Bryant Bulldogs
Encyclopedia
The Bryant Bulldogs are the athletic teams representing Bryant University
in Smithfield, Rhode Island
. The Bulldogs are currently in NCAA Division I reclassification process and compete at the Division I level as a member of the Northeast Conference
. Bryant's largest rivalry during its Division II years was Bentley College
, both founders of the Northeast-10 and both have prominent business programs. Bryant University athletics started out as a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
(NAIA) before it transitioned into Division II. Bryant competed in the Northeast-10 Conference from the conferences founding in 1980 until 2008 when the university began the transition to Division I. They will be a full Division I member by 2012.
Bryant University originally competed independently before the NCAA had classifications. The first teams were men's basketball and rowing, which started in 1896. The first women's team was women's basketball. When the NCAA began more strict classifications Bryant moved to the NAIA in 1963. During Bryant's tenure in the NAIA, it competed as an independent school. The university's tenure in the NAIA saw the men's basketball team record an undefeated regular season, going 22-0 before losing the final two games of the 1966-67 season in the District 32 Tournament. The 22-2 overall record was the team's best during the NAIA years. The move to Division II was partly because of the new campus, and the school's goals.
During their NAIA playing years, they were known as the Indians, and were located in Providence, Rhode Island
, near Brown University
. The school's largest rivalry at the time was Salem State College
. The school was still a small business school, who was still only known on a local level. In 1976 the college left the NAIA In 1977 the college exited the NAIA and became a member of the NCAA at the Division II level. From there they became a charter member of the Northeast-10 Conference when the conference formed in 1979 and began play in 1980.
schools helped create a Division II conference that could succeed on and off the playing field and create rivalries at the same time. With the conference affiliation Bryant was able to keep its closest current day rival Bentley College Falcons
close both academically and athletically.
The university used the Indians nickname and logos since the inception of the athletics program in 1896 until 1995.
Entering the 2000s the university has won 40 conference championships; and the President's Cup 4 times in 2004, 2005, and 2007 and in their last season as a Division II member in 2008. They lost in 2006 by 1 point to Stonehill College
. In their last year of competition in Division II and in the Northeast-10, Bryant won the President's Cup by over 30 points, and sent 19 out of the 22 teams into the NCAA playoffs. They also amassed a record of 292-65-6 throughout the entire year.
The 2000s also saw the injection of many new coaches at the university. Before the move to Division I they had signed four former Division I coaches from Duke University
, Iowa State University
, Wagner College
, and UNLV. These moves have been noted as being one of the reasons that Bryant athletics have had such a successful run. This run has also brought on the exploratory commission to explore the move to Division I.
. The move had Bryant participating as a Division I institution starting in 2008. The NCAA will vote in 2012 to make the university a full member, which would allow Bryant to be eligible for NCAA Division I member postseason tournament play as well as have voting rights for its conference.
Bryant University's 22 varsity athletics are broken down into 11 athletic sports for men, and 11 for women. The Men's teams include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, lacrosse, indoor & outdoor track & field, tennis, soccer, and swimming & diving. The Women's teams consist of basketball, cross country, field hockey, lacrosse, indoor & outdoor track & field, soccer, softball, swimming & diving, tennis, and volleyball.
of 5,500 with a 4,200-seat permanent structure and press box on the home side of the field and 1,300 additional seats on the visitor's side. In addition to serving as the home of Bryant Football, Bulldog Stadium also serves as the home venue to the school's men's and women's lacrosse and men's and women's soccer teams. It has also been the host of Rhode Island's high school state championship games.
and martial arts
studio. The Elizabeth & Malcolm Natatorium is an olympic-size pool originally constructed with the additions to the current Wellness and Athletic Center. The pool had only recreational use until the winter of 2005 when Bryant added men's and women's swim teams as a varsity sport. The natatorium
features six lanes equipped with a scoreboard, seating area, and sound system.
The Bryant Track and Turf Complex was build in 2005 and is the home venue for the men's and women's track & field teams. The facility also hosts soccer, field hockey and lacrosse games in addition to being used as the football practice field. The facility has a bleacher seating section with a capacity of 1,000 fans. Another valuable addition was the lights surrounding the track.
Ironclad Tupper I, or Tupper for short, is an English bulldog purchased by Bryant University President Ron Machtley
and his wife, Kati. The Machtleys gave the dog to the school to honor the class of 2010's senior class gift campaign, which exceeded its goals and set two senior class gift records. Tupper now serves as Bryant University's mascot and attends campus events, as well as performing community service as a therapy dog
. He is the first live bulldog mascot in the university's history and received an honorary degree at 2010 commencement for "character and obedience."
Bryant University
Bryant University is a private university located in Smithfield, Rhode Island, U.S., that grants the degrees of bachelor of arts, bachelor of science, and master's degrees in business, taxation and accounting. Until August 2004, it was known as Bryant College...
in Smithfield, Rhode Island
North Smithfield, Rhode Island
North Smithfield is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States, settled as a farming community in 1666 and incorporated into its present form in 1871. North Smithfield includes the historic villages of Forestdale, Primrose, Waterford, Branch Village, Union Village, Park Square, and...
. The Bulldogs are currently in NCAA Division I reclassification process and compete at the Division I level as a member of the Northeast Conference
Northeast Conference
The Northeast Conference is a college athletic conference whose schools are members of the NCAA. The NCAA designates the Northeast Conference to the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision for Division I Men's Football and to Division I Sports for all other sports.Founded in 1981 as the ECAC-Metro...
. Bryant's largest rivalry during its Division II years was Bentley College
Bentley College
Bentley University is a private co-educational university in Waltham, Massachusetts, west of Boston. Founded in 1917 as a school of accounting and finance in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood, Bentley moved to Waltham in 1968...
, both founders of the Northeast-10 and both have prominent business programs. Bryant University athletics started out as a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics is an athletic association that organizes college and university-level athletic programs. Membership in the NAIA consists of smaller colleges and universities across the United States. The NAIA allows colleges and universities outside the USA...
(NAIA) before it transitioned into Division II. Bryant competed in the Northeast-10 Conference from the conferences founding in 1980 until 2008 when the university began the transition to Division I. They will be a full Division I member by 2012.
The Beginning: The Providence Years
During their NAIA playing years, they were known as the Indians, and were located in Providence, Rhode Island
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
, near Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
. The school's largest rivalry at the time was Salem State College
Salem State College
Salem State University is a four-year public institution of higher learning located in Salem, Massachusetts. Salem State University, established in 1854 as Salem Normal School, is located approximately fifteen miles north of Boston, Massachusetts. Salem State enrolls over 10,000 undergraduate and...
. The school was still a small business school, who was still only known on a local level. In 1976 the college left the NAIA In 1977 the college exited the NAIA and became a member of the NCAA at the Division II level. From there they became a charter member of the Northeast-10 Conference when the conference formed in 1979 and began play in 1980.
The Charter Years: Move to Division II
In 1980 Bryant was one of the charter members of the Northeast-10. Bryant along with other New EnglandNew England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
schools helped create a Division II conference that could succeed on and off the playing field and create rivalries at the same time. With the conference affiliation Bryant was able to keep its closest current day rival Bentley College Falcons
Bentley College
Bentley University is a private co-educational university in Waltham, Massachusetts, west of Boston. Founded in 1917 as a school of accounting and finance in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood, Bentley moved to Waltham in 1968...
close both academically and athletically.
The university used the Indians nickname and logos since the inception of the athletics program in 1896 until 1995.
Entering the 2000s the university has won 40 conference championships; and the President's Cup 4 times in 2004, 2005, and 2007 and in their last season as a Division II member in 2008. They lost in 2006 by 1 point to Stonehill College
Stonehill College
Stonehill College is a private Roman Catholic college located in Easton, Massachusetts, United States, founded in 1948. Situated in North Easton, Massachusetts, a suburban community of 23,329 people, Stonehill is located south of Boston on a campus, the original estate of Frederick Lothrop Ames...
. In their last year of competition in Division II and in the Northeast-10, Bryant won the President's Cup by over 30 points, and sent 19 out of the 22 teams into the NCAA playoffs. They also amassed a record of 292-65-6 throughout the entire year.
The 2000s also saw the injection of many new coaches at the university. Before the move to Division I they had signed four former Division I coaches from Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
, Iowa State University
Iowa State University
Iowa State University of Science and Technology, more commonly known as Iowa State University , is a public land-grant and space-grant research university located in Ames, Iowa, United States. Iowa State has produced astronauts, scientists, and Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, along with a host of...
, Wagner College
Wagner College
Wagner College is a private, co-educational, national liberal arts college with an enrollment of approximately 2,400 total students located atop Grymes Hill in New York City's borough of Staten Island...
, and UNLV. These moves have been noted as being one of the reasons that Bryant athletics have had such a successful run. This run has also brought on the exploratory commission to explore the move to Division I.
Move to Division I
On October 18, 2007 Bryant announced they would join the Northeast ConferenceNortheast Conference
The Northeast Conference is a college athletic conference whose schools are members of the NCAA. The NCAA designates the Northeast Conference to the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision for Division I Men's Football and to Division I Sports for all other sports.Founded in 1981 as the ECAC-Metro...
. The move had Bryant participating as a Division I institution starting in 2008. The NCAA will vote in 2012 to make the university a full member, which would allow Bryant to be eligible for NCAA Division I member postseason tournament play as well as have voting rights for its conference.
Sports
Bulldog Stadium
Bulldog Stadium was completed in 1999 and has a seating capacitySeating capacity
Seating capacity refers to the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, both in terms of the physical space available, and in terms of limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that seats two to a stadium that seats...
of 5,500 with a 4,200-seat permanent structure and press box on the home side of the field and 1,300 additional seats on the visitor's side. In addition to serving as the home of Bryant Football, Bulldog Stadium also serves as the home venue to the school's men's and women's lacrosse and men's and women's soccer teams. It has also been the host of Rhode Island's high school state championship games.
Baseball Complex
The Bryant University Baseball Complex is located in the northwest section of the campus near the other athletic facilities. The field has dimensions 330' down the left and right field lines, 385' to the right and left center field gaps and 400' to center field. It is equipped with step down dug outs, each with a connected clubhouse space. It also has bullpens down each line with two mounds and a hitting cage down the left field line just out side of the fence next to the bullpen. In addition to hosting several Northeast-10 Conference tournament games, the Bryant Baseball Complex hosted the 2004 NCAA Division II Baseball Northeast Regional Championship, won by the Bulldogs.Other facilities
The Chace Wellness Center is a 31000 square feet (2,880 m²) student recreation center that augments the current gymnasium and Multipurpose Activity Center (MAC). The center includes workout space, a 8000 square feet (743.2 m²) fitness center, and an aerobicAerobic
Aerobic is a word that means "requiring air", where "air" usually means oxygen.Aerobic may also refer to:* Aerobic exercise, prolonged exercise of moderate intensity* Aerobics, a form of aerobic exercise...
and martial arts
Martial arts
Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....
studio. The Elizabeth & Malcolm Natatorium is an olympic-size pool originally constructed with the additions to the current Wellness and Athletic Center. The pool had only recreational use until the winter of 2005 when Bryant added men's and women's swim teams as a varsity sport. The natatorium
Natatorium
A natatorium is a term given for a building containing a swimming pool. In Latin, a cella natatoria was a swimming pool in its own building, although it is sometimes also used to refer to any indoor pool even if not housed in a dedicated building...
features six lanes equipped with a scoreboard, seating area, and sound system.
The Bryant Track and Turf Complex was build in 2005 and is the home venue for the men's and women's track & field teams. The facility also hosts soccer, field hockey and lacrosse games in addition to being used as the football practice field. The facility has a bleacher seating section with a capacity of 1,000 fans. Another valuable addition was the lights surrounding the track.
Northeast-10 History
While competing as a charter member of the Northeast-10 conference from 1980 until 2008 the school won the President's Cup, awarded to the best overall athletic team in the NE-10, eight times. Bryant also finished in second five times and third three times. Considered to be one of the most successful teams in Northeast-10 History Bryant has won 93 conference championships. In the 2007-2008 school year, the university won 9 conference championships During its Division II years, the university sponsored 22 of 23 sports that the Northeast-10 Conference offered.| Sport | Conference Championships | Last Championship |
|---|---|---|
| Golf | 20 | 2005 |
| Volleyball | 10 | 2007 |
| Tennis (w) | 9 | 2008 |
| Baseball | 7 | 2008 |
| Tennis (m) | 6 | 2008 |
| Cross Country | 4 | 1996 |
| Softball | 3 | 2006 |
| Basketball (w) | 3 | 1989 |
| Field Hockey | 2 | 2003 |
| Lacrosse (m) | 2 | 2008 |
| Football | 2 | 2007 |
| Soccer (w) | 2 | 2007 |
| Soccer (m) | 1 | 1988 |
| Track and Field | 1 | 1993 |
| Basketball (m) | 0 | ---- |
| Swimming & Diving | 0 | ---- |
Mascot
The Bulldog logo became the official new logo and mascot of the university after a 1995 campus-wide vote. The school now has a living mascot and a costumed mascot to represent the bulldogs mascot and university athletics. Bryant has also used two bulldog logos as they did during the Indian years; first using a realistic bulldog's head inside a diamond design, followed by the current design in 2004. The change came when Bryant went from being a college to a university.Ironclad Tupper I, or Tupper for short, is an English bulldog purchased by Bryant University President Ron Machtley
Ronald Machtley
Ronald Keith "Ron" Machtley was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Rhode Island from 1989 to 1995. Since 1996, Machtley has served as president of Bryant University in Smithfield, Rhode Island....
and his wife, Kati. The Machtleys gave the dog to the school to honor the class of 2010's senior class gift campaign, which exceeded its goals and set two senior class gift records. Tupper now serves as Bryant University's mascot and attends campus events, as well as performing community service as a therapy dog
Therapy dog
A therapy dog is a dog trained to provide affection and comfort to people in hospitals, retirement homes, nursing homes, schools, people with learning difficulties, and stressful situations, such as disaster areas....
. He is the first live bulldog mascot in the university's history and received an honorary degree at 2010 commencement for "character and obedience."