Jacksonville Dolphins
Encyclopedia
The Jacksonville University Dolphins are the athletics team of Jacksonville University
in Jacksonville, Florida
, USA. The Dolphins participate in NCAA Division I athletics, and are members of the Atlantic Sun Conference
, the National Lacrosse Conference
, and as the Pioneer Football League
.
Jacksonville has appeared in five NCAA Division I men's basketball tournaments, most recently in 1986. Their most successful tournament was the first they participated in, the 1970 NCAA tournament. The Dolphins, led by Hall of Famer Artis Gilmore
, the school's all-time leader in rebounds, blocks and field goals, and Rex Morgan, the career assists leader, advanced to the title game before losing to UCLA 80-69. During that 1969-70 season, the team became the first NCAA basketball program to average 100 points per game in a season.
The Dolphins have won one Atlantic Sun regular-season title (2008–09), but have not yet won the conference tournament and the accompanying automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as a member of the Atlantic Sun conference.
in 1978. The Dolphins were affiliated with that conference until 1998, when they joined the Atlantic Sun Conference
.
The Dolphins have participated in 13 NCAA tournaments, beginning in 1968. Jacksonville's best showing in the NCAA tournament came in the 1976 South Regional, when they were one game away from the College World Series, but were eliminated by Auburn 7-5. The Dolphins also were part of the NCAA tournament in 1972, 1976, 1989, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009
, and 2011.
, a Division I football-only conference. Their first season of play was in 1998, and they have been members of the Pioneer Football League since 2001.
They play their home games at D. B. Milne Field
, which has a listed capacity of 5000 spectators.
The Dolphins won the PFL conference title in 2008 and 2010, and represented the PFL in the 2008 Gridiron Classic
, losing to Albany
.
Pioneer Football League Defensive Player of the Year
Pioneer Football League Coach of the Year
teams starting with the 2010 season; both programs became the first in Florida to compete in an official game on February 6, 2010.
JU's lacrosse programs were founded by current Director of Lacrosse Mindy McCord, who also serves as the program's head women's coach. Assisting Mindy McCord are Brooke Richards Magnusson, a former University of Maryland standout and Maryland prep player of the year, and Jen Heup.
The women's team was a founding member of the National Lacrosse Conference
. In addition to Jacksonville, the eight-team conference includes southern-based universities Davidson, High Point, Presbyterian, Liberty, and Longwood, as well as northern programs Detroit-Mercy and Howard. The conference will be a provisional conference for two years by NCAA standards; it must exist for two years to earn a potential automatic qualifier into the NCAA tournament.
The men's team, the only men's Division I lacrosse team in Florida, is a member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. The current coach of the men's team is Guy Van Arsdale.
Jacksonville University
Jacksonville University is a private university in Jacksonville, Florida, on the banks of the St. Johns River. The school was founded in 1934 as a two year college and was known as Jacksonville Junior College until 1958, when it shifted its focus to four-year university degrees and adopted its...
in Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
, USA. The Dolphins participate in NCAA Division I athletics, and are members of the Atlantic Sun Conference
Atlantic Sun Conference
The Atlantic Sun Conference is a college athletic conference operating in the Southeastern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I; it does not sponsor football. The conference was established in 1978 as the Trans America Athletic Conference...
, the National Lacrosse Conference
National Lacrosse Conference
The National Lacrosse Conference is a NCAA Division I women's lacrosse-only college athletic conference whose members are located in the primarily in the Southeastern United States, with one team, Detroit-Mercy located in Michigan. The league formed in 2009 and played its first season with four...
, and as the Pioneer Football League
Pioneer Football League
The Pioneer Football League is a college athletic conference which operates in the East, Midwest, and California of the United States. It has member schools that range from New York, North Carolina, and Florida in the east to California in the west. The conference participates in the NCAA's...
.
Sports sponsored
Jacksonville offers 20 different varsity sports, all but one (men's rowing) of which are sponsored by the NCAA. NCAA-sponsored sports include basketball, cross country, golf, lacrosse, soccer, and tennis, offered to both men and women; baseball and football, offered to men only; and rowing, softball, volleyball, and track (both indoor and outdoor), offered only to women.Basketball
The Jacksonville University basketball program was established in 1949.Jacksonville has appeared in five NCAA Division I men's basketball tournaments, most recently in 1986. Their most successful tournament was the first they participated in, the 1970 NCAA tournament. The Dolphins, led by Hall of Famer Artis Gilmore
Artis Gilmore
Artis Gilmore is a retired American Hall of Fame basketball player who played in the American Basketball Association and National Basketball Association...
, the school's all-time leader in rebounds, blocks and field goals, and Rex Morgan, the career assists leader, advanced to the title game before losing to UCLA 80-69. During that 1969-70 season, the team became the first NCAA basketball program to average 100 points per game in a season.
The Dolphins have won one Atlantic Sun regular-season title (2008–09), but have not yet won the conference tournament and the accompanying automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as a member of the Atlantic Sun conference.
Baseball
The Jacksonville Dolphins baseball team began play in 1957, and was independent until joining the Sun Belt ConferenceSun Belt Conference
The Sun Belt Conference is a college athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Its football teams participate in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , the higher of two levels of Division I football competition . The Sun Belt has member institutions...
in 1978. The Dolphins were affiliated with that conference until 1998, when they joined the Atlantic Sun Conference
Atlantic Sun Conference
The Atlantic Sun Conference is a college athletic conference operating in the Southeastern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I; it does not sponsor football. The conference was established in 1978 as the Trans America Athletic Conference...
.
The Dolphins have participated in 13 NCAA tournaments, beginning in 1968. Jacksonville's best showing in the NCAA tournament came in the 1976 South Regional, when they were one game away from the College World Series, but were eliminated by Auburn 7-5. The Dolphins also were part of the NCAA tournament in 1972, 1976, 1989, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009
2009 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament
The 2009 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament was held from May 29 through June 24, 2009 and is part of the 2009 NCAA Division I baseball season. The 64 NCAA Division I college baseball teams were selected out of an eligible 286 teams on May 25, 2009...
, and 2011.
Football
The Jacksonville Dolphins football team competes in the Pioneer Football LeaguePioneer Football League
The Pioneer Football League is a college athletic conference which operates in the East, Midwest, and California of the United States. It has member schools that range from New York, North Carolina, and Florida in the east to California in the west. The conference participates in the NCAA's...
, a Division I football-only conference. Their first season of play was in 1998, and they have been members of the Pioneer Football League since 2001.
They play their home games at D. B. Milne Field
D. B. Milne Field
D.B. Milne Field is a multi-purpose stadium on the campus of Jacksonville University in Jacksonville, Florida. It is home to the Jacksonville Dolphins college football team. The facility has a seating capacity of 5,000 and opened in 1998....
, which has a listed capacity of 5000 spectators.
The Dolphins won the PFL conference title in 2008 and 2010, and represented the PFL in the 2008 Gridiron Classic
Gridiron Classic
The Gridiron Classic was the name given to a college football game played between teams from the Pioneer Football League and Northeast Conference at the end of the 2006-2009 seasons...
, losing to Albany
Albany Great Danes
The Albany Great Danes are the intercollegiate athletic programs of the University at Albany, SUNY. The University's intercollegiate athletics date back to the late 1890s, but its development was hampered for several decades by inadequate facilities, uncertain financial support, and the relatively...
.
Season-by-season results
| Season | Results | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 4–5 | Inaugural season |
| 1999 | 3–6 | |
| 2000 | 3–8 | |
| 2001 | 6–5 , 3–0 PFL Pioneer Football League The Pioneer Football League is a college athletic conference which operates in the East, Midwest, and California of the United States. It has member schools that range from New York, North Carolina, and Florida in the east to California in the west. The conference participates in the NCAA's... |
PFL South Division Champions |
| 2002 | 3–7 , 0–3 PFL | |
| 2003 | 5–6 , 1–2 PFL | |
| 2004 | 3–7 , 2–1 PFL | |
| 2005 | 4–4 , 2–1 PFL | |
| 2006 | 4–6 , 4–3 PFL | |
| 2007 | 3–8 , 2–5 PFL | |
| 2008 | 9–4 , 7–1 PFL | PFL Champions |
| 2009 | 7–4 , 6–2 PFL | |
| 2010 | 10–1 , 8–0 PFL | PFL Champions, #22 FCS |
| 2011 | 6–2 , 5–0 PFL | Season in progress |
| Total | 70–73 , 40–18 PFL | |
Bowl games
| Season | Bowl | Champion | Runner-Up | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Gridiron Classic Gridiron Classic The Gridiron Classic was the name given to a college football game played between teams from the Pioneer Football League and Northeast Conference at the end of the 2006-2009 seasons... |
Albany Albany Great Danes The Albany Great Danes are the intercollegiate athletic programs of the University at Albany, SUNY. The University's intercollegiate athletics date back to the late 1890s, but its development was hampered for several decades by inadequate facilities, uncertain financial support, and the relatively... |
28 | Jacksonville | 0 |
Awards
Pioneer Football League Offensive Freshman of the Year- Josh McGregor, QB, 2008
Pioneer Football League Defensive Player of the Year
- Tyrone Wright, DB, 2001
Pioneer Football League Coach of the Year
- Kerwin BellKerwin BellKerwin Douglas Bell is an American college and professional football coach and former player who was a quarterback in the National Football League , World League of American Football and the Canadian Football League for fourteen seasons in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s...
, 2008
Lacrosse
Jacksonville fielded both men's and women's NCAA Division I lacrosseLacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...
teams starting with the 2010 season; both programs became the first in Florida to compete in an official game on February 6, 2010.
JU's lacrosse programs were founded by current Director of Lacrosse Mindy McCord, who also serves as the program's head women's coach. Assisting Mindy McCord are Brooke Richards Magnusson, a former University of Maryland standout and Maryland prep player of the year, and Jen Heup.
The women's team was a founding member of the National Lacrosse Conference
National Lacrosse Conference
The National Lacrosse Conference is a NCAA Division I women's lacrosse-only college athletic conference whose members are located in the primarily in the Southeastern United States, with one team, Detroit-Mercy located in Michigan. The league formed in 2009 and played its first season with four...
. In addition to Jacksonville, the eight-team conference includes southern-based universities Davidson, High Point, Presbyterian, Liberty, and Longwood, as well as northern programs Detroit-Mercy and Howard. The conference will be a provisional conference for two years by NCAA standards; it must exist for two years to earn a potential automatic qualifier into the NCAA tournament.
The men's team, the only men's Division I lacrosse team in Florida, is a member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. The current coach of the men's team is Guy Van Arsdale.