Intercollegiate sports teams of Le Moyne College
The Le Moyne Dolphins are the athletic teams that represent Le Moyne College, located in DeWitt, New York, in NCAA Division I intercollegiate sporting competitions. The Dolphins compete as members of Northeast Conference. Le Moyne had been a member of the NCAA Division II Northeast-10 Conference since 1996.[2][3] At the end of the 2022–23 academic year, Le Moyne began the transition to NCAA Division I as a new member of the NEC.[4]
More than 75 percent of students are estimated to participate in some form of athletics at Le Moyne. Le Moyne student-athletes have combined to post term cumulative grade-point averages of at least 3.0 in 39 consecutive semesters dating back to 2003 (through Fall 2022). Dolphin student-athletes routinely combine for term GPAs of at least 3.3 in addition to completing more than 2,500 hours of community service each year as part of The Le Moyne Way program.
As early as the second century, Christians associated the dolphin with love and tenderness. A dolphin appears on the seal of the Bishop of Syracuse, just as it was on the seal of the ancient See of Siracusa. Le Moyne named its teams the Dolphins to encourage students to look to the future, because the dolphin is a sign of comfort and union and fraternal charity. The Dolphin is a constant reminder that Le Moyne is steeped in centuries-old tradition and philosophy.[5]
The Le Moyne men's basketball team gained national attention when it defeated Division I powerhouse Syracuse 82–79 in a November 2009 exhibition game.[6] Le Moyne's women's basketball team nearly pulled a similar shocker before falling to Syracuse 73–70 in an exhibition game at the JMA Wireless Dome on November 3, 2022.
Le Moyne has long been a lacrosse power at the Division II level, earning seven men's and women's national championships in the sport. The Dolphins' men's lacrosse team captured its sixth National crown in 2021 under the leadership of head coach Dan Sheehan. Le Moyne registered its lone women's lacrosse national title in 2018.
Following a long career in senior administration at the West Point, Bob Beretta was named director of athletics on Jan. 7, 2021. He is only the fourth director of athletics in the college's history.[7]
Varsity teams
List of teams
| Men's sports
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Women's sports
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| Baseball |
Basketball
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| Basketball |
Cross country
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| Cross Country |
Golf
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| Golf |
Lacrosse
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| Lacrosse |
Soccer
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| Soccer |
Softball
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| Swimming and diving |
Swimming and diving
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| Tennis |
Tennis
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| Track and field† |
Track and field†
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Volleyball
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| † – Track and field includes both indoor and outdoor.
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Men's basketball
In 1960, the men's basketball team won the Middle Eastern College Athletic Association Tournament, which was hosted by Saint Peter's College at the Jersey City Armory.[8] In the tournament, Le Moyne defeated Saint Peter's, Iona and LIU to win.[9][10][11]
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| 5th place match | | | 5th–8th place semi-finals | | | Quarterfinals | | | Semifinals | | | Final |
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| | | December 27 at the Armory | | |
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| FDU | 93 |
| | |
| December 28 at Saint Peter's | | | St. Francis (NY) | 58 | | | December 28 at the Armory |
| | | | |
| St. Francis (NY) | 62 | | FDU | 50 |
| | | | | | | |
| | | Siena | 50 | | | December 27 at the Armory | | | LIU | 70 | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
| | LIU | 58 | |
| | | | | |
| December 29 at Saint Peter's | | | Siena | 55 | | | December 29 at the Armory |
| | | |
| St. Francis (NY) | 95 | | LIU | 57 |
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| Saint Peter's | 108 | | | December 27 at the Armory | | | Le Moyne | 66 |
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| | Iona | 61 | |
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| December 28 at Saint Peter's | | | Wagner | 53 | | | December 28 at the Armory |
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| 7th place match | Wagner | 65 | | Iona | 60 | 3rd place match |
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| December 29 at Saint Peter's | | | Saint Peter's | 74 | | | December 27 at the Armory | | | Le Moyne | 90 | | | December 29 at the Armory |
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| Siena | 70 | | Saint Peter's | 62 | | Iona | 58 |
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| Wagner | 68 | | | Le Moyne | 64 | | | FDU | 77 |
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Women's basketball
Le Moyne's first women's varsity basketball team was formed in December 1962. The initial team members were Pat Resch, Carol Collins, Claire Cunnion, Rita Ruane, Dale Amend, Barbara Schlaerth, Nancy Dillon and Bernadette Baecher.[12]
Elizabeth Schuchman joined the team before its first game, which was at the Le Moyne Athletic Center against Auburn Community College on February 9, 1963.[13] Led by head coach Sue Gibbons, the Dolphinettes, as they were called, won that opening game, 33–26. Nancy Dillon and Dale Amend led the way with 12 points each. The Dolphinettes also earned a road win against Auburn Community, 48–46, in overtime. Bernie Baecher had 18 points in that game, and Amend added 17. The Dolphinettes dominated Nazareth, 48–6. Le Moyne did not allow a field goal in the game. Freshman Donna Argenbright led the way with 13 points, and Baecher added 11. The Dolphinettes outscored the Syracuse Orangewomen in a mid-season scrimmage. Le Moyne completed their perfect season with a 4–0 record, when they beat Cazenovia, 36–14, on March 16. Amend led the way with 17 points, and Baecher added 11 in the season finale.[14]
Athletic facilities
The Thomas J. Niland Athletic Complex houses Le Moyne College's athletic teams, visiting competitors, and coaches. Student-athletes use outdoor facilities including the Dick Rockwell Field for baseball, tennis courts, a softball complex and other fields including Ted Grant Field, completed in 2010, an athletic turf complex for lacrosse and soccer. The Niland Complex includes the Henninger Athletic Center, where basketball games and other events take place on Ted Grant Court. Niland served as the college's basketball coach from its inception in 1947 until 1973, winning 326 games and going to six NCAA tournaments. Niland continued at Le Moyne as athletic director until his retirement in 1990.
The Complex also includes the Dick Rockwell Baseball Field. Rockwell, a graduate of Ithaca College, won 757 games on the Heights between 1968 and 1996 at the Division I and II levels, going to the Division II national tournament 12 of their last 13 seasons in the division, and becoming a power in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference in Division I. Rockwell also served as Le Moyne athletic director from 1990 to 2009.
The Campus also has trails behind the school that are used by the Cross Country for their home meets and other teams to train on.
Club sports, intramural sports and facilities
The Thomas J. Niland Athletic Complex incorporates a 47,000-square-foot (4,400 m2) facility with a 25-yard (23 m) competition-size swimming pool, fitness center and weight room, a three-court size multi-purpose gym area, an elevated jogging track, and four racquetball courts. It is designed primarily for intramural, recreational use, and personal fitness activities. Students can also use fitness centers which are located in several of the residence halls.
The college participates in thirteen sports on the club level: men's ice hockey, men's lacrosse, women's lacrosse, women's field hockey, women's basketball, men's rugby, women's rugby, equestrian, fencing, rowing, ultimate frisbee, sailing, and Tae Kwon Do, in addition to cheerleading, with both men and women on the squad. All club teams are given qualified coaches, practice facilities and uniforms.[16]
The college conducts an extensive intramural program with sports and competitors that vary each year. The program usually includes: basketball (men's and women's leagues); flag football (men); indoor soccer (men's, women's and coed leagues); walleyball (coed); racquetball tournaments (coed, men's and women's divisions); volleyball (coed); softball (men's and women's leagues); and inner tube water polo (coed).[17]
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