The Citadel Bulldogs

The Citadel Bulldogs
University The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina
Conference Southern Conference
NCAA Division I
Athletic director Jim Senter
Location Charleston, SC
Varsity teams 16
Football stadium Johnson Hagood Stadium
Basketball arena McAlister Field House
Baseball stadium Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park
Soccer stadium WLI Field
Mascot General and Boo IX (live), Spike
Nickname Bulldogs
Fight song "The Fighting Light Brigade"
Colors
     Citadel Blue       White
Website www.citadelsports.com

The Citadel Bulldogs are the athletic teams that represent The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina. All sports participate in the NCAA Division I. Varsity sports compete primarily in the Southern Conference, although the Rifle teams compete in the South Eastern Air Rifle Conference. The Citadel fields teams in sixteen different sports, nine for men and seven for women.

The Citadel and VMI, a fellow Southern Conference member and senior military college, are notable as the only two Division I schools that do not sponsor women's basketball.

Teams

The Citadel competes in the following NCAA sports:[1]

Men's sports

Women's sports

Defunct teams

Conference affiliation

The Citadel competes in the Southern Conference for all sports except Rifle. For NCAA purposes, rifle teams do not compete in conferences. The Citadel competes in the Southeastern Air Rifle Conference (SEARC) for air rifle, which uses a different scoring system from NCAA matches. Most matches are scored simultaneously using both systems.

Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association

From 1909 to 1935, The Citadel played as a part of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association, a congolomerate of many schools which gave birth to the Southern Conference during a clash over freshman eligibility. The Citadel remained in the SIAA after eight schools joined with six non-SIAA members to create the SoCon in 1921.

Southern Conference

Shortly after thirteen schools departed the Southern Conference to form the Southeastern Conference (SEC), The Citadel and six other schools joined the conference. Furman also joined in 1936, making them and The Citadel the schools with the longest current continuous tenure in the conference. (VMI joined even earlier in 1924, but was not a member from 2003 to 2014.)

Timeline

Southern Conference Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association

Facilities

The Citadel football team plays in Johnson Hagood Stadium, a 21,000 seat stadium just to the south of campus. The stadium is undergoing a long term renovation and rebuilding, which includes the Altman Athletic Center, completed in 2001, and the rebuilt west stands, 2006 and club tower, 2008. The team practices at the Mayberry Triplets Practice facility on the north edge of campus, and utilizes Seignious Hall, on campus behind McAlister Field House and Vandiver Hall, for locker rooms, team meeting space, and weightlifting.

The baseball team shares 6,000 seat Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park with the professional Charleston RiverDogs of the Class-A South Atlantic League for games, and practices at College Park, on Rutledge Avenue. The Citadel owns College Park and has considered a number of future uses for it, including a stadium for the women's soccer team and a tennis complex.

The basketball, wrestling, and volleyball teams use McAlister Field House, a 6,000 seat facility on campus for games and practices. The basketball team's locker room is also in McAlister.

The women's soccer team practices and plays on WLI Field, located on campus to the west of the mess hall and Indian Hill. WLI Field is the former home of the baseball team and men's soccer team.

The rifle team uses the Inouye Marksmanship Center, which is situated behind WLI field on the banks of the Ashley River.

All teams, other than football, baseball and basketball, utilize Vandiver Hall, located behind McAlister Field House is home to track offices, golf offices, wrestling offices, various locker rooms, an indoor golf practice facility, indoor batting cages for baseball and the wrestling practice facility.[2]

Rivalries

The Citadel's most heated rivalries are with the VMI Keydets, Furman Paladins, and College of Charleston Cougars. Furman has been the longest running rivalry, although the Paladins have led the series in football for many decades. While The Citadel has played VMI in many sports for decades, the rivalry has only developed since the creation of the Silver Shako trophy for football in 1976. The football game is now known as the Military Classic of the South. Crosstown rival College of Charleston has become a major rivalry in basketball and baseball, although the Cougars have controlled the games in basketball since joining the Southern Conference (the Cougars left for the Colonial Athletic Association in 2013).

Other historical rivalries include Clemson, South Carolina, Wofford, Presbyterian College, and Newberry College.

Baseball

The Citadel's most successful athletics program, the baseball team has won thirteen Southern Conference championships and eight Southern Conference Baseball Tournament championships. The 1990 team advanced to the College World Series, becoming the first military school to do so; they finished with a record of 46-14 and were ranked sixth in the final Collegiate Baseball poll that season. The Bulldogs are coached by Fred Jordan '79 who is the school's all time winningest coach with more than 725 victories as of the 2013 season and 27 of his players have been taken in the MLB draft.[3] Several alumni have played in the Major League.

Basketball

The Citadel Bulldogs basketball team dates to the 1900–01 season, posting an all-time record of 914-1176. The Citadel's 1966–67 season is chronicled in Pat Conroy's My Losing Season. The 2008–09 squad won 20 games for just the second time in school history and participated in the postseason for the first time, playing in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament; they were defeated in the first round by eventual champion Old Dominion. The team has never played in the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament.

Today's Bulldogs were most recently led by coach Chuck Driesell, son of coaching legend Lefty Driesell. Driesell was not retained after the 2014–15 season; he succeeded Ed Conroy '89, cousin of best selling author Pat Conroy '67.

Football

The Citadel has won two Southern Conference Championships, in 1961 and 1992. In 1960, the Bulldogs won the Tangerine Bowl, defeating Tennessee Tech 27-0. The Bulldogs have appeared in the FCS Playoffs three times, advancing to the second round in 1992 before losing to eventual runner-up Youngstown State. The '92 squad finished with a record of 11-2 and was ranked #1 in the final regular season I-AA poll.

The Bulldogs hired Mike Houston as head coach prior to the 2014 season. He had pledged to maintain the triple option scheme that the Bulldogs have used for the previous three seasons.

Since 2005, three Bulldog players have been drafted by NFL teams. Several alumni have played in the pro ranks including former ESPN analyst Paul Maguire, a tight end and punter with the LA/San Diego Chargers and Buffalo Bills; running back Stump Mitchell with the St. Louis/Arizona Cardinals, kicker Greg Davis who played for several teams including Atlanta, Tampa Bay and Arizona; running back Travis Jervey who played in 2 Super Bowls with Green Bay and fullback Nehemiah Broughton who played for Washington, the New York Giants and Arizona. Wide receiver Andre Roberts of the Redskins and cornerback Cortez Allen of Pittsburgh are currently active.

Rifle

The Rifle team is coached by William Smith, who will coach his 15th season in 2014–15. Under Smith's leadership, the team returned to varsity status in 2001 after 9 years at the club level. The Bulldogs have claimed SEARC championships in 2001-02 and 2010–11 and National Championships in 1939, 1953, 1963, and 1965. The team also claimed eight Southern Conference titles between 1960 and 1974. The pre-NCAA sponsoring body, the National Rifle Association, credits The Citadel with one Intercollege Rifle Team Trophy, in 1963[4] The team competes at the Inouye Marksmanship Center, a highly advanced $3.2 million facility that is also utilized by The Citadel's club pistol team, ROTC, local law enforcement and the South Carolina National Guard[5][6][7]

Wrestling

The Citadel Bulldogs wrestling team has claimed Southern Conference championships in 1967 and 2004, and have 4 All-Americans, with 2 from the 2013 squad. They are currently coached by Rob Hjerling. Vandiver Hall is the practice facility on campus for the wrestling team, while the McAlister Field House hosts home dual meets and tournaments, also located on campus.

Championships

The Bulldogs claim four national championships in rifle, including two individual national championships in rifle. In addition, varsity Bulldog teams have claimed 40 conference championships and record 224 individual conference championships.[8]

Sport Titles
Baseball College World Series Appearance: 1990
SoCon Tournament Champions: 1990, 1994, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2004, 2010
SoCon Regular Season Champions: 1960, 1971, 1975, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1990, 1991, 1995, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2010
Basketball SIAA Tournament Champions: 1927
Boxing SoCon Champions: 1949
SoCon Individual Champions: 4
Football Playoff appearances: 1988, 1990, 1992
SoCon Champions: 1960, 1992
Golf Men's SoCon Champions: 1964
Rifle National champions: 1939, 1953, 1963, 1965
William Randolph Hearst Trophy: 1963, 1965
SEARC Champions: 1999, 2001, 2002, 2010
SoCon Champions: 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1969, 1973, 1974
Tennis SoCon Champions: 1964
SoCon Singles Champions: 19
SoCon Doubles Champions: 9
Track and Field Men's SoCon Champions: 1959, 1960, 1961
SoCon Indoor Event Champions: 36
SoCon Outdoor Event Champions: 88
Women's SoCon Indoor Event Champions: 3
SoCon Outdoor Event Champions: 3
Wrestling All-Americans: 4
SoCon Champions: 1967, 2004
SoCon Individual Champions: 62

Club sports

References

  1. ↑ "The Citadel Athletics". citadelsports.com. Retrieved 2012-04-28.
  2. ↑ "Citadel Vandiver Hall". The Citadel Athletic Facilities. Retrieved 2014.
  3. ↑ http://www.citadelsports/sports/bsb/index
  4. ↑ "Intercollegiate Rifle Team Trophy" (PDF). National Rifle Association. Retrieved 2012-07-06.
  5. ↑ "2011-12 Rifle Quick Facts" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-02-08.
  6. ↑ "2011-12 Rifle Media Guide". Retrieved 2012-02-08.
  7. ↑ "Citadel rifle team targets perfection at $3.2m shooting range". Post and Courier. Retrieved 2012-02-08.
  8. ↑ "Citadel Championships". The Citadel. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Citadel Club Sports".

External links