Alaska Nanooks

The Alaska Nanooks are the University of Alaska Fairbanks sports teams, derived from the Inupiaq "nanuq." The school colors are blue and gold. The Nanooks compete at the NCAA Division II level for all sports except men's ice hockey (NCAA Division I). The majority of Nanooks sports are members of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC), the hockey team is a member of the WCHA (after spending several years in the now-defunct CCHA) and plays at the 4,595 seat Carlson Center located west of downtown Fairbanks, while the women's swim team is a member of the Pacific Collegiate Swimming & Diving Conference (PCSC), the men's and women's skiing teams are members of the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association (RMISA), and the rifle team competes as a member of the Patriot Rifle Conference.

Alaska Nanooks
UniversityUniversity of Alaska Fairbanks
ConferenceGreat Northwest Athletic Conference
Patriot Rifle Conference (rifle)
Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association (skiing)
Western Collegiate Hockey Association (ice hockey)
NCAADivision II
Division I (hockey only)
Athletic directorDr. Keith Champagne
LocationFairbanks, Alaska
Varsity teams10 (4 men's, 5 women's, 1 co-ed)
Basketball arenaPatty Center
Other arenasCarlson Center
MascotNook
NicknameNanooks
ColorsBlue and Gold[1]
         
Websitewww.alaskananooks.com

Sports sponsored
Men's sports Women's sports
BasketballBasketball
Cross countryCross country
Ice hockey†Skiing
SkiingSwimming
Volleyball
Co-ed sports
Rifle
† – Ice Hockey competes in Division I

Ice hockey
Main article: Alaska Nanooks men's ice hockey

Intercollegiate men's ice hockey began in the 1925–26 season.[2] The team had competed as an independent team in Division I through the 1960s and Division II through the 1970s.[2] The Nanooks returned to the Division I level in the 1985–86 season and joined the Great West Hockey Conference (GWHC).[3] The team won the 1987–88 GWHC regular season and 1988 playoff championship.[3] The program is currently a member of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) and in 2010 the Nanooks appeared in their first ever NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament before falling 3–1 to Boston College.[4]

Rifle
A Dash 8-Q400 of Horizon Air was painted to advertise the Alaska Nanooks. The aircraft is seen here at Los Angeles International Airport (February 2014)

The mixed rifle team has won ten NCAA Rifle Championships (1994, 1999–2004, 2006–2008) and placed runners-up four times.[5] In addition to the team championships, 12 Nanook Riflers have won individual championships[5] In 2007 the university hosted the NCAA Rifle Championship, which saw the host Nanooks win their eighth title in nine year in front of a crowd of about 1,000.[6] The Nanooks rifle team most recently won the 2008 National Championship and appeared as runner-up to Texas Christian University in 2010.[7]

In June, 2013, the Nanooks became a charter member of the Patriot Rifle Conference.

Skiing

The Nanooks were members of the Central Collegiate Ski Association from 1992 to 2016. They joined the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association in the 2016–17 season.[8] Olympic cross-country skier Tyler Kornfield competed for the Nanooks in both Nordic skiing and cross-country running.[9]

References
  1. Official UAF Color Palette (PDF). June 27, 2013. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
  2. "Alaska Nanooks Men's Hockey Team History". U.S. College Hockey Online. 1996–2010. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
  3. "History of the Great West Hockey Conference". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
  4. Martin, Danny (March 2010). "Ferguson leads Nanooks on fun ride to tournament". Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. Archived from the original on March 15, 2012. Retrieved November 15, 2010.
  5. "Alaska Rifle Dynasty". University of Alaska Fairbanks. Retrieved July 1, 2011.
  6. AP Staff (March 13, 2007). "Alaska wins eighth NCAA rifle title in past nine years". ESPN. Retrieved July 1, 2011.
  7. "TCU wins first NCAA rifle championship". NCAA. March 15, 2010. Archived from the original on December 5, 2010. Retrieved July 1, 2011.
  8. "ALASKA NORDIC SKI JOINS ROCKY MOUNTAIN CONFERENCE". www.alaskananooks.com. University of Alaska Fairbanks Athletics. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  9. "2012 Men's Cross Country Roster; Tyler Kornfeld". www.alaskananooks.com. University of Alaska Fairbanks Athletics. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
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