Lafayette Leopards
Encyclopedia
The Lafayette Leopards represent the 23 Division I varsity athletic teams of Lafayette College
and compete in the Patriot League
. There are 11 men's teams, 11 women's teams, and one co-ed team. The club teams also compete as the Leopards. Though not a varsity sport, crew and ice hockey are very competitive at Lafayette and play in intercollegiate club leagues.
Lafayette's primary rival in every sport is the Lehigh Mountain Hawks
of nearby Lehigh University
. Bucknell University
is also a major rival and other league and school rivalries exist on an individual sport level.
Lafayette's student-athletes generally lead the NCAA in academic performance. In 2011, 16 of Lafayette's 23 teams academic performance scored within the top ten percent of their respective sport. Lafayette led the Patriot League, which placed second behind the Ivy League
.
Lafayette's first recorded athletic event against other teams was a baseball game against Easton amateurs, a 44-11 win on November 8, 1865. The first recorded intercollegiate match was a 45-45 tie in a baseball game against Lehigh in October 1869.
in May 1874.
Football appeared on campus in 1878, and did not become fully organized until 1880. The first games took place in 1882, when Lafayette lost to Rutgers University
. The team earned its first win ever against Rutgers the following year.
Interest in football became so great that by 1889, a field was needed to handle the crowds and earn revenue for the team to compete against a schedule. The Alumni Advisory Committee was formed to handle all aspects of facilities, management, and equipment fundraising, although players were still largely responsible for their own equipment and health. By 1894, March Field was complete and featured a track meet at the dedication.
Football
quickly became the marquis sport at Lafayette as students, alumni, and citizens of Easton packed March Field through 1925. Lafayette became the first non-Ivy League
school to win a national football championship in 1896. The team continued to enjoy success through the 1920s by winning two national championships and becoming one of the top football teams in the East and the United States. In 1926, Fisher Field
was built to capitalize upon the excitement of football, as well as Alumni Gymnasium in order to house other athletic programs and provide general training for the student body.
Lafayette was independent in football until 1929, when it joined the Middle Three Conference with Lehigh University
and Rutgers University
.
With the decline of football as a national power in the 1950s, basketball became a popular sport. The Leopards made appearances in the NCAA Tournament and the more noted NIT Tournament. Also, Lafayette baseball made several trips to the College World Series
in the 1950s and 1960s.
In 1958, Lafayette helped form the Middle America Conference (MAC), which soon became known as the more recognized East Coast Conference
. All Leopard teams aside from football competed in the conference.
The Leopards continued to play "major" college football through the 1970s, until the NCAA reclassified the divisions. Lafayette soon found itself as a member in Division I-AA, where Lafayette remains a member today (now known as the FCS Subdivision. At this time, Lafayette's major rivalry with Rutgers ended, also due to Rutgers' increasing size and competitiveness in football. In search of an athletic league with more like-minded institutions focused on academic scholarship and non-athletic scholarship financing for student-athletes, Lafayette co-founded the Patriot League
in 1986. A major objective of the league was to serve as non-conference football opponents for the Ivy League
.
As women matriculated at Lafayette in 1974, teams were quickly established in basketball and field hockey. Lafayette quickly became a mid-major power in women's lacrosse and field hockey, which continued into the 21st century.
Lafayette continued with a non-scholarship athletic financial aid model through the 1990s, when Holy Cross
started offering athletic scholarships for their basketball teams. Other schools followed suit except Lafayette, which held out until 2006, three years longer than the last holdout (Bucknell). At the time, Lafayette was the lone school in Division I aside from the Ivy League to not offer athletic scholarships in any sports. Along with basketball athletic scholarships, Lafayette offers scholarships in field hockey and men's soccer. As of 2011, options are being explored, along with the rest of the Patriot League, to offer scholarships in football. Other sports may follow suit.
.
Aside from its traditional Ivy League and local rivals, Lafayette developed a rivalry with the University of North Carolina
and the University of South Carolina
in the late 19th and early 20th century. Games were played on March Field, and were later played at Fisher Stadium. Once the Metzgar Athletic Complex was built in the late 1960s, the team moved its field to what is now known as Kamine Stadium.
Lafayette has made four appearances in the College World Series
in the 1950s and 1960s, the final round of the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship
. Coached by former major league Charlie Gelbert
, the Leopards made it the semi-finals in 1953
before bowing to the University of Texas
, finishing third. Lafayette eliminated Stanford
and Boston College
, with their only losses coming against Texas. Lafayette did not win a game in its other trips in 1954
, 1958
, and 1965
.
Lafayette won the East Coast Conference
in 1990 and Patriot League title 2007 to earn a trip to the NCAA Regionals.
The most noted Lafayette baseball player is current Tampa Bay Rays
manager Joe Maddon
, who played on the team in the early 1970s.
Lafayette is 1755-1563-32 all-time.
College World Series appearances (4): 1953, 1954, 1958, 1965
NCAA Regionals appearances (2): 1990, 2007
Conference Championships (2): 1990 (ECC), 2007
Lafayette College
Lafayette College is a private coeducational liberal arts and engineering college located in Easton, Pennsylvania, USA. The school, founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter,son of General Andrew Porter of Norristown and citizens of Easton, first began holding classes in 1832...
and compete in the Patriot League
Patriot League
The Patriot League is a college athletic conference which operates in the northeastern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I) for a number of sports; in football, it participates in the Football Championship Subdivision...
. There are 11 men's teams, 11 women's teams, and one co-ed team. The club teams also compete as the Leopards. Though not a varsity sport, crew and ice hockey are very competitive at Lafayette and play in intercollegiate club leagues.
Lafayette's primary rival in every sport is the Lehigh Mountain Hawks
Lehigh Mountain Hawks
The Lehigh Mountain Hawks are the athletic teams representing Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, United States. The Hawks participate in NCAA Division I competition as a member of the Patriot League...
of nearby Lehigh University
Lehigh University
Lehigh University is a private, co-educational university located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the United States. It was established in 1865 by Asa Packer as a four-year technical school, but has grown to include studies in a wide variety of disciplines...
. Bucknell University
Bucknell University
Bucknell University is a private liberal arts university located alongside the West Branch Susquehanna River in the rolling countryside of Central Pennsylvania in the town of Lewisburg, 30 miles southeast of Williamsport and 60 miles north of Harrisburg. The university consists of the College of...
is also a major rival and other league and school rivalries exist on an individual sport level.
Lafayette's student-athletes generally lead the NCAA in academic performance. In 2011, 16 of Lafayette's 23 teams academic performance scored within the top ten percent of their respective sport. Lafayette led the Patriot League, which placed second behind the Ivy League
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The conference name is also commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group...
.
Lafayette's first recorded athletic event against other teams was a baseball game against Easton amateurs, a 44-11 win on November 8, 1865. The first recorded intercollegiate match was a 45-45 tie in a baseball game against Lehigh in October 1869.
Nickname
The first athletic teams at Lafayette were nicknamed the 'Maroon' as a result of the maroon sweaters worn by the players. The nickname Leopards first appeared on November 24, 1924, when a writer at the Easton Express-Times referred to the team as the 'Leopards.' The name was first used on campus when Lafayette sports editor George Parkman referred to the team as the 'Leopards' on October 7, 1927. Parkman noticed that other competitors were selecting animal nicknames and decided Lafayette should have one. It is not known why the specific nickname was chosen, although it is speculated that an 'L' animal seemed logical. The mainstream press did not refer to Lafayette as the Leopards until the mid-1930s.History
Baseball was the first organized sport on campus, with a club formally organized in March 1860. Games would be played amongst the students until Lafayette teams began playing amateur clubs from the region. Lafayette met Lehigh in the fist intercollegiate game in October 1869, a 45-45 tie in Easton, and earned its fist win against Lehigh, a 31-24 decision in Bethlehem. Lafayette's first non-Lehigh college game was a 26-11 loss to Princeton UniversityPrinceton Tigers
The Princeton Tigers are the athletic teams of Princeton University. The school sponsors 31 varsity sports. The school has won several NCAA national championships, including one in men's fencing, six in men's lacrosse, three in women's lacrosse, and eight in men's golf...
in May 1874.
Football appeared on campus in 1878, and did not become fully organized until 1880. The first games took place in 1882, when Lafayette lost to Rutgers University
Rutgers Scarlet Knights football
The Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team represents Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision play...
. The team earned its first win ever against Rutgers the following year.
Interest in football became so great that by 1889, a field was needed to handle the crowds and earn revenue for the team to compete against a schedule. The Alumni Advisory Committee was formed to handle all aspects of facilities, management, and equipment fundraising, although players were still largely responsible for their own equipment and health. By 1894, March Field was complete and featured a track meet at the dedication.
Football
Lafayette Leopards football
The Lafayette Leopards football program represents Lafayette College in college football. One of the oldest college football programs in the United States, Lafayette currently plays in the Patriot League at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision level...
quickly became the marquis sport at Lafayette as students, alumni, and citizens of Easton packed March Field through 1925. Lafayette became the first non-Ivy League
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The conference name is also commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group...
school to win a national football championship in 1896. The team continued to enjoy success through the 1920s by winning two national championships and becoming one of the top football teams in the East and the United States. In 1926, Fisher Field
Fisher Field
Fisher Field at Fisher Stadium is a 13,132-seat multi-purpose stadium in Easton, Pennsylvania, United States. It opened in 1926 and it is home to the Lafayette College Leopards football team. Fisher Field, this past year, was voted the best gameday atmosphere in the Patriot League. A popular...
was built to capitalize upon the excitement of football, as well as Alumni Gymnasium in order to house other athletic programs and provide general training for the student body.
Lafayette was independent in football until 1929, when it joined the Middle Three Conference with Lehigh University
Lehigh University
Lehigh University is a private, co-educational university located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the United States. It was established in 1865 by Asa Packer as a four-year technical school, but has grown to include studies in a wide variety of disciplines...
and Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
.
With the decline of football as a national power in the 1950s, basketball became a popular sport. The Leopards made appearances in the NCAA Tournament and the more noted NIT Tournament. Also, Lafayette baseball made several trips to the College World Series
College World Series
The College World Series or CWS is an annual baseball tournament held in Omaha, Nebraska that is the culmination of the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship, which determines the NCAA Division I college baseball champion. The eight teams are split into two, four-team, double-elimination brackets,...
in the 1950s and 1960s.
In 1958, Lafayette helped form the Middle America Conference (MAC), which soon became known as the more recognized East Coast Conference
East Coast Conference (Division I)
The East Coast Conference was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference. It was founded as the university division of the Middle Atlantic Conference in 1958. The MAC consisted of over 30 teams at this time, making it impossible to organize a full conference schedule in sports like football,...
. All Leopard teams aside from football competed in the conference.
The Leopards continued to play "major" college football through the 1970s, until the NCAA reclassified the divisions. Lafayette soon found itself as a member in Division I-AA, where Lafayette remains a member today (now known as the FCS Subdivision. At this time, Lafayette's major rivalry with Rutgers ended, also due to Rutgers' increasing size and competitiveness in football. In search of an athletic league with more like-minded institutions focused on academic scholarship and non-athletic scholarship financing for student-athletes, Lafayette co-founded the Patriot League
Patriot League
The Patriot League is a college athletic conference which operates in the northeastern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I) for a number of sports; in football, it participates in the Football Championship Subdivision...
in 1986. A major objective of the league was to serve as non-conference football opponents for the Ivy League
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The conference name is also commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group...
.
As women matriculated at Lafayette in 1974, teams were quickly established in basketball and field hockey. Lafayette quickly became a mid-major power in women's lacrosse and field hockey, which continued into the 21st century.
Lafayette continued with a non-scholarship athletic financial aid model through the 1990s, when Holy Cross
College of the Holy Cross
The College of the Holy Cross is an undergraduate Roman Catholic liberal arts college located in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA...
started offering athletic scholarships for their basketball teams. Other schools followed suit except Lafayette, which held out until 2006, three years longer than the last holdout (Bucknell). At the time, Lafayette was the lone school in Division I aside from the Ivy League to not offer athletic scholarships in any sports. Along with basketball athletic scholarships, Lafayette offers scholarships in field hockey and men's soccer. As of 2011, options are being explored, along with the rest of the Patriot League, to offer scholarships in football. Other sports may follow suit.
Varsity Sports
Lafayette sponsors 23 Division I sports, the highest level of competition in college athletics. All sports compete in the Patriot LeaguePatriot League
The Patriot League is a college athletic conference which operates in the northeastern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I) for a number of sports; in football, it participates in the Football Championship Subdivision...
.
|
|
|
Baseball
Baseball is the oldest sport at the College, with a club team competing on a College Hill since March 1860. The team's first official game was a 44-11 win on November 8, 1865 against amateurs from Easton. The first recorded intercollegiate match was a 45-45 tie in a baseball game against Lehigh in October 1869 and its first win against Lehigh 31-24 shortly thereafter.Aside from its traditional Ivy League and local rivals, Lafayette developed a rivalry with the University of North Carolina
University of North Carolina
Chartered in 1789, the University of North Carolina was one of the first public universities in the United States and the only one to graduate students in the eighteenth century...
and the University of South Carolina
University of South Carolina
The University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, with 7 surrounding satellite campuses. Its historic campus covers over in downtown Columbia not far from the South Carolina State House...
in the late 19th and early 20th century. Games were played on March Field, and were later played at Fisher Stadium. Once the Metzgar Athletic Complex was built in the late 1960s, the team moved its field to what is now known as Kamine Stadium.
Lafayette has made four appearances in the College World Series
College World Series
The College World Series or CWS is an annual baseball tournament held in Omaha, Nebraska that is the culmination of the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship, which determines the NCAA Division I college baseball champion. The eight teams are split into two, four-team, double-elimination brackets,...
in the 1950s and 1960s, the final round of the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship
NCAA Division I Baseball Championship
The NCAA Division I Baseball Championship tournament is held each year from May through June and features 64 college baseball teams in the United States, culminating in the College World Series....
. Coached by former major league Charlie Gelbert
Charlie Gelbert
Charles Magnus Gelbert was a professional baseball player. He played all or part of ten seasons in Major League Baseball for the St...
, the Leopards made it the semi-finals in 1953
1953 College World Series
The 1953 College World Series was played at Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, NE from June 11 to June 16. The seventh tournament's champion was Michigan, coached by Ray Fisher. The Most Outstanding Player was J.L. Smith of Texas....
before bowing to the University of Texas
Texas Longhorns baseball
The Texas Longhorns baseball team represents The University of Texas at Austin and competes in the Big 12 Conference of NCAA Division I.The Texas Longhorns are the winningest program in college baseball history in terms of win percentage with .740 and ranks second all-time in total wins to the...
, finishing third. Lafayette eliminated Stanford
Stanford Cardinal baseball
The Stanford Cardinal baseball team represents Stanford University in NCAA Division I college baseball. Along with most other Stanford athletic teams, the baseball team participates in the Pacific-10 Conference. The Cardinal play their home games on campus at the Sunken Diamond, and they are...
and Boston College
Boston College
Boston College is a private Jesuit research university located in the village of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA. The main campus is bisected by the border between the cities of Boston and Newton. It has 9,200 full-time undergraduates and 4,000 graduate students. Its name reflects its early...
, with their only losses coming against Texas. Lafayette did not win a game in its other trips in 1954
1954 College World Series
The 1954 College World Series was played at Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, NE from June 10 to June 16. The eighth tournament's champion was Missouri, coached by John "Hi" Simmons...
, 1958
1958 College World Series
The NCAA Men's Division I College World Series involved 8 schools playing in double-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college baseball. It began on June 13, and ended with the championship game on June 19...
, and 1965
1965 College World Series
The 1965 College World Series was played at Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, NE from June 7 to June 12. The nineteenth tournament's champion was Arizona State University, coached by Bobby Winkles...
.
Lafayette won the East Coast Conference
East Coast Conference (Division I)
The East Coast Conference was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference. It was founded as the university division of the Middle Atlantic Conference in 1958. The MAC consisted of over 30 teams at this time, making it impossible to organize a full conference schedule in sports like football,...
in 1990 and Patriot League title 2007 to earn a trip to the NCAA Regionals.
The most noted Lafayette baseball player is current Tampa Bay Rays
Tampa Bay Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays are a Major League Baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays are a member of the Eastern Division of MLB's American League. Since their inception in , the club has played at Tropicana Field...
manager Joe Maddon
Joe Maddon
Joseph John Maddon is the Major League Baseball manager for the Tampa Bay Rays.He previously served as interim manager of the Anaheim Angels in both 1996 and 1999. He was also a long-time bench coach for the team.-Early life and career:Maddon attended Lafayette College, where he played baseball...
, who played on the team in the early 1970s.
Lafayette is 1755-1563-32 all-time.
College World Series appearances (4): 1953, 1954, 1958, 1965
NCAA Regionals appearances (2): 1990, 2007
Conference Championships (2): 1990 (ECC), 2007