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, South Carolina
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 and White[1]
         
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 in the Southern 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

A member of the Southern Conference, The Citadel sponsors teams in nine men's and seven women's NCAA sanctioned sports:[2]

Men's Intercollegiate Sports Team Article Head Coach Women's Intercollegiate Sports Team Article Head Coach
Baseball Bulldogs baseball Fred Jordan Cross country Jody Huddleston
Basketball Bulldogs basketball Duggar Baucom Golf Lori Bonacci
Cross country Jody Huddleston Rifle [v 1] William Smith
Football Bulldogs football Brent Thompson Soccer Bulldogs soccer Ciaran Traquair
Rifle [v 1] William Smith Track & Field (Indoor & Outdoor) Jody Huddleston
Tennis Bulldogs tennis Chuck Kriese Volleyball Bulldogs volleyball Craig Mosqueda
Track & Field (Indoor & Outdoor) Jody Huddleston
Wrestling Bulldogs wrestling Rob Hjerling
Notes
  1. 1 2 Rifle is technically a men's sport, but men's, women's, and co-ed teams all compete against each other; The Citadel has both men's and women's teams.

Defunct teams

Conference affiliation

The Citadel competes in the Southern Conference for all sports. Most matches are scored simultaneously using both smallbore and air rifle scoring 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.

The tennis team competes at the Earle Tennis Center, completed in 1990. Comprising ten courts, the facility is located between Stevens Barracks and the infirmary.

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.[3]

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 770 victories as of the end of the 2014 season and 27 of his players have been taken in the MLB draft.[4] Several alumni have played in Major League Baseball.

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.

The current Head Coach is Duggar Baucom who was hired in 2015 after a 10-year stint at VMI. Other recent head coaches have included Chuck Driesell, son of coaching legend Lefty Driesell and Ed Conroy '89, cousin of best selling author Pat Conroy '67.

Football

The Citadel has won four Southern Conference Championships in 1961, 1992, 2015 and 2016. In 1960, the Bulldogs won the Tangerine Bowl, defeating Tennessee Tech 27–0. The Bulldogs have appeared in the FCS Playoffs five 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 current Head Coach is Brent Thompson who has compiled a record of 10–2 including an 8–0 mark and Conference Championship in his only season in 2016.

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

Inouye Marksmanship Center

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[5] 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[6][7][8]

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 41 conference championships and record 224 individual conference championships.[9]

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, 2015, 2016
SoCon Champions: 1960, 1992, 2015, 2016
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: 69

Club sports

References

  1. ↑ "Brand Toolbox: Colors - The Citadel - Charleston, SC". Citadel.edu. Retrieved 2016-04-08.
  2. ↑ "The Citadel Bulldogs". The Citadel Sports. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  3. ↑ "Citadel Vandiver Hall". The Citadel Athletic Facilities. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
  4. ↑ http://www.citadelsports/sports/bsb/index
  5. ↑ "Intercollegiate Rifle Team Trophy" (PDF). National Rifle Association. Retrieved 2012-07-06.
  6. ↑ "2011-12 Rifle Quick Facts" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-02-08.
  7. ↑ "2011-12 Rifle Media Guide". Retrieved 2012-02-08.
  8. ↑ "Citadel rifle team targets perfection at $3.2m shooting range". Post and Courier. Retrieved 2012-02-08.
  9. ↑ "Citadel Championships". The Citadel. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Citadel Club Sports".
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