| Winona State Warriors | |
| University | Winona State University |
|---|---|
| Conference(s) | Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference |
| NCAA | Division II |
| Athletics director | Larry Holstad |
| Location | Winona, MN |
| Varsity teams | 14 |
| Football stadium | Maxwell Field at Verizon Wireless Stadium |
| Basketball arena | McCown Gymnasium |
| Mascot | Wazoo |
| Nickname | Warriors |
| Fight song | |
| Colors | Purple and White
|
| Homepage | winonastatewarriors.com |
The Winona State Warriors are the athletic teams of Winona State University, located in Winona, Minnesota. They compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, Division II for all sports except for women's gymnastics, which competes in the National Collegiate Gymnastics Association.
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The men's football, men's and women's basketball, women's soccer, men's baseball, women's softball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's golf, women's track and field, women's tennis and women's volleyball teams all compete in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. The women's gymnastics team competes in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. They're pretty good at sports.
Winona State University has enjoyed a varied level of success since the first fielding athletic teams in the late 1800s. Several teams have captured conference, regional and national honors.
NSIC Championships
(* indicates co-champions, ^ indicates tri-champions, ! indicates shared)
NCAA Regional Titles
NCAA Runner Up
NCAA National Titles
NAIA National Titles
The Winona Sate Men's Basketball team is led by Mike Leaf heading into the 2010-11 season under Leaf the Warriors have won 270 games, 2 National Championships (2006 and 2008), 2 National Coach of the Year Awards, 3 First Team All-Americans, 4 NSIC Tournament Championships, 5 NSIC Coach of the Year Awards, 6 NSIC Regular Season Championships, 7 NCAA Division II Tournament Appearances, 23 First Team All-NSIC Selections 38 Wins in a season; NCAA record, all divisions, 57 Consecutive wins; most in NCAA Division II history.
The Winona State Warriors are coached by alums Tom Sawyer. The Warriors have won conference titles eleven times in a 18 year span, from 1993 to 2010.
The Warriors' first playoff appearance came in 1993 as Winona State hosted a NAIA national quarterfinal match against Central State (OH). The Warriors lost 58-7.[1]
In 2000, Winona State played in the Mineral Water Bowl. The Warriors faced off against Missouri Western State College. The invited teams are the highest finishing teams in their respective conferences to not make the NCAA playoffs. The Warriors won the game in triple overtime, 43-41.[2]
The following season, the Warriors made NSIC history becoming the first team to achieve a bid to the NCAA playoffs. Winona State faced off against North Dakota. The Warriors lost 28-42.[3] North Dakota would go on to win the championship.[4] The Warriors 28 points was more points than were scored on North Dakota by the three other teams they played combined in the playoffs that season.[5]
In 2002, the Warriors were once again in the Mineral Water Bowl, as they took on Emporia State University. Like the 2000 game, regulation was not enough as the game went to overtime. The Warriors however fell short, losing 27-34 in the first overtime.[6]
In 2003, Winona State once again made it to the NCAA playoffs. That year they were #1 in the region and #3 overall in the country in Division II football. This time they hosted the regional semifinal game, against Emporia State. For the first time in school history, the Warriors were victorious in an NCAA playoff game, winning 10-3. The following weekend, the Warriors traveled to face off against North Dakota. The Warriors managed to battle back from an early deficit to take the lead 29-28 with 1:52 left in the fourth quarter. North Dakota was able to counter and scored with under a minute left in the game, as the Sioux escaped, victorious 36-29.
In 2004 The Warriors continued their post season habit by playing the playoffs. With the NCAA Division II playoffs expanded, the Warriors hosted a first round game against Grand Valley State University, then the two time defending Division II national champions. Winona State played a close game, yet lost 16-13.[7]
In 2006, the Warriors failed to win the NSIC title, yet were still selected for the NCAA playoffs. The Warriors played North Dakota. The Fighting Sioux won 42-0.[8]
The football team was selected for the 2007 playoffs, playing at North Dakota for the fourth time in seven seasons.
Women's Soccer has been a sponsored sport at Winona State since the 1995 season. As of the end of the 2007 season, the Warriors all-time record is 175-65-13. Ali Omar has been the only head coach in the team's history. The Warriors made the NCAA playoffs in 2001, 2007, and 2010.
Maxwell Field at Verizon Wireless Stadium is the home the men's football team, women's soccer team. McCown Gym is home to men's and women's basketball teams, as well as the women's volleyball team. Home tennis match are played at the SMU Tennis Center, near WSU's west campus. Baseball games are played at Loughrey Field. Softball games are played at Alumni Field. They seem to be pretty legit.