The Trinity Tigers is the nickname for the sports teams of Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. They participate in the NCAA's Division III and the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC). The school mascot is LeeRoy, a Bengal tiger. In the 1950s, LeeRoy was an actual tiger who was brought to sporting events,[2] but today LeeRoy is portrayed by a student wearing a tiger suit. Early in its history, the school participated in Division I/II athletics, but by 1991 the entire program made the move to Division III, at which time it joined the SCAC.[3]
Trinity fields strong teams, evidenced by its finishes in the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Learfield Directors' Cup, which recognizes the strength of athletic programs by division. Since the Directors' Cup inception in 1995, Trinity has finished in the top 10 on five occasions out of over 400 Division Ill programs; it finished 20th in 2021-22.[4]
In recent years, Trinity has reached the national Division III playoffs in several sports, including football (national runners-up, 2002), women's basketball (2003 national champions), volleyball (second place in 2022 and 1999; third place in 2019), baseball (national champion in 2016), women's cross country, men's and women's track and field, and men's and women's soccer (men's team won the national title in 2003 and placed second in 2007; women placed second in 2013). In 2011-12, the Trinity sports program reclaimed Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference "President's Trophy," awarded to the school in the conference that has the best overall sports record for the year.[5] as of 2022, Trinity has won the President's Trophy every year since.[6] Prior to that, the Tigers had won the award eleven out of the preceding twelve seasons.[7]
In addition to team success, individual Trinity student-athletes have won a number of championships over the years[8] which are detailed below.
The Trinity University Baseball program has a motto - "the tradition continues" - that the players look to in the heat of battle and celebrate in victory. “The Tradition Continues” is a staple of the baseball program's team-first approach and commitment to the good of the whole, the belief that each player contributes to the proud tradition of Trinity Baseball every time they step on the field.[9] The Trinity Baseball Stadium was refurbished in 2022 with a turf field, new netting, updated batting cages and new dugouts.
In May 2015, Trinity Baseball qualified for the Division III College World Series for the first time, falling one game short of the championship round and placing third overall.[10]
In 2016, Trinity won the NCAA Division III College World Series and became national champions. In a best-of-three format, Trinity defeated Keystone College 14-6 in game 1 and 10-7 in game 2. Trinity defeated the 2015 champion, SUNY Cortland, twice in the bracket rounds of the tournament en route to the national championship.[11]
Jeremy Wolf was playing in the outfield when the Trinity Baseball Team won the 2016 NCAA Division III Baseball Championship. In 2016, Wolf hit .408/.508/.741 with 60 runs, 28 doubles (leading the NCAA, and establishing new Trinity and SCAC single-season records), 149 total bases (third in the nation), 11 home runs, and 70 RBIs (4th in the nation).[12][13][14] He was named All-American First Team of both the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and D3baseball.com, was named the West Region Player of the Year by the ABCA and D3baseball.com, and was named Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Year.[15] In his college career Wolf hit 72 doubles, a Trinity record, over 189 games.[13][14][16]
The 2021 Trinity Baseball Team was ranked #1 in the country during the regular season and was selected for the NCAA Regional Tournament in St. Paul, Minnesota.[17] Trinity won SCAC conference championships in 1995, 1999, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2019.[18] In addition to 2015 and 2016, the Trinity Tigers made it to the NCAA College World Series in 2022[19]
A number of former Trinity baseball players have made names for themselves in the ranks of professional baseball teams around the country.[9]
Tim Scannell is in his 26th season as the Trinity University head baseball coach. After serving as an assistant coach for two seasons, Coach Scannell took the Tigers’ reins prior to the 1999 campaign. Since that time, the Tigers have amassed an impressive 775 victories (.728) over 25 seasons with Coach Scannell at the helm. Coach Scannell is ranked in the top 10 among active NCAA Division III coaches by winning percentage. The other Trinity baseball coaches are both former Trinity baseball players — David Smith is the Pitching Coach.[20]
Basketball
Women's basketball team, 1915
The Tigers had a successful men's basketball program under Bob Polk from 1965 to 1968; Polk, an Indiana native, had compiled a record of 197-106 at Vanderbilt, but poor health led to his resignation on the advice of his doctors. However, he was out of basketball for only 18 months as his health rapidly improved. As both the head basketball coach and athletics director, Polk became Southland Conference Coach-of-the-Year in 1967. He was also the NCAA National Coach of the Year for the NCAA College Division (the predecessor of today's NCAA Division II and NCAA Division III) in 1968. In his three years at Trinity, Polk compiled a 69-28 record and led the Tigers to the 1968 NCAA Men's Division II Basketball Tournament, where they finished third overall.
Trinity's women's teams, however, have had considerably more success. The 2002-3 edition went 28-5 and won the national championship under the leadership of coach Becky Geyer, despite never previously having won an NCAA playoff game in school history.[21] And under the leadership of coach Cameron Hill, the team has become a perennial playoff participant, making it to the Elite 8 in 2022 and the Sweet 16 in 2023. In 12 seasons, Hill's teams have earned a record of 249-49 (0.835).[22]
Football
Trinity football team, 1915
Trinity University started its football team in 1900 and played Baylor University in the first game.[23] The Trinity football won conference championships in 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2011, 2019, and 2021.[24]
Trinity athletics may be most famous for the "Mississippi Miracle" executed by the Tiger football team in the 2007 Trinity vs. Millsaps football game. On October 27, 2007, in a game played in Jackson, Mississippi, against conference rival Millsaps College, Trinity trailed by two points with two seconds left. With time for only one more play and being too far way for a field goal, the Tigers ran the "hook and lateral play," in which a receiver runs a short hook route, and then laterals the ball to a trailing player. After the first lateral the Millsaps defense was not fooled and seemed about to tackle the ball carrier and end the game.
At this point the Tigers showed their knowledge of rugby by lining up across the field, rather than gathering in front of the ball carrier as is typical in American football. This meant that there was always a Tiger player in position, either even with or behind the ball carrier, to legally receive another lateral. Every time the Millsaps defense closed on the ball carrier the Trinity player was able to complete a legal lateral to a teammate. In what ESPN said may have been the "longest play in football history," in terms of time elapsed (sixty seconds exactly), Trinity completed 15 laterals before breaking through the Millsaps defense for a 61-yard touchdown. The score, known in Jackson, MS as the "Major Disaster," (Millsaps' nickname is "The Majors") gave Trinity the victory and ultimately led to the conference championship.
The Trinity community is especially proud of this play because it demonstrated not only the Tigers' athletic ability, but also their intelligence and poise under pressure.[25][26][27][28] The unlikely play was named the top sports moment of the year by Time Magazine[29] as well as the "Game Changing Performance of the Year" by Pontiac.[30]
In November 2015, Trinity and Austin College announced they would affiliate with the Southern Athletic Association for football in 2017. The 2019 Trinity football team was Co-Champion of the Southern Athletic Conference.[31]
Jerheme Urban is in his sixth year as Head Coach of the Trinity football team. Coach Urban played football and ran track at Trinity University and was a football All-American. After graduation from Trinity in 2003, Coach Urban had a nine-year career in the National Football League.[32] In 2019, Coach Urban was inducted into the Trinity University Athletics Hall of Fame.[33]
Tennis
Trinity has historically had a strong tennis program, once a Division I tennis power, under tennis coach Clarency Mabry, winning the men's NCAA championship in 1972, as well as being runners up in 1970, 1971, 1977 and 1979. The women's team captured the first USLTA women's collegiate championship in 1968 and won several more titles. In the early 1960s the program was home to arguably some of the best tennis players in the world, and bypassed the NCAA tournament to enter Wimbledon. In 1963, Chuck McKinley of Trinity won the Wimbledon Men's Singles Championship. He was also the runner up in 1961. In 1970, as a freshman at Trinity, Brian Gottfried won the USTA boys 18s singles championship, as well as the doubles championship with Alexander Mayer.[34]
