
| Athletic director | Alex Ricker-Gilbert |
| Location | Jacksonville, Florida |
| Varsity teams | 18 (7 men's, 10 women's, 1 co-ed) |
| Basketball arena | Swisher Gymnasium[1] |
| Baseball stadium | John Sessions Stadium |
| Softball stadium | Debbie and Fred Pruitt Softball Complex |
| Soccer stadium | Southern Oak Stadium |
| Other venues | VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena |
| Mascot | Dunk'n the Dolphin |
| Nickname | Dolphins |
| Colors | Green and white[2] |
| Website | judolphins |
 | |
TheJacksonville Dolphins are theintercollegiate athletics teams that representJacksonville University, located inJacksonville, Florida. The Dolphins participate inNCAA Division I athletics, and are primarily members of theASUN Conference. Some teams in sports that are not sponsored by the ASUN play in other conferences; specifically, the men's and women's rowing teams are in theMetro Atlantic Athletic Conference. The men's lacrosse team had played in theSouthern Conference (SoCon) from 2015 to 2022, but that sport will return to the ASUN for the 2023 season (2022–23 school year).
NJCAA
NAIA
NCAA
| Men's sports | Women's sports |
|---|---|
| Baseball | Basketball |
| Basketball | Beach volleyball |
| Cross country | Cross country |
| Golf | Golf |
| Lacrosse | Lacrosse |
| Rowing | Rowing |
| Soccer | Soccer |
| Softball | |
| Track and field† | |
| Volleyball | |
| † – Track and field includes both indoor and outdoor | |
The baseball team began play in 1957. It competed in the small-school College Division until 1969, its first season in the University Division (which later becameNCAA Division I). Its first conference membership was in theSun Belt Conference, where it first played in 1978. The Dolphins were affiliated with that conference until 1998, when they joined theTrans America Athletic Conference (later renamed the Atlantic Sun).
The Dolphins have participated in 15 NCAA tournaments, the first being in 1968, when they were in the College Division Tournament. The other 14 have come in Division I. Jacksonville's best showing in the NCAA tournament came in the1976 South Regional, when they were one game away from theCollege World Series, but were eliminated by Auburn 7–5. The Dolphins also were part of the NCAA tournament in 1972, 1989, 1991, 1994, 1995,1999,2001,2003,2006,2007,2009,2011, and2018.
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The men's basketball program was established in 1949. Jacksonville has appeared in five NCAA Division I men's basketball tournaments, most recently in 1986. Their most successful tournament was the first they participated in, the1970 NCAA tournament.
The Dolphins, led by NBA Hall-of-FamerArtis Gilmore, the school's all-time leader in rebounds, blocks and field goals,[4] andRex Morgan, the career assists leader,[5] advanced to the title game before losing to UCLA 80–69. During that 1969–70 season, the team became the first NCAA basketball program to average 100 points per game in a season.[6]
The Dolphins have won one A-Sun regular-season title (2008–09), but have not yet won the conference tournament and the accompanying automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as an A-Sun member.
The team is a member of theASUN Conference, which is part of theNational Collegiate Athletic Association'sDivision I. Jacksonville's first men's soccer team was fielded in 1957. The team plays its home games atSouthern Oak Stadium. The Dolphins are coached by Mauricio Ruiz.[7]
The Dolphins have been in several NCAA conferences over their 60-year history. In 1959, the Dolphins won the Florida Intercollegiate Conference. The Dolphins have won threeSun Belt Conference Men's Soccer tournaments, with one coming 1987 and the other two coming from 1995–1996. In 2008, the Dolphins won theAtlantic Sun Men's Soccer tournament.[8] The Dolphins best performance inNCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship came in 1998, where they reached the round of 16.[9]
The football team competed in thePioneer Football League, a Division I football-only conference. Their first season of play was in 1998, and they had been members of the Pioneer Football League during 2001 and 2019.
They played their home games atD. B. Milne Field, which has a listed capacity of 5000 spectators.[10]
The Dolphins won the PFL conference title in 2008 and 2010, and represented the PFL in the 2008Gridiron Classic, losing toAlbany.
On December 3, 2019, the university announced it was discontinuing its football program.[11]
| Season | Bowl | Champion | Runner-up | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Gridiron Classic | Albany | 28 | Jacksonville | 0 |
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Jacksonville fielded both men's and women's NCAA Division Ilacrosse teams starting with the 2010 season;[12] both programs became the first in Florida to compete in an NCAA game on February 6, 2010.[13][14]
The women's team was a founding member of theNational Lacrosse Conference. In addition to Jacksonville, the eight-team conference includes southern-based universitiesDavidson,High Point,Presbyterian,Liberty, andLongwood, as well as northern programsDetroit Mercy andHoward. The conference was a provisional conference for two years by NCAA standards; it must exist for two years to earn a potential automatic qualifier into the NCAA tournament.[15] The NLC disbanded after the 2012 season after the two all-sports conferences that contained most of that league's members, the ASUN andBig South, began sponsoring women's lacrosse.
The men's team, the only men's Division I lacrosse team in Florida, will play in the school's full-time home of ASUN Conference as of the next NCAA lacrosse season in 2023.[16] This followed an eight-season run in theSouthern Conference.[17] John Galloway was named head coach in June 2016 after a four-year stint atProvidence College. FromSyracuse, New York, Galloway played goalkeeper forSyracuse University and ended his college career with an NCAA-record 59 wins while playing a record 3,776 minutes. He later played professionally and for theUnited States men's national lacrosse team in 2014.Casey Powell, also a decorated professional lacrosse player, came on board as Jacksonville's first assistant in June 2016.
The sailing team competes in theSouth Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association of theInter-Collegiate Sailing Association and has won twonational championships, the 2020–21 and 2021-22Women's Singlehanded National Championship.
Jacksonville University's most notable rivalry is with crosstown opponents and fellow ASUN members, theUniversity of North FloridaOspreys.[18] The two universities contest the "River City Rumble", in which the school with the most wins over the other across all sports receives atrophy, the SunTrust Old Wooden Barrel.[19] JU holds the edge in the men's basketball series 15–11 in favor of JU after the2014–15 regular season. However, UNF leads the series 10–7 since UNF became a full Division I member.[20]
| Year | Winner |
|---|---|
| 2005–06 | JU, 11–9 |
| 2006–07 | UNF, 11–9 |
| 2007–08 | Tied 10–10 |
| 2008–09 | JU, 13–7 |
| 2009–10 | JU, 11–9 |
| 2010–11 | JU, 11–9 |
| 2011–12 | UNF, 13–7 |
| 2012–13 | UNF, 14.5–7.5 |
| 2013–14 | Tied 11–11 |
| 2014–15 | UNF, 14–8 |
| 2015–16 | JU, 12–10 |
| Years with barrel: UNF 7, JU 5 | |
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