St. Cloud State Huskies

St. Cloud State Huskies
University St. Cloud State University
Conference(s) Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference
NCAA NCAA DII most sports
NCAA DI Men's and women's ice hockey
Athletics director Dr. Morris Kurtz
Location St Cloud, MN
Varsity teams 21
Football stadium Husky Stadium (4,198)
Basketball arena Halenbeck Hall (6,400)
Baseball stadium Joe Faber Field (2,000)
Other arenas National Hockey Center (6,600)
Mascot Blizzard the Husky
Nickname Huskies
Fight song St. Cloud State Rouser
Colors Cardinal Red, black, and white

              

Homepage SCSU Athletics

The St. Cloud State Huskies are the athletic teams for St. Cloud State University. The university currently sponsors 18 Division II teams and is a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). SCSU competes in the (CCSA) for women's Nordic skiing. The St. Cloud State's men's and women's ice hockey teams also compete in Division I for as a member of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA). The mascot is the Husky.[1]

St. Cloud State University was a charter member of the Northern Intercollegiate Conference (which has since become known as the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference) in 1932, St. Cloud State competed as a member of the North Central Conference at the NCAA Division II level from 1982 to 2008. The North Central Conference disbanded at the end of the 2007-08 academic year, and St. Cloud State's NCAA Division II sports once again became members of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference in 2008-09.

Contents

Sports

The St. Cloud Athletic Department sponsors the following sports:

Men's intercollegiate athletic teams

Women's intercollegiate athletic teams

Ice hockey

The St. Cloud State men's hockey program made the move to the NCAA Division I level in 1987-88, and it joined the always rugged WCHA in 1990-91. The Huskies play all of their home games in the National Hockey Center (5,371 capacity), which was opened on December 16, 1989. The St. Cloud State women's hockey team began its first season of intercollegiate competition in 1998-99.

Facilities

The main athletic facilities at St. Cloud State University include Husky Stadium (football and soccer), Halenbeck Hall (indoor track and field, swimming and diving, volleyball, wrestling and basketball), the National Hockey Center (ice hockey) and Selke Field (softball). Baseball is played off-campus at a City of St. Cloud ballpark called Joe Faber Field.[2]

National Hockey Center

St. Cloud State is working on a $29.3 million renovation of its National Hockey Center. The Minnesota Legislature has funded $6.5 million of that total, with the balance to come from fundraising.[3][4] The two-phase construction project, which is expected to be complete in 2013, will transform the building into the National Hockey and Event Center, expanding a predominately hockey-only facility into a multi-purpose event center. Among the renovations will be expanded luxury suites, a new main entrance, and improvements to the ticketing, administration, university store, concourses, restrooms and concession areas.[5]

Athletic alumni

Van Nelson, United States Track and Field Olympian, competed in Cross Country and Track and Field for St. Cloud State University from 1964-1969. Along with Chuck Spoden and Kenny Mitchell, Nelson founded the first SCSU cross country team. His freshman year he qualified for the national meet and finished 8th. While at St. Cloud State, Nelson set a new collegiate record of 13:45.8 for 3 miles in Sioux Falls, SD. Van was a three year, double gold medal winner at the Drake Relays and twice won the Drake Relays’ Outstanding Athlete Award. Nelson still holds the SCSU records for the 5,000m, 10,000m, 15,000m, 20,000m and 30,000m runs. Van qualified to represent the United States at the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games. Going into the games Van was ranked 4th in the world in the 5,000m and 8th in the 10,000m.

A total of 20 former St. Cloud State hockey players have gone on to play professionally in the NHL. Hockey Hall of Famer Frank Brimsek played for the Huskies in 1933-34 before going on to a sterling professional career with the Boston Bruins and Chicago from 1938-50. He helped the Boston Bruins win two Stanley Cup titles and he is a member of both the international and United State Hockey Hall of Fames.[6]

Other former St. Cloud State players to skate in the NHL include Sam LoPresti, Len Esau, Steve Martinson, Tyler Arnason, Casey Borer, Tim Conboy, Matt Cullen, Jeff Finger, Bret Hedican, Joe Jensen, Fred Knipscheer, Ryan Malone, Joe Motzko, Mark Parrish, Duvie Westcott, Mark Hartigan, Andreas Nodl, Nate Raduns, and Andrew Gordon. In recent years, Matt Cullen and Bret Hedican helped the Carolina Hurricanes win the Stanley Cup in 2006, while Mark Hartigan and Joe Motzko won the Stanley Cup in 2007 with the Anaheim Ducks. Hartigan was later a member of the Detroit Red Wings during their Stanley Cup championship season in 2008.

Former St. Cloud State football player Todd Bouman is a veteran quarterback in the NFL. He has played for the Minnesota Vikings, New Orleans Saints, Green Bay Packers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Baltimore Ravens, and most recently a second stint with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2010. Other former St. Cloud State players to play professional football in the NFL include Keith Nord (Minnesota), Ben Nelson (Minnesota), Jeff Hazuga (Minnesota), Harry Jackson (Green Bay), and John Kimbrough (Buffalo, New England and Oakland). Of note, Ben Nelson was named the 2006 Arena Football League Rookie of the Year while playing for the San Jose SaberCats.

St. Cloud State women's basketball player Erika Quigley was named the NCAA Division II Player of the Year in 2007. Diver Nate Jimmerson won the NCAA Division II men's one- and three-meter diving titles in 2008. Former St. Cloud State athlete Mary Ahlin won the NCAA Division II titles in women's one- and three-meter diving in 1998 and 1999, while Sarah Loquai won the NCAA Division II women's one-meter diving in 1997. In 2004, the St. Cloud State softball team placed third in the nation at the NCAA Division II softball championships.

References

External links