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The Fairfield Stags are the athletic programs representing Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut. Most of the programs are members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) and classified as Division I-AAA in the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Fairfield sponsors 20 varsity sports - baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's crew, men's and women's cross country, field hockey, men's and women's golf, men's and women's lacrosse, men's and women's soccer, softball, men's and women's swimming and diving, men's and women's tennis, and women's volleyball. Fairfield annually boasts among the best student-athlete graduation rates in the nation and has been honored by the NCAA with numerous Public Recognition Awards for the academic performance of sports teams among the top ten percent of squads in their respective sports nationwide. The men's and women's golf programs are both ranked among the best in the nation for academics, according to Golf Digest.[1].
TraditionsHistory of the Stag
With the dawn of the first athletic team (cross country) in the fall of 1947, it became apparent that a nickname would be needed. For the 1947-48 season, Fairfield University adopted the "Men In Red" as its nickname. The following year, the University introduced men's basketball as its next team and its first varsity sport. With the start of varsity sports, the school put it to the students for input in naming of a school mascot. Two recommendations were made to the Board of Trustees for an official decision and vote. As the late Fr. Charles F. Duffy S.J. recounted: "As a member of the Board of Trustees, I remember voting at a board meeting late in 1948 on the naming for our athletic teams. We voted for Stags over Chanticleers!" What made the decision for the Board a bit easier and logical was the fact that the school was part of the Dioceses of Hartford and the word Hartford means stags (hart) and stream (ford). According to Webster's New World Dictionary the word "hart" means "A male of the European red deer; stag." As for the world "ford" Webster describes it as "A shallow place in a stream, river, etc." As a result, Fairfield University's seal itself was designed featuring a deer leaping over a tumbling brook to represent both the school's connection with the Dioceses as well with its close ties with nature. Fairfield is situated on a rolling, immensely wooded 200-acre (0.81 km2) campus overlooking Long Island Sound. The name fits well as a nickname because the Stag is a good jumper and it spirited and agile, as Fairfield would like all of its student-athletes to be. Fight songs"The Fairfield University Fight Song"
"The Men in Red"
Scholar-athletesPublic Recognition AwardsFairfield University athletes are among the most academically successful in the nation, according to the NCAA's Academic Progress Rate (APR). In the past several years the NCAA has honored many Fairfield University sports teams for their academic performance with Public Recognition Awards. These teams posted multi-year APR scores in the top 10 percent of all squads in their respective sports nationwide.[2]
Academic awardsThe following Fairfield scholar-athletes were honored on the national level for their academic and athletic achievements:
Men's varsity teamsBaseball
The Fairfield Stags men's baseball team competes in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference of NCAA Division I. The Stags play their home games at the Alumni Baseball Diamond on the campus of Fairfield University. The team was MAAC South Champions in 1983, 1991, 1993, 1995 and 1997. Individually, Peter Allen was named to the 2008 Brooks Wallace Player of the Year Watch List following his program record setting season in 2007 in which he was ranked nationally in doubles, batting average, and slugging percentage.[3] And John "Keefe" Cato, the holder of eleven Fairfield pitching records including seven career shutouts and one no-hitter, was the first Fairfield athlete to play in a major professional sport on the major league level after being selected by the Cincinnati Reds in the second round of the 1979 Major League Baseball Draft.[4] The Stags are currently coached by John Slosar. BasketballThe Fairfield Stags men's basketball team competes in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference of NCAA Division I. The Stags play their home games in the 9,500 seat, state of the art Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, Connecticut and recently played two games in Alumni Hall back on the campus of Fairfield University during the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons. The team competed in the National Invitational Tournament in 1973, 1974, 1978, 1996 and 2003 and the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament in 1986, 1987 and 1997. In the 1973 National Invitation Tournament, the Stags advanced to the second round where the team lost by one point to eventual National Champion Virginia Tech. And in the 1997 NCAA Tournament, the Stags nearly achieved a historic upset of top-seeded North Carolina after leading the Tar Heels by seven points at halftime. The team also won the MAAC Regular Season Title in 1986 and the MAAC Championship Tournament in 1986, 1987 and 1997. Individually, Joe DeSantis earned All-American honors in 1979; Darren Phillip was the nation's top rebounder in 2001 averaging 14 rebounds per game; and Deng Gai was the nation's top shot blocker in 2005 averaging 5.5 blocks per game ranking him 5th all-time in NCAA Division I basketball. The Stags are currently coached by Ed Cooley. FootballThe now defunct Fairfield Stags football team competed in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference of NCAA Division I-AA. The team enjoyed the second-best single-season turnaround in Division I-AA history with a 7-3 mark in 1997. The Stags won the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference title in 1998, their third year of existence, posting a 9-2 record. Head Coach Kevin Kiesel captured the league's Coach of the Year Award and his club led Division I-AA in total defense and rushing defense. Fairfield's 1999 unit also went 9-2 and ranked fifth among the nation's Division I-AA non-scholarship teams, the defense that year ranked second nationally in total and scoring defense. The 2000 club compiled an 8-2 record and ranked seventh in the country. During this 2000 season, senior Steve Dogmanits (Fairfield's all-time leader in interceptions with 21) set a school-standard of 11. This was enough to lead all of Division I-AA, just missing the national record (12) set in 1987 by Dean Cain of Princeton University and "Lois & Clark" fame. LacrosseThe Fairfield Stags men's lacrosse team competes in the ECAC Lacrosse League of NCAA Division I. The Stags play their home games at Lessing Field on the campus of Fairfield University. The team was nationally ranked in 2005 (15th), 2006 (20th) and 2007 (12th) and competed in the NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Tournament in 2002 and 2005. The Stags also won the ECAC Tournament in 1998 and 1999 and were Conference Regular Season Champions in the MAAC three times (1996-1998) and the GWLL twice (2002 and 2005). Individually, C. J. Kemp in 2002 and Greg Downing in 2005, 2006 and 2007 earned All-American honors. The Stags are currently coached by Andrew Copelan. SoccerThe Fairfield Stags men's soccer team competes in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference of NCAA Division I. The Stags play their home games at Lessing Field on the campus of Fairfield University. The team was ranked nationally in 1998 (24th), 2000 (15th), 2001 (12th), 2005 (24th), 2006 (15th) and 2007 (17th) and competed in the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament in 1999, 2006, 2008. The 2006 team advanced to the second round in the NCAA Tournament after defeating in-state rival University of Connecticut, 2-1. The team also won the MAAC Championship Tournament in 1999, 2006 and 2008. Individually, eleven players have earned Regional All-American honors including Mark Longwell '82 who was the first Stag to go on to play for the United States men's national soccer team and major professional soccer for the NASL Tampa Bay Rowdies. The Stags are currently coached by Carl Rees. Women's varsity teamsBasketballThe Fairfield Stags women's basketball team competes in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference of NCAA Division I. The Stags play their home games in the 9,500 seat, state of the art Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Under former coach Diane Nolan, who reached her milestone 500th win in 2006, the Stags competed in the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship in 1988, 1991, 1998, and 2001. Individually, Katrina Fields in 1985, Dana Pellegrino in 1987 and 1988 and Lisa Mikelic in 1991 earned All-American honors. The Stags are currently coached by Joe Frager, who previously coached the Southern Connecticut State University Owls to the 2007 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball National Title. Field HockeyThe Fairfield Stags field hockey team competes in the America East Conference of NCAA Division I. The Stags play their home games at University Field on the campus of Fairfield University. The team competed in the 1981 NCAA Division III EAIAW Regional Playoffs and the 2001 NCAA Women's Field Hockey Championship. The team also won the Patriot League Regular Season Title in 1998 and the Patriot League Tournament Championship in 2001. Individually, Mary Beth Combs received the Connecticut NCAA Woman of the Year Award in 1993 and ten players have earned NFHCA Mideast Regional All-American honors. The Stags are currently coached by Jackie Kane '87. LacrosseThe Fairfield Stags women's lacrosse team competes in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference of NCAA Division I. The Stags play their home games at Lessing Field on the campus of Fairfield University. The team won the MAAC Regular Season Title in 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2007 and the MAAC Tournament Championship in 2001. Individually, Lauren Uhr in 2002, Beth Loffredo in 2006 and Kristen Coleman in 2008 earned Regional All-American honors. The Stags are currently coached by National Lacrosse Hall of Fame Inductee, Michael J. Waldvogel. SoccerThe Fairfield Stags women's soccer team competes in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference of NCAA Division I. The Stags play their home games at Lessing Field on the campus of Fairfield University. The team has advanced five times to the NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament, most recently in 2005 and 2008. The team has also won the MAAC Championship seven times (1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2005 and 2008). Individually, Abby Allan in 2000 and Meghan King in 2004 earned All-American honors; Ahna Johnson in 2008 earned Academic All-American honors; Betsy Nyman in 2007 earned Regional Academic All-American honors; and Nicole Cavallaro in 2007 received Freshman All-American honors. The Stags are currently coached by Jim O'Brien. SoftballThe Fairfield Stags softball team competes in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference of NCAA Division I. The Stags play their home games at Alumni Softball Field on the campus of Fairfield University. The team won the MAAC Regular Season Title in 2002, 2003 and 2004. Individually, in 2003 Mellissa Santos became the 16th player in Division I history to reach 1,000 career strikeouts and is currently ranked 23rd all-time on the NCAA Division I Softball career strikeouts list. And Jen Derouin in 1988 and Tara Hansen in 2006 earned Academic All-American honors. The Stags are currently coached by Julie Brzezinski who achieved her 500th career win in 2006. VolleyballThe Fairfield Stags women's volleyball team competes in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference of NCAA Division I. The Stags play their home matches at Alumni Hall on the campus of Fairfield University. The team was nationally ranked in 1998 (24th) and 1999 (32nd) and competed in five straight NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournaments between 1997 and 2001. The team has also won the MAAC Regular Season Title nine times (1996-2000 and 2004-2007) and the MAAC Championship Tournament five times (1997-2001). Individually, Renee O’Neill earned Academic All-American honors in 1989 and Joanne Saunders earned Regional All-American honors in 2000. The Stags are currently coached by Alija Pittenger. Men's club teamsFootballThe 1979 Fairfield Stags football team led by All-America quarterback Craig Leach '81 played in the National Collegiate Football Association's championship game where the Stags fell 60-40 to the University of Massachusetts Lowell. The 1980 team started the season ranked #1 in the pre-season NCFA Polls. HockeyWith the fourth season of the Fairfield University Men's Ice Hockey quickly approaching, expectations are at an all time high. Coming off of a 20-4-0-0 record, the team will look to continue their tradition of success in the Metropolitan Collegiate Hockey Conference and the American Collegiate Hockey Association beginning in September. Despite being in only their third season, the 2005-2006 Stags rolled through the MCHC, winning 13 of their 15 league games, and reached the league semifinals for the third straight season. Previously, the program has fielded a championship caliber team in each of the past two seasons. The 2004-2005 squad finished the regular season with a 12-2-1-1 regular season record and fell just a game short of the MCHC championship. The 2003-2004 squad finished their season in second place and made it all the way to the league championship. The hockey team is one of the most popular sports that Fairfield has to offer its student spectators; as attendance at home games have been well in excess of 250 fans. Fan busses provide transportation to and from Wonderland for students.The Stags are coached by Marshall Richards, and assistant coach Corey McGee. RugbyThe Fairfield University Men's Rugby Football Club or FURFC is a men's college rugby club which competes in the Men's Collegiate Division II League of the Metropolitan New York Rugby Union. The nickname for the FURFC is the Red Ruggers. Brad Troup '03 and Will Brazier '05 were USA Rugby Collegiate All-Americans, Honorable Mention. And two former Red Ruggers represented the United States in international competition, Paul Sheehy with the USA Eagles at the 1991 Rugby World Cup and Will Brazier with the USA Tomahawks and USA Falcons. The Coach of the Red Ruggers is Matt Leonard. Spirit TeamThe Spirit Team consists of the cheerleading squad, dance team, and mascot. These groups perform at all men's and women's home basketball games, as well as some other athletic contests and University events. Stags in the StandsStags in the Stands, founded by Marco Ambrosio '07 in 2005, is a new organization looking to bring back the intense Stag spirit of the Red Sea, the athletic fan base formed in the 1970s, when students clad in red poured into Alumni Hall and created one of the region's best home court advantages. All-AmericansBasketball
Field Hockey
Football
Lacrosse
Soccer
Softball
Rugby
Volleyball
Alumni Athletics Hall of FameThe Alumni Association Athletic Hall of Fame was established in 1982 to honor those alumni who achieved excellence and distinguished themselves in Fairfield's athletic programs. Each year inductees are selected through a nomination process by the Athletic Hall of Fame Committee and honored at a Fall induction ceremony. Athletic directors
FacilitiesPrincipal athletic facilities include:
The Thomas J. Walsh Athletic Center is 51,000-square-foot (4,700 m2) structure catering to the academic and athletic needs of Fairfield student-athletes with a high-tech academic study center, practice gymnasium, state-of-the-art locker rooms for all athletic teams and a 4,700-square-foot (440 m2) weight training center. External links
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