Princeton Tigers
Encyclopedia
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
. Princeton's men's and women's crews have also won numerous national rowing championships.
team is perhaps the best-known team within the Ivy League. It is nicknamed the "perennial giant killer," a nickname that it acquired during Pete Carril
's coaching career from 1967–1996. Its most notable upset was the 1996 defeat of defending NCAA champion UCLA in the tournament's opening round, Carril's final collegiate victory. In 1989, the team almost became the only #16 seed to win, losing to Georgetown 50-49, after leading 29–21 at the half. During that 29-year span, Pete Carril won thirteen Ivy League championships and received eleven NCAA berths and two NIT bids. Princeton placed third in the 1965 NCAA Tournament and won the NIT championship in 1975. The deliberate "Princeton offense
" is a legacy of his coaching career. It is employed by a number of other collegiate basketball teams.
From 1992–2001, a nine-year span, the men's basketball team entered the NCAA tournament four times. Notably, the Ivy League has never had an at-large entry in the NCAA tournament. For the last half-century, Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania
have traditionally battled for men's basketball dominance in the Ivy League; Princeton had its first losing season in 50 years of Ivy League basketball in 2005. Princeton tied the record for fewest points in a Division I game since the 3-point line started in 1986–87 when they scored 21 points in a loss against Monmouth University
on December 14, 2005.
. The construction of Lake Carnegie in 1906 enabled the sport to expand and laid the foundation for today's rowing program at Princeton. More recently, an $8 million upgrade and expansion of the existing boathouse in 2000 formed Shea Rowing Center
, one of the finest rowing facilities in the country.
With 150 athletes, 60 rowing shells, and 12 coaches, trainers, and boat riggers, crew is the largest varsity sport at Princeton, and one of the most successful. In recent years, from 2000 through 2010, Princeton varsity crews (both men's and women's) won a total of 14 Eastern Sprints
, IRA
(national), and NCAA
championships, as well as two international events at Henley Royal Regatta
.
The Princeton boathouse is often a summer base for U.S. national teams in training, and many Princeton rowers and coaches have gone on to compete at the World Rowing Championships and the Olympics.
Main article under construction: Princeton Tigers Men's Lightweight Crew
The football
team has competed since 1869 and played in the first game
against Rutgers University
. They have won 24 national championships
when the school competed in what is now known as the FBS. Twenty-one former players have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
.
The first football
game played between teams representing American colleges was an unfamiliar ancestor of today's college football
because it was played under soccer-style London Football Association rules. The game, between Rutgers College (now Rutgers University
) and the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University), took place on November 6, 1869 at College Field (now the site of the College Avenue Gymnasium at Rutgers University) in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Rutgers won by a score of six "runs" to Princeton's four. The 1869 game
between Rutgers and Princeton is notable because it is the first documented game of any sport called "football" between two American colleges. It is also noteworthy because it occurred two years before a codified rugby game would be played in England. The Princeton/Rutgers game was significantly different from American rules football today but, nonetheless, it was the first inter-collegiate football contest in the United States. Another similar game took place between Rutgers and Columbia University
in 1870 and a third notable game took place between Tufts University
and Harvard University
in 1875. The popularity of intercollegiate competition in football would spread throughout the country shortly thereafter.
Though Princeton is no longer a part of Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, the Tigers have the most overall national championships of any team in major college football history with 24 consensus and non-consensus national championships dating all the way back to their first one, shared with Rutgers, in 1869.
Since 1901, however, they have 4 consensus national championships, which ranks as tied for 11th all time.
Princeton's football helmets are also the basis for Michigan Wolverines football
's famed winged helmets, as introduced by Fritz Crisler
, the coach at Princeton before he was hired as the coach of The University of Michigan.
team has enjoyed significant success since the early 1990s and is widely recognized as a perennial powerhouse in the Division I ranks. The team has won thirteen Ivy League
titles (1992, 1993, 1995–2004, 2006) and six national titles
(1992, 1994, 1996–1998, 2001).
(IAFL) — from 1911 to 1926 — and then the Intercollegiate Soccer Football Association
(ISFA), from 1927 to 1958. From 1911 to 1958, Princeton won seven national championships.
teams have earned a strong reputation during the past decade.
The stadium is Princeton University Stadium
, which replaced Palmer Stadium. Baseball is played at Clarke Field. Basketball is played at Jadwin Gymnasium
. Ice hockey is played at Baker Rink. Soccer is played at Roberts Stadium. Lacrosse is played at Class of 1952 Stadium. The men's and women's volleyball teams and the wrestling team compete at Dillon Gymnasium. All crews train at Shea Rowing Center
and compete on Lake Carnegie. The Rugby Team plays at Rickerson Field on West Windsor Fields.
College athletics
College athletics refers primarily to sports and athletic competition organized and funded by institutions of tertiary education . In the United States, college athletics is a two-tiered system. The first tier includes the sports that are sanctioned by one of the collegiate sport governing bodies...
teams of Princeton University. The school sponsors 31 varsity
Varsity team
In the United States and Canada, varsity sports teams are the principal athletic teams representing a college, university, high school or other secondary school. Such teams compete against the principal athletic teams at other colleges/universities, or in the case of secondary schools, against...
sports. The school has won several NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
national championships, including one in men's fencing
NCAA Fencing team championship
NCAA fencing championship results, combined men and women , men's and women's .-Combined:Note: Team scoring in 1990 was based on weapon team events standings. From 1991 to 1994, point values increased due to fencers not qualifying as part of a team being able to contribute points from individual...
, six in men's lacrosse
NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship
The annual NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship tournament determines the top men's field lacrosse team in the NCAA Division I, Division II, and Division III....
, three in women's lacrosse
NCAA Women's Lacrosse Championship
The annual NCAA Women's Lacrosse Championship tournament determines the top women's lacrosse team in the NCAA Division I, Division II, and Division III....
, and eight in men's golf
NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships
The NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships, played in late May or early June, is the top annual competition in U.S. men's collegiate golf. It is a stroke play team competition, starting in 2009 the competition changed to a stroke play/match play competition with the top 8 teams after 54 holes of...
. Princeton's men's and women's crews have also won numerous national rowing championships.
Teams
- Men's Sports: | Baseball | Basketball | Crew - Heavyweight | Crew - Lightweight | Cross Country | Fencing | Football | Golf | Hockey | Lacrosse | Rugby | Soccer | Sprint Football | Squash | Swimming & Diving | Tennis | Track & Field | Volleyball | Water Polo | Wrestling
- Women's Sports: | Basketball | Crew - Lightweight | Crew - Open | Cross Country | Fencing | Field Hockey | Golf | Hockey | Lacrosse | Rugby | Soccer | Softball | Squash | Swimming & Diving | Tennis | Track & Field | Volleyball | Water Polo
Men's basketball
Princeton's basketballCollege basketball
College basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....
team is perhaps the best-known team within the Ivy League. It is nicknamed the "perennial giant killer," a nickname that it acquired during Pete Carril
Pete Carril
Peter J. "Pete" Carril is a former collegiate head coach and former NBA assistant with the Sacramento Kings.-Early years:...
's coaching career from 1967–1996. Its most notable upset was the 1996 defeat of defending NCAA champion UCLA in the tournament's opening round, Carril's final collegiate victory. In 1989, the team almost became the only #16 seed to win, losing to Georgetown 50-49, after leading 29–21 at the half. During that 29-year span, Pete Carril won thirteen Ivy League championships and received eleven NCAA berths and two NIT bids. Princeton placed third in the 1965 NCAA Tournament and won the NIT championship in 1975. The deliberate "Princeton offense
Princeton offense
The Princeton offense is an offensive basketball strategy which emphasizes constant motion, passing, back-door cuts, and disciplined teamwork. It was used and perfected at Princeton University by Pete Carril, though its roots may be traced back to Franklin “Cappy” Cappon, who coached Princeton...
" is a legacy of his coaching career. It is employed by a number of other collegiate basketball teams.
From 1992–2001, a nine-year span, the men's basketball team entered the NCAA tournament four times. Notably, the Ivy League has never had an at-large entry in the NCAA tournament. For the last half-century, Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
have traditionally battled for men's basketball dominance in the Ivy League; Princeton had its first losing season in 50 years of Ivy League basketball in 2005. Princeton tied the record for fewest points in a Division I game since the 3-point line started in 1986–87 when they scored 21 points in a loss against Monmouth University
Monmouth University
Monmouth University is a private university located in West Long Branch, New Jersey, United States.Founded in 1933 as Monmouth Junior College, it became Monmouth College in 1956, and later Monmouth University in 1995 after receiving its charter....
on December 14, 2005.
Crew
Rowing was introduced to Princeton in 1870 by a handful of undergraduates who bought two old boats with their own funds and formed an impromptu "navy" on the Delaware and Raritan CanalDelaware and Raritan Canal
The Delaware and Raritan Canal is a canal in central New Jersey, United States, built in the 1830s that served to connect the Delaware River to the Raritan River. It was intended as an efficient and reliable means of transportation of freight between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and New York City,...
. The construction of Lake Carnegie in 1906 enabled the sport to expand and laid the foundation for today's rowing program at Princeton. More recently, an $8 million upgrade and expansion of the existing boathouse in 2000 formed Shea Rowing Center
Shea Rowing Center
The C. Bernard Shea Rowing Center is the boathouse for the Princeton University rowing programs. Located on Lake Carnegie in Princeton, New Jersey, the center consists of the Class of 1887 Boathouse and the Richard Ottesen Prentke ‘67 Training Center...
, one of the finest rowing facilities in the country.
With 150 athletes, 60 rowing shells, and 12 coaches, trainers, and boat riggers, crew is the largest varsity sport at Princeton, and one of the most successful. In recent years, from 2000 through 2010, Princeton varsity crews (both men's and women's) won a total of 14 Eastern Sprints
Eastern Sprints
Eastern Sprints refers to the annual rowing championship for the Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges . Since 1974, the "Women's Eastern Sprints" has been held as the annual championship for the Eastern Association of Women's Rowing Colleges league.*For the women's regatta, see Women's Eastern...
, IRA
Intercollegiate Rowing Association
The Intercollegiate Rowing Association runs the IRA Championship Regatta, which is considered to be the United States collegiate national championship of rowing. Since 1995, it has been held on the Cooper River in Pennsauken, New Jersey, and includes both men's and women's events for sweep boats...
(national), and NCAA
NCAA Rowing Championship
The NCAA Rowing Championship is a rowing championship held by the NCAA for Division I, II and III women's heavyweight collegiate crews. It was first held in 1997. In 2002, the NCAA added championships for Division II and Division III. All races are 2,000 meters long...
championships, as well as two international events at Henley Royal Regatta
Henley Royal Regatta
Henley Royal Regatta is a rowing event held every year on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. The Royal Regatta is sometimes referred to as Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage...
.
The Princeton boathouse is often a summer base for U.S. national teams in training, and many Princeton rowers and coaches have gone on to compete at the World Rowing Championships and the Olympics.
Men's lightweight crew
- See also: Eastern Association of Rowing CollegesEastern Association of Rowing CollegesThe Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges is a college athletic conference of eighteen men's college rowing crews. It is an affiliate of the Eastern College Athletic Conference .-Members:...
(EARC) and Goldthwait CupGoldthwait CupThe Goldthwait Cup is awarded to the winner of the annual triangular regatta among the varsity lightweight eight-oared crews of Harvard, Princeton, and Yale...
Main article under construction: Princeton Tigers Men's Lightweight Crew
Football
The football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
team has competed since 1869 and played in the first game
1869 college football season
The 1869 college football season was the first season of intercollegiate football. It is considered the inaugural college football season, and consisted of only two total games, both of which occurred between the and ; The first was played on November 6 at Rutgers' campus, and the second was...
against 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...
. They have won 24 national championships
NCAA Division I FBS National Football Championship
A college football national championship in the highest level of collegiate play in the United States, currently the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , is a designation awarded annually by various third-party organizations to their selection of the best...
when the school competed in what is now known as the FBS. Twenty-one former players have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
.
The first football
Football
Football may refer to one of a number of team sports which all involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball with the foot to score a goal. The most popular of these sports worldwide is association football, more commonly known as just "football" or "soccer"...
game played between teams representing American colleges was an unfamiliar ancestor of today's college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
because it was played under soccer-style London Football Association rules. The game, between Rutgers College (now 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...
) and the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University), took place on November 6, 1869 at College Field (now the site of the College Avenue Gymnasium at Rutgers University) in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Rutgers won by a score of six "runs" to Princeton's four. The 1869 game
1869 New Jersey vs. Rutgers football game
The 1869 New Jersey vs. Rutgers football game was a college football game between the and the played on November 6, 1869...
between Rutgers and Princeton is notable because it is the first documented game of any sport called "football" between two American colleges. It is also noteworthy because it occurred two years before a codified rugby game would be played in England. The Princeton/Rutgers game was significantly different from American rules football today but, nonetheless, it was the first inter-collegiate football contest in the United States. Another similar game took place between Rutgers and Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in 1870 and a third notable game took place between Tufts University
Tufts University
Tufts University is a private research university located in Medford/Somerville, near Boston, Massachusetts. It is organized into ten schools, including two undergraduate programs and eight graduate divisions, on four campuses in Massachusetts and on the eastern border of France...
and Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1875. The popularity of intercollegiate competition in football would spread throughout the country shortly thereafter.
Though Princeton is no longer a part of Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, the Tigers have the most overall national championships of any team in major college football history with 24 consensus and non-consensus national championships dating all the way back to their first one, shared with Rutgers, in 1869.
Since 1901, however, they have 4 consensus national championships, which ranks as tied for 11th all time.
Princeton's football helmets are also the basis for Michigan Wolverines football
Michigan Wolverines football
The Michigan Wolverines football program represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the most all-time wins and the highest winning percentage in college football history...
's famed winged helmets, as introduced by Fritz Crisler
Fritz Crisler
Herbert Orin "Fritz" Crisler was an American football coach who is best known as "the father of two-platoon football," an innovation in which separate units of players were used for offense and defense. Crisler developed two-platoon football while serving as head coach at the University of...
, the coach at Princeton before he was hired as the coach of The University of Michigan.
Men's lacrosse
The university's men's 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...
team has enjoyed significant success since the early 1990s and is widely recognized as a perennial powerhouse in the Division I ranks. The team has won thirteen 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...
titles (1992, 1993, 1995–2004, 2006) and six national titles
NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship
The annual NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship tournament determines the top men's field lacrosse team in the NCAA Division I, Division II, and Division III....
(1992, 1994, 1996–1998, 2001).
Women's lacrosse
The Princeton Tigers women's lacrosse team has enjoyed much success, winning 3 NCAA championships, tied for 3rd place with Virginia in the number of NCAA championships won.They won NCAA division 1 titles in 1994, 2002, and 2003. Their record in the NCAA tournament finals is 3-4.Women's Rugby
National champions in 1995 and 1996. Princeton women advanced to the Final Four in 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004 and 2005. 32 Princeton women have been named All-Americans.Men's soccer
Before the NCAA began its tournament in 1951, the annual national champion was declared by the Intercollegiate Association Football LeagueIntercollegiate Soccer Football Association
The NCAA held its first men's National Collegiate Soccer Championship in 1959, with eight teams selected for the tournament. Before 1959, unofficial champions were declared by the Intercollegiate Soccer Football Association . These were the result of polls and the subjective opinion of the ISFA...
(IAFL) — from 1911 to 1926 — and then the Intercollegiate Soccer Football Association
Intercollegiate Soccer Football Association
The NCAA held its first men's National Collegiate Soccer Championship in 1959, with eight teams selected for the tournament. Before 1959, unofficial champions were declared by the Intercollegiate Soccer Football Association . These were the result of polls and the subjective opinion of the ISFA...
(ISFA), from 1927 to 1958. From 1911 to 1958, Princeton won seven national championships.
Women's soccer
In 2004, the women's soccer team went to the Final Four in the NCAA tournament. It became the only Ivy League team (men's or women's) to do so in a 64-team tournament.Squash
Princeton's men's and women's squashSquash (sport)
Squash is a high-speed racquet sport played by two players in a four-walled court with a small, hollow rubber ball...
teams have earned a strong reputation during the past decade.
Men's squash
The men have won the Ivy League championship from 2006–2008 and have placed second nationally in five of the past seven championships.Women's track and field
Princeton's women's track & field team has also enjoyed great success under Head Coach Peter Farrell.Women's volleyball
The Princeton women's volleyball team has won thirteen Ivy League titles and, in 1998, its men's volleyball team became the first non-scholarship school to make the NCAA Final Four in 25 years.Facilities
- See footnote
The stadium is Princeton University Stadium
Princeton University Stadium
Princeton University Stadium is a stadium in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. It is primarily used for American football, and is the home field of the Princeton Tigers...
, which replaced Palmer Stadium. Baseball is played at Clarke Field. Basketball is played at Jadwin Gymnasium
Jadwin Gymnasium
The L. Stockwell Jadwin Gymnasium is a 6,854-seat multi-purpose arena in Princeton, New Jersey. The arena opened in 1969. It is home to the Princeton University Tigers basketball team...
. Ice hockey is played at Baker Rink. Soccer is played at Roberts Stadium. Lacrosse is played at Class of 1952 Stadium. The men's and women's volleyball teams and the wrestling team compete at Dillon Gymnasium. All crews train at Shea Rowing Center
Shea Rowing Center
The C. Bernard Shea Rowing Center is the boathouse for the Princeton University rowing programs. Located on Lake Carnegie in Princeton, New Jersey, the center consists of the Class of 1887 Boathouse and the Richard Ottesen Prentke ‘67 Training Center...
and compete on Lake Carnegie. The Rugby Team plays at Rickerson Field on West Windsor Fields.
External links
- Princeton Tigers official website