George Washington Colonials

The George Washington Colonials are the athletic teams of George Washington University of Washington, D.C. The Colonials compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference for most sports.

George Washington Colonials
UniversityGeorge Washington University
ConferenceAtlantic 10 Conference
Mid-Atlantic Squash Conference
NCAADivision I
Athletic directorTanya Vogel
LocationWashington, District of Columbia
Varsity teams24 teams (11 men, 13 women)
Basketball arenaCharles E. Smith Center
Baseball stadiumBarcroft Park
Softball stadiumMount Vernon Athletic Fields
Soccer stadiumMount Vernon Athletic Fields
Sailing venueWashington Sailing Marina
Rowing venueThompson Boat Center
Other arenasGW Swim Center
GW Tennis Center
MascotGeorge, the Colonial
NicknameColonials
Fight songHail to the Buff and Blue
ColorsBuff and Blue[1]
         
Websitewww.gwsports.com

Sports sponsored

Men's sports Women's sports
BaseballBasketball
BasketballCross country
Cross countryGymnastics
GolfLacrosse
Rowing*Rowing
SoccerSoccer
Squash*Softball
Swimming and divingSquash*
Tennis*Swimming and diving
Track and fieldTennis
Water poloTrack and field
Volleyball
Water polo*
Co-ed sports
Sailing*
† – Track and field includes both indoor and outdoor
* – Dropping after 2020-21 academic year.[2]

Baseball

The GW Colonials baseball team is a varsity intercollegiate athletic team of George Washington University.[3] The team is a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference, which is part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The team plays its home games at Tucker Field in Barcroft Park, Arlington, Virginia. The Colonials are coached by Gregg Ritchie.

George Washington's first baseball team was fielded in 1891.

Men's basketball

The GW Colonials men's basketball team plays its home games in the Charles E. Smith Center, which is also shared with other GW Colonials athletic programs. The team competes in the Atlantic 10 Conference. It qualified for the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament in 2014 for the first time since 2007 and won the NIT Tournament Championship in 2016. The Colonials' head coach is Jamion Christian.

Soccer

The GW Colonials men's soccer team competes in NCAA Division 1 Men's Soccer in the A10 (Atlantic 10 Conference) along with 13 other teams. The program began in 1967 and has earned two A10 Championships in 2002 and 2004 and two regular-season A10 titles in 1992 and 2011. The team made it to the NCAA Tournament 3 times, including the Round of Sweet 16 in 1989.

The GW Colonials men's soccer team has won the DC College Cup twice in 2007 and 2008. The cup is a competition between four Washington, D.C. universities, including George Mason University, American University, and Howard University.

Women's gymnastics

The women's gymnastics team is coached by Margie Foster Cunningham, and assisted by both, Barry Kistler and Jeff Richards. In the 2013–2014 season, the Colonials were led by senior captains, Taylor Henderson, Kayla Carto, and Betsy Zander.

Men's and Women's Cross Country/Track and Field

The Men's and Women's track and field program is coached by Terry Weir, and assisted by, Matthew Lange. George Washington competes in the Atlantic-10 conference. The Women's Cross Country team finished runner-up in the 2019 Atlantic 10 team championship. They have been represented at the NCAA National Championship five times since 2009: Megan Hogan twice in cross country (2009, 2010), Suzanne Dannheim in cross country (2019) and outdoor track (2019), Carter Day in outdoor track (2018), and Matthew Lange in outdoor track (2018).

Men's rowing

Men's rowing competes in the Intercollegiate Rowing Association. The program began in 1956 and in 2019 the Colonials First Varsity 8+ placed 13th at the IRA National Championships; the highest end of season national ranking of any GWU athletics program in school history.

In 2020, Eric Gehrke became the new head coach for the men's rowing team. He is assisted by GW alumni David Lincoln and Maddux Castle.

Sailing

The sailing team competes in the Middle Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association of the Intercollegiate Sailing Association.

Other sports

The gymnastics team competes as a member of the East Atlantic Gymnastics League

Squash is sanctioned by the College Squash Association (CSA), not by the NCAA.

The men's and women's water polo teams compete as members of the Southern-East Division of the Collegiate Water Polo Association.

Discontinued teams

In July 2020, George Washington University announced plans to drop seven sports to help offset an estimated $200 million budget shortfall amid economic fallout due to COVID-19.[2] Three NCAA sports (men’s indoor track, men’s tennis and women’s water polo) and four non-NCAA sports (men’s rowing, men’s and women’s squash, and sailing) were discontinued.[4]

Football

George Washington University's football program ran from 1881 to 1966.

The final George Washington game came on Thanksgiving Day, 1966, when the team lost to Villanova, 16–7. GW ended the season with a 4–6 record (conference: 4–3) and Jim Camp was named Southern Conference Coach of the Year.[5] On January 19, 1967, the Board of Trustees voted to end the football program. Poor game attendance and the expense of the program contributed to the decision. A former GW player, Harry Ledford, believed that most people were unwilling to commute into Washington, D.C., which did not have a metro rail at the time, on Friday nights to RFK Stadium. Additionally, Maryland and Virginia were nationally competitive teams that drew potential suburban spectators away from GW.[6]

Facilities

Source[7]

Sport Men Women
Baseball
Barcroft Park
-
Basketball
Charles E. Smith Center
Cross Country
-
Gymnastics
-
Charles E. Smith Center
Golf
Laurel Hill Golf Club
-
Lacrosse
-
Mount Vernon Athletic Fields
Rowing
Thompson Boat Center
Sailing
Washington Sailing Marina
Soccer
Mount Vernon Athletic Fields
Softball
-
Mount Vernon Athletic Fields
Squash
Lerner Health and Wellness Center
Swimming
GW Swim Center
Tennis
GW Tennis Center
Volleyball
-
Charles E. Smith Center
Water Polo
Charles E. Smith Center

References

  1. "Athletics logo - George Washington University". July 23, 2018. Retrieved August 25, 2018.
  2. "University Efforts Streamline GW Athletics". George Washington University Athletics. July 31, 2020. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
  3. "George Washington Colonials". d1baseball.com. Retrieved 2013-04-16.
  4. Goff, Steven (July 31, 2020). "George Washington University will drop seven sports amid economic fallout". Washington Post. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
  5. When we played football: the GW boys of fall, 1890-1966 Archived 2011-07-27 at the Wayback Machine, The GW Hatchet, August 30, 1999.
  6. When we played football: the GW boys of fall, 1890-1966 Archived 2011-07-27 at the Wayback Machine, The GW Hatchet, August 30, 1999.
  7. "Facilities". gwsports.com. Archived from the original on 2009-10-18. Retrieved October 18, 2009.
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