Washington & Jefferson College Presidents
Encyclopedia
The Washington & Jefferson Presidents are the intercollegiate athletic teams for Washington & Jefferson College
. The name "Presidents" refers to the two presidential
namesakes of the college: George Washington
and Thomas Jefferson
. W&J is a member of the Presidents' Athletic Conference
, the Eastern College Athletic Conference
, and play in Division III of the National Collegiate Athletic Association
in both men's and women's varsity sports. During the 2005-2006 season, 34 percent of the student body played varsity-level athletics.
W&J competes in 24 intercollegiate athletics at the NCAA
Division III level.
Collectively, the Presidents have won more than 108 Presidents' Athletic Conference
championships. Forty students have been selected as conference MVPs, more than 300 students have been named First Team All-Conference, over 75 received students have received All-American honors, and 25 students have achieved Academic All-American honors. Between 1984 and 2009, the football team won 20 of 26 PAC Championships and has advanced to the NCAA Division III playoffs 21 times, including two trips to the NCAA Division III National Championship Game in 1992 and 1994.
began to develop in 1883, when the student body began agitating for more formal athletic programs. Many other schools had developed athletic programs by that time and advocates felt that a more formal athletic program would increase school spirit
, which they felt was lacking. In 1890, students formed the Athletic Association, charging the 75 members a $1 membership fee that went to fund athletics. By a vote, the students selected cardinal and black to be the school colors, as the preferred scheme of navy and orange had been taken by the Western University of Pennsylvania. An oil strike in the was discovered on the Old Fairgrounds
, which helped finance the renovation of that facility into the "College Field," including the construction of a new grandstand.
At the close of the 19th century, the concerns over the influence of professionalism in college sports, especially the use of itinerant student and professional football player John Brallier
, caused the faculty to adopt the first eligibility requirements for student athletes. Professor Edward Linton represented W&J at the initial meeting of the International Athletic Association of the United States
in 1906, where the first national standards for edibility and amateurism were developed. At that meeting, Linton expressed a desire for the student athlete to be "relieved of the incubus of the professional coach."
, was able to convince the students to accept the fee. The Student Athletic Committee agreed to retract the residency rule, as it was blamed for contributing to losses, but instituted other student athlete requirements, including a ban on Academy students, raising entrance requirements, and creating a stringent system of recording absences. However, the Faculty Athletic Committee balked, vetoing the new rules.
The firings of Dr. G.H. Winchester and Dr. H.E. Wells highlighted the growing tension between athletics and academics. As orchestrated by a group of alumni football supporters, the two professors were brought before a faculty committee for not having the requisite support for the athletic programs. At the time, Dr. Winchester was serving in France during World War I
and Wells maintained during the hearing that he did not object to athletics per se, but rather the way it was run at Washington & Jefferson. The event, known nationally as the Winchester-Wells case, was investigated by the American Association of University Professors
and was the profiled in Upton Sinclair's
book The Goose-Step
, a muckraking investigation into the state of American colleges.
, the Student and Faculty Athletic Committees were heavily in debt and approaching insolvency. The gate receipts for football games, the Committees' main source of income, had fallen as the team began to lag behind the larger schools it traditionally played. A report in 1929 by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching showed that the W&J athletics program, like many programs at other colleges, held a large "slush fund" with donations from alumni and businessmen totaling $25,000 to $50,000 per year. This "extreme case of subsidizing" funded all college expenses for football players, plus "paychecks" to top performers. To alleviate this problem, President Baker proposed to wholly separate athletic funds from general College funds by creating an "Athletic Council" to take control of the athletic program. The proposal was defeated, and Baker was eventually hounded from office. In spite of that failure, a 1931 followup to the original Carnegie Foundation report commended W&J for creating some institutional controls, including limiting subsidization to tuition, room, and board.
Baker's successor, Ralph Cooper Hutchison, himself more personally popular than Baker, was able to bring even more control to the athletic program by reducing the number of scholarships from 18 to 8 and limiting the practice of playing against powerhouse football teams. Later, the athletic program was reorganized under an Athletic Director and the practice of awarding athletic scholarships was abolished. In 1937, Hutchison created a whole new governing structure for athletics, the Athletic Council, which was not unlike the plan proposed by Baker a decade earlier. The new Athletic Council, composed of four faculty members and six students, had responsibility for dispensing student appropriations and income from ticket sales. The Board of Trustees' own Athletic Committee would govern the hiring and payment of coaches. The new system was intended to unite the intramural and intercollegiate athletics programs, reinstate faculty into athletic governance, give more responsibility to students, and to create a freshman football program. D.C. Morrow, former football coach and member of the Athletic Committee dissented, advocating for a return to the scholarship model, blaming the waning alumni interest in the college on the team's poor performance. However, the College's indebtedness at that time was $133,000, most of which was the result of player subsidization. At that time, athletics took up half of the student activity fee. In an attempt to stabilize the fiscal picture, the athletic budget was cut significantly, with freshman football and boxing discontinued. The plan worked, and by the 1940s, the athletic finances were stabilized. This signaled the end of the football team's games against larger schools.
; the preferred scheme of orange and navy has been taken by Western University of Pennsylvania. Since then, the phrase "Red and Black" has been used to refer to the school itself, the college newspaper (Red & Black
) and the athletic teams. The early athletic teams also were known as the "Jaymen," a play on the college's nickname "W&J". By the 1930s, the word "Jaymen" was used to refer to the students in general. The use of this term had died off even before the college went co-educational in 1970. The college's modern nickname of "Presidents" was coined in 1917 by a sportswriter from Richmond, Virginia
covering the football game between W&J and the Washington & Lee Generals. Larry Stewart, the W&J's football publicity director at the time, quickly adopted the nickname on a permanent basis.
. College Field was purchased in 1885. Originally a fairground, it was developed into a proper athletic field after the discovery of oil on the grounds. It was renovated in 1999 and rechristened Cameron Stadium
after the addition of an all-weather track, the installation of a FieldTurf
football field, and renovated grandstands and media facilities. In 1970, the Henry Memorial Center
was built. It houses a main gymnasium for basketball, wrestling, and volleyball, as well as an auxiliary basketball court, two handball courts, a wrestling practice room, and a weightroom. The natatorium, a six-lane, 25-yard pool, with depths ranging four to seven feet deep, hosts the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams as well as the men’s and women’s water polo squads. The adjacent Janet L. Swanson Tennis Courts, first built 1955 and renovated in 2001, are home to the tennis teams. The softball team plays at Brooks Park
, which was extensively renovated in 2004.
The Ross Memorial Park and Alexandre Stadium
is combined multi-purpose outdoor athletic facility for the baseball and soccer teams. At 233000 square feet (21,646.4 m²) of Field Turf playing surface, the facility was the home of the largest continuous artificial playing surface in the world at its completion in 2004. The Swanson Wellness Center is a modern exercise facility located within the Old Gym
. It contains with a variety of strength and cardiovascular training equipment, including treadmills, exercise bikes, elliptical running machines, free weight machines, a weight rack, squat racks, and a three-lane indoor track suspended above the main floor. The hockey team plays at the IceoPlex at Southpointe
.
The football team competes in the NCAA Division III and is affiliated with the Presidents' Athletic Conference
(PAC). Since its founding in 1890, the team has played their home games at Cameron Stadium
. A number of players were named to the College Football All-America Team
, and two players, Pete Henry
and Edgar Garbisch
have been elected to the College Football Hall of Fame
. Several other former players have gone on to play professionally, including "Deacon" Dan Towler
, Russ Stein
, and Pete Henry
, who was also elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame
and the NFL 1920s All-Decade Team. The team has been coached by some of the greatest coaches in football history, including John Heisman
, Greasy Neale, and Bob Folwell
.
The team was founded in 1890, quickly becoming well known for drawing large crowds and defeating a number of prominent football teams. The faculty and administration expressed concern over the strength of the team and made efforts to reduce the influence of professionalism on the players. During the 1910s, some sportswriters were suggesting that the Presidents were one of the top teams in the nation. The biggest achievement in the team's history came in 1921, when the Presidents were chosen to play in 1922 Rose Bowl
, playing the heavily favored California Golden Bears
to a scoreless tie. As college football developed in the 1930s and 1940s, the Presidents fell far behind their larger competitors, who were able to offer scholarships for their players. Controversy over the poor play of the football team, and a lack of play against larger teams, contributed to the resignation of a college president. By the 1950s, the team joined the NCAA Division III and the Presidents' Athletic Conference. By the 1980s, the team had learned to thrive in that environment, winning a number of conference championships and regularly qualifying for the NCAA Division III playoffs
.
.
That year, the team won the Milan Mountaineer Invitational Hockey Tournament at West Virginia University
. The club currently competes in the College Hockey Mid America Conference, a Division I regional league of the American Collegiate Hockey Association
The club made appearances in the ACHA National Tournament in 2004, 2005, and 2007. The team plays at the IceoPlex at Southpointe
. The club plays home games at the Iceoplex at Southpointe
, the practice facility for the Pittsburgh Penguins
.
The team defeated West Virginia University
by the score of 5-3 at the Ice Zone in Boardman, OH to win the 2008 College Hockey Mid America Conference championship, avenging a loss to Duquesne University in the finals in 2007. Senior Craig Frey was named the 2008 CHMA Tournament MVP.
W&J won back to back Eastern Collegiate Hockey League (ECHL) titles, including a double overtime victory over Niagara University in 2003. In 2000-2001, Washington & Jefferson won the WPCHA Championship as Brian Grinnik was named the Jack McKinnon MVP.
The team's current head coach is Jim Driscoll and the assistant coach is Dean Ferrari. The team was previously coached by John Harford, USA Hockey
since 1967 with 40 years of hockey experience. Harford coached the Presidents during the 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 seasons. Former Pittsburgh Penguins
defenseman
and two-time Stanley Cup
champion Peter Taglianetti
preceded Harford as head coach. Taglianetti coached the Presidents during the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 seasons, helping lead the Presidents to the 2007 CHMA regular season championship and to the 2007 ACHA Division I National Tournament. Prior to Taglianetti, W&J was coached by Dave Hornack who led the Presidents to ACHA National Tournaments in 2004 and 2005.
, the Midwest Rugby Union, and the Allegheny Rugby Union
. The club competes in the Allegheny Rugby Union Collegiate Division 3 against teams such as Juniata Rugby Football Club, Carnegie Mellon Rugby Football Club and Geneva Rugby Football Club. The club also competes in an unofficial Presidents' Athletic Conference
Championship every spring. In 2004, the men's club won the 2004 Allegheny Rugby Union Division 3 championship. They are now one of the most successful teams at Washington and Jefferson College. Under a newly appointed head coach, so far in 2011, the club is a perfect 8-0. Winning the 2011 Pittsburgh Collegiate Classic and the 2011 Westmoreland Collegiate Tournament.
and regularly beat teams like West Virginia University
, Penn State
, Navy
, Carnegie Tech
, and Villanova
.
received an invitation to the 1943
National Invitation Tournament
, where, as the 8th seed, they defeated the top seed Creighton University
at Madison Square Garden
by a score of 43-42. After losing to Toledo in the semi-final round, W&J defeated Fordham 39-34 to take the third place in the tournament. Three W&J alumni went on to professional basketball careers, including Hal Tidrick
, Harry Zeller
, and Buddy Jeannette
. Jeanette was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame
in 1994.
, Farmer Burns
, Doc Gessler
, Andy Oyler
, and Bill Steen
.
, who would later earn notoriety as a comic strip writer
, won the same title in 1933.
Washington & Jefferson College
Washington & Jefferson College, also known as W & J College or W&J, is a private liberal arts college in Washington, Pennsylvania, in the United States, which is south of Pittsburgh...
. The name "Presidents" refers to the two presidential
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
namesakes of the college: George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
and Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
. W&J is a member of the Presidents' Athletic Conference
Presidents' Athletic Conference
The Presidents' Athletic Conference is an athletic conference which competes in the NCAA's Division III. Member teams are private, liberal arts institutions of higher learning located in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Kentucky....
, the Eastern College Athletic Conference
Eastern College Athletic Conference
The Eastern College Athletic Conference is a college athletic conference comprising schools that compete in 21 sports . It has 317 member institutions in NCAA Divisions I, II, and III, ranging in location from Maine to North Carolina and west to Illinois...
, and play in Division III of the National Collegiate Athletic Association
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...
in both men's and women's varsity sports. During the 2005-2006 season, 34 percent of the student body played varsity-level athletics.
W&J competes in 24 intercollegiate athletics at the 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...
Division III level.
Collectively, the Presidents have won more than 108 Presidents' Athletic Conference
Presidents' Athletic Conference
The Presidents' Athletic Conference is an athletic conference which competes in the NCAA's Division III. Member teams are private, liberal arts institutions of higher learning located in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Kentucky....
championships. Forty students have been selected as conference MVPs, more than 300 students have been named First Team All-Conference, over 75 received students have received All-American honors, and 25 students have achieved Academic All-American honors. Between 1984 and 2009, the football team won 20 of 26 PAC Championships and has advanced to the NCAA Division III playoffs 21 times, including two trips to the NCAA Division III National Championship Game in 1992 and 1994.
Early development
The development of sanctioned, varsity-level athletics at Washington & Jefferson CollegeWashington & Jefferson College
Washington & Jefferson College, also known as W & J College or W&J, is a private liberal arts college in Washington, Pennsylvania, in the United States, which is south of Pittsburgh...
began to develop in 1883, when the student body began agitating for more formal athletic programs. Many other schools had developed athletic programs by that time and advocates felt that a more formal athletic program would increase school spirit
School spirit
School spirit is emotional support for one's educational institution. This can apply to any type of school, from grade schools to universities...
, which they felt was lacking. In 1890, students formed the Athletic Association, charging the 75 members a $1 membership fee that went to fund athletics. By a vote, the students selected cardinal and black to be the school colors, as the preferred scheme of navy and orange had been taken by the Western University of Pennsylvania. An oil strike in the was discovered on the Old Fairgrounds
Cameron Stadium
Cameron Stadium is an outdoor football stadium adjacent to the campus of Washington & Jefferson College in Washington, Pennsylvania.-Facilities and amenities:Located one mile from campus...
, which helped finance the renovation of that facility into the "College Field," including the construction of a new grandstand.
At the close of the 19th century, the concerns over the influence of professionalism in college sports, especially the use of itinerant student and professional football player John Brallier
John Brallier
John Kinport "Sal" Brallier was one of the first professional American football players. He was nationally acknowledged as the first openly paid professional football player when he was given $10 to play for the Latrobe Athletic Association for a game against the Jeanette Athletic Association in...
, caused the faculty to adopt the first eligibility requirements for student athletes. Professor Edward Linton represented W&J at the initial meeting of the International Athletic Association of the United States
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...
in 1906, where the first national standards for edibility and amateurism were developed. At that meeting, Linton expressed a desire for the student athlete to be "relieved of the incubus of the professional coach."
Student and Faculty Athletic Committees
By the early 1900s, "football fever" had swept through the student body, leading the College administration to take steps to further integrate the sport into the educational framework, including the development of a new governance structure. The new Student Athletic Committee and Faculty Athletic Committees instituted a minimum 1 year residency requirement to combat transient students and created an alumni coach system, so the coaches would be more sympathetic to the educational objectives of the college. In 1910, the football program was in danger of being dissolved due to crushing debt. The Student Athletic Committee proposed a $1 per term student fee to fund the team, a proposal that was met with initial resistance from the student body. However, team manager and beloved student solicitor Robert M. MurphyRobert M. Murphy
Robert Martin "Mother" Murphy was an administrator at Washington & Jefferson College; his efforts to improve theWashington & Jefferson Presidents football team directly led to its development as a national powerhouse during the early 20th century....
, was able to convince the students to accept the fee. The Student Athletic Committee agreed to retract the residency rule, as it was blamed for contributing to losses, but instituted other student athlete requirements, including a ban on Academy students, raising entrance requirements, and creating a stringent system of recording absences. However, the Faculty Athletic Committee balked, vetoing the new rules.
The firings of Dr. G.H. Winchester and Dr. H.E. Wells highlighted the growing tension between athletics and academics. As orchestrated by a group of alumni football supporters, the two professors were brought before a faculty committee for not having the requisite support for the athletic programs. At the time, Dr. Winchester was serving in France during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and Wells maintained during the hearing that he did not object to athletics per se, but rather the way it was run at Washington & Jefferson. The event, known nationally as the Winchester-Wells case, was investigated by the American Association of University Professors
American Association of University Professors
The American Association of University Professors is an organization of professors and other academics in the United States. AAUP membership is about 47,000, with over 500 local campus chapters and 39 state organizations...
and was the profiled in Upton Sinclair's
Upton Sinclair
Upton Beall Sinclair Jr. , was an American author who wrote close to one hundred books in many genres. He achieved popularity in the first half of the twentieth century, acquiring particular fame for his classic muckraking novel, The Jungle . It exposed conditions in the U.S...
book The Goose-Step
The Goose-Step (book)
The Goose-step: A Study of American Education is a book, published in 1923, by the American novelist and muckraking journalist Upton Sinclair. It is an investigation into the consequences of plutocratic capitalist control of American colleges and universities...
, a muckraking investigation into the state of American colleges.
Athletic Council and financial reforms
During the Presidency of Simon Strousse BakerSimon Strousse Baker
Simon Strousse Baker was the 6th president of Washington & Jefferson College.Baker, the great-great-grandson of Dr. Thaddeus Dod, the founder of Washington Academy, was born in Amwell Township, Pennsylvania on July 11, 1866. In 1892, he graduated from Washington & Jefferson College, where he played...
, the Student and Faculty Athletic Committees were heavily in debt and approaching insolvency. The gate receipts for football games, the Committees' main source of income, had fallen as the team began to lag behind the larger schools it traditionally played. A report in 1929 by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching showed that the W&J athletics program, like many programs at other colleges, held a large "slush fund" with donations from alumni and businessmen totaling $25,000 to $50,000 per year. This "extreme case of subsidizing" funded all college expenses for football players, plus "paychecks" to top performers. To alleviate this problem, President Baker proposed to wholly separate athletic funds from general College funds by creating an "Athletic Council" to take control of the athletic program. The proposal was defeated, and Baker was eventually hounded from office. In spite of that failure, a 1931 followup to the original Carnegie Foundation report commended W&J for creating some institutional controls, including limiting subsidization to tuition, room, and board.
Baker's successor, Ralph Cooper Hutchison, himself more personally popular than Baker, was able to bring even more control to the athletic program by reducing the number of scholarships from 18 to 8 and limiting the practice of playing against powerhouse football teams. Later, the athletic program was reorganized under an Athletic Director and the practice of awarding athletic scholarships was abolished. In 1937, Hutchison created a whole new governing structure for athletics, the Athletic Council, which was not unlike the plan proposed by Baker a decade earlier. The new Athletic Council, composed of four faculty members and six students, had responsibility for dispensing student appropriations and income from ticket sales. The Board of Trustees' own Athletic Committee would govern the hiring and payment of coaches. The new system was intended to unite the intramural and intercollegiate athletics programs, reinstate faculty into athletic governance, give more responsibility to students, and to create a freshman football program. D.C. Morrow, former football coach and member of the Athletic Committee dissented, advocating for a return to the scholarship model, blaming the waning alumni interest in the college on the team's poor performance. However, the College's indebtedness at that time was $133,000, most of which was the result of player subsidization. At that time, athletics took up half of the student activity fee. In an attempt to stabilize the fiscal picture, the athletic budget was cut significantly, with freshman football and boxing discontinued. The plan worked, and by the 1940s, the athletic finances were stabilized. This signaled the end of the football team's games against larger schools.
Athletic colors and nicknames
In 1890, a vote by the Athletic Association selected cardinal and black to be the school colorsSchool colors
School colors are the colors chosen by a school to represent it on uniforms and other items of identification. Most schools have two colors, which are usually chosen to avoid conflicts with other schools with which the school competes in sports and other activities...
; the preferred scheme of orange and navy has been taken by Western University of Pennsylvania. Since then, the phrase "Red and Black" has been used to refer to the school itself, the college newspaper (Red & Black
Red & Black
Red & Black is the student newspaper for Washington & Jefferson College. The student staff handles all aspects of the production, including writing, editing, graphic design, layout, and advertising sales. The Red & Black features local and national news, student opinion, and college athletics...
) and the athletic teams. The early athletic teams also were known as the "Jaymen," a play on the college's nickname "W&J". By the 1930s, the word "Jaymen" was used to refer to the students in general. The use of this term had died off even before the college went co-educational in 1970. The college's modern nickname of "Presidents" was coined in 1917 by a sportswriter from Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
covering the football game between W&J and the Washington & Lee Generals. Larry Stewart, the W&J's football publicity director at the time, quickly adopted the nickname on a permanent basis.
Athletic facilities
The first athletic facility at Washington & Jefferson was the Old GymOld Gym
The Martindale Student Services Center, formerly known as the Old Gym, was a 2,500 seat multi-purpose arena in Oxford, Mississippi owned and operated by the University of Mississippi . It opened in 1924. It was home to the Ole Miss Rebels basketball teams. It was replaced when Tad Smith Coliseum...
. College Field was purchased in 1885. Originally a fairground, it was developed into a proper athletic field after the discovery of oil on the grounds. It was renovated in 1999 and rechristened Cameron Stadium
Cameron Stadium
Cameron Stadium is an outdoor football stadium adjacent to the campus of Washington & Jefferson College in Washington, Pennsylvania.-Facilities and amenities:Located one mile from campus...
after the addition of an all-weather track, the installation of a FieldTurf
FieldTurf
FieldTurf is a brand of artificial turf playing surface. It is manufactured and installed by the FieldTurf Tarkett division of Tarkett Inc., based in Calhoun, Georgia, USA. In the late 1990s, the artificial surface changed the industry with a design intended to replicate real grass...
football field, and renovated grandstands and media facilities. In 1970, the Henry Memorial Center
Henry Memorial Center
The Henry Memorial Center is a multi-purpose collegiate sports complex on the campus of Washington & Jefferson College. It houses two main athletic facilities, a gymnasium and a natatorium. The Henry Memorial Center also has an auxiliary basketball gym court, two handball courts, a wrestling...
was built. It houses a main gymnasium for basketball, wrestling, and volleyball, as well as an auxiliary basketball court, two handball courts, a wrestling practice room, and a weightroom. The natatorium, a six-lane, 25-yard pool, with depths ranging four to seven feet deep, hosts the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams as well as the men’s and women’s water polo squads. The adjacent Janet L. Swanson Tennis Courts, first built 1955 and renovated in 2001, are home to the tennis teams. The softball team plays at Brooks Park
Brooks Park
Brooks Park is a softball field in Washington, Pennsylvania used by the Washington & Jefferson Presidents softball team. The field dimensions are 200 feet down the lines and 205 feet to center field. It also has home and away dugouts and separate bullpens....
, which was extensively renovated in 2004.
The Ross Memorial Park and Alexandre Stadium
Ross Memorial Park and Alexandre Stadium
Ross Memorial Park and Alexandre Stadium is a combined multi-purpose outdoor athletic facility in North Franklin Township, Pennsylvania owned by Washington & Jefferson College. The playing surface is made of FieldTurf, like the college's football stadium, Cameron Stadium...
is combined multi-purpose outdoor athletic facility for the baseball and soccer teams. At 233000 square feet (21,646.4 m²) of Field Turf playing surface, the facility was the home of the largest continuous artificial playing surface in the world at its completion in 2004. The Swanson Wellness Center is a modern exercise facility located within the Old Gym
Old Gym
The Martindale Student Services Center, formerly known as the Old Gym, was a 2,500 seat multi-purpose arena in Oxford, Mississippi owned and operated by the University of Mississippi . It opened in 1924. It was home to the Ole Miss Rebels basketball teams. It was replaced when Tad Smith Coliseum...
. It contains with a variety of strength and cardiovascular training equipment, including treadmills, exercise bikes, elliptical running machines, free weight machines, a weight rack, squat racks, and a three-lane indoor track suspended above the main floor. The hockey team plays at the IceoPlex at Southpointe
IceoPlex at Southpointe
IceoPlex is a multi-purpose arena in Southpointe in Cecil Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania. It is the practice facility for the Pittsburgh Penguins...
.
Football
Presidents' Athletic Conference
The Presidents' Athletic Conference is an athletic conference which competes in the NCAA's Division III. Member teams are private, liberal arts institutions of higher learning located in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Kentucky....
(PAC). Since its founding in 1890, the team has played their home games at Cameron Stadium
Cameron Stadium
Cameron Stadium is an outdoor football stadium adjacent to the campus of Washington & Jefferson College in Washington, Pennsylvania.-Facilities and amenities:Located one mile from campus...
. A number of players were named to the College Football All-America Team
College Football All-America Team
The College Football All-America Team is an honor given annually to the best American college football players at their respective positions. The original usage of the term All-America seems to have been to the 1889 College Football All-America Team selected by Casper Whitney and published in This...
, and two players, Pete Henry
Pete Henry
Wilbur Francis "Pete" Henry was a professional American football player and coach in the National Football League. He later worked for more than 20 years as athletic director and occasional football coach at Washington & Jefferson College, his alma mater.Henry attended college at Washington &...
and Edgar Garbisch
Edgar Garbisch
Edgar William Garbisch was an American football player. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1954. He married Bernice Chrysler, daughter of Walter P. Chrysler, on January 4, 1930. He and his wife collected American art, much of which they donated to the Metropolitan Museum of Art...
have been elected to 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...
. Several other former players have gone on to play professionally, including "Deacon" Dan Towler
Dan Towler
"Deacon" Dan Towler was a National Football League running back for the Los Angeles Rams from 1950 through 1955. He was the NFL leading rusher in 1952...
, Russ Stein
Russ Stein
Russell Frederick Stein was born in Warren, Ohio. After high school Stein attended Washington & Jefferson College. While in College he was the captain on W&J’s 1921 undefeated football team, which played to the only scoreless tie in the history of the 1922 Rose Bowl against the University of...
, and Pete Henry
Pete Henry
Wilbur Francis "Pete" Henry was a professional American football player and coach in the National Football League. He later worked for more than 20 years as athletic director and occasional football coach at Washington & Jefferson College, his alma mater.Henry attended college at Washington &...
, who was also elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
and the NFL 1920s All-Decade Team. The team has been coached by some of the greatest coaches in football history, including John Heisman
John Heisman
John William Heisman was an American player and coach of football, basketball, and baseball. He served as the head football coach at Oberlin College , Buchtel College, now known as the University of Akron , Auburn University , Clemson University , Georgia Tech , the...
, Greasy Neale, and Bob Folwell
Bob Folwell
Robert Cook "Bob" Folwell, Jr. was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Lafayette College , Washington & Jefferson College , the University of Pennsylvania , and the United States Naval Academy , compiling a career college football record of...
.
The team was founded in 1890, quickly becoming well known for drawing large crowds and defeating a number of prominent football teams. The faculty and administration expressed concern over the strength of the team and made efforts to reduce the influence of professionalism on the players. During the 1910s, some sportswriters were suggesting that the Presidents were one of the top teams in the nation. The biggest achievement in the team's history came in 1921, when the Presidents were chosen to play in 1922 Rose Bowl
1922 Rose Bowl
The 1922 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 2, 1922, between Washington & Jefferson College and the University of California, Berkeley...
, playing the heavily favored California Golden Bears
California Golden Bears football
The California Golden Bears football team is the college football team of the University of California. The team plays its home games at California Memorial Stadium, however the team played at San Francisco's AT&T Park in 2011 while Memorial Stadium was being renovated, the team will return to...
to a scoreless tie. As college football developed in the 1930s and 1940s, the Presidents fell far behind their larger competitors, who were able to offer scholarships for their players. Controversy over the poor play of the football team, and a lack of play against larger teams, contributed to the resignation of a college president. By the 1950s, the team joined the NCAA Division III and the Presidents' Athletic Conference. By the 1980s, the team had learned to thrive in that environment, winning a number of conference championships and regularly qualifying for the NCAA Division III playoffs
NCAA Division III national football championship
The NCAA Division III National Football Championship began in 1973. Before 1973, most of the schools now in Division III competed in the NCAA's former "College Division"....
.
Men's Ice Hockey
The men's hockey club was founded in 1998 as a member of the Western Pennsylvania Collegiate Hockey League (WPCHL). In 2001, the team joined the Eastern Collegiate Hockey LeagueEastern Collegiate Hockey League
Not to be confused with the ECHL, a professional minor league hockey league in the United States.The Eastern Collegiate Hockey League is an ACHA Division I club hockey league consisting of teams in the Northeast United States...
.
That year, the team won the Milan Mountaineer Invitational Hockey Tournament at West Virginia University
West Virginia University
West Virginia University is a public research university in Morgantown, West Virginia, USA. Other campuses include: West Virginia University at Parkersburg in Parkersburg; West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Montgomery; Potomac State College of West Virginia University in Keyser;...
. The club currently competes in the College Hockey Mid America Conference, a Division I regional league of the American Collegiate Hockey Association
American Collegiate Hockey Association
The American Collegiate Hockey Association is the national governing body of non-varsity college ice hockey in the U.S. The organization provides structure, regulations, promotes the quality of play, sponsors National Awards and National Tournaments....
The club made appearances in the ACHA National Tournament in 2004, 2005, and 2007. The team plays at the IceoPlex at Southpointe
IceoPlex at Southpointe
IceoPlex is a multi-purpose arena in Southpointe in Cecil Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania. It is the practice facility for the Pittsburgh Penguins...
. The club plays home games at the Iceoplex at Southpointe
Southpointe (Cecil, Pennsylvania)
Southpointe is a suburban business park located in Cecil Township near Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, south of Pittsburgh. It is home to many corporations, including Fortune 500 members CONSOL Energy and Mylan....
, the practice facility for the Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the first expansion teams during the league's original...
.
The team defeated West Virginia University
West Virginia University
West Virginia University is a public research university in Morgantown, West Virginia, USA. Other campuses include: West Virginia University at Parkersburg in Parkersburg; West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Montgomery; Potomac State College of West Virginia University in Keyser;...
by the score of 5-3 at the Ice Zone in Boardman, OH to win the 2008 College Hockey Mid America Conference championship, avenging a loss to Duquesne University in the finals in 2007. Senior Craig Frey was named the 2008 CHMA Tournament MVP.
W&J won back to back Eastern Collegiate Hockey League (ECHL) titles, including a double overtime victory over Niagara University in 2003. In 2000-2001, Washington & Jefferson won the WPCHA Championship as Brian Grinnik was named the Jack McKinnon MVP.
The team's current head coach is Jim Driscoll and the assistant coach is Dean Ferrari. The team was previously coached by John Harford, USA Hockey
USA Hockey
USA Hockey is recognized by the International Olympic Committee and the United States Olympic Committee as the governing body for amateur ice hockey in the United States and is a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation. The organization is based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and has...
since 1967 with 40 years of hockey experience. Harford coached the Presidents during the 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 seasons. Former Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the first expansion teams during the league's original...
defenseman
Defenceman (ice hockey)
Defence in ice hockey is a player position whose primary responsibility is to prevent the opposing team from scoring...
and two-time Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
champion Peter Taglianetti
Peter Taglianetti
Peter A. Taglianetti is a former NHL defenseman and former college hockey coach at Washington & Jefferson College. He is the father of Pittsburgh Panthers football player Andrew Taglianetti and is also a former Pittsburgh Penguins broadcaster.-Awards and achievements:*1991 Stanley Cup ...
preceded Harford as head coach. Taglianetti coached the Presidents during the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 seasons, helping lead the Presidents to the 2007 CHMA regular season championship and to the 2007 ACHA Division I National Tournament. Prior to Taglianetti, W&J was coached by Dave Hornack who led the Presidents to ACHA National Tournaments in 2004 and 2005.
Rugby
The Washington and Jefferson Rugby Club was founded in 2004, and fields both men's and women's teams. It is a member of USA RugbyUSA Rugby
USA Rugby is the national governing body for the sport of rugby union in the United States. It is divided into seven territorial Unions: Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, Northeast, Pacific Coast, Southern California, South, and West...
, the Midwest Rugby Union, and the Allegheny Rugby Union
Allegheny Rugby Union
The Allegheny Rugby Union is a non-profit corporation whose objective is to promote, serve, and manage the game of rugby union in the Allegheny area, at all levels of play. The Allegheny area is the region described as Western Pennsylvania, Western New York, Northern West Virginia and Eastern Ohio...
. The club competes in the Allegheny Rugby Union Collegiate Division 3 against teams such as Juniata Rugby Football Club, Carnegie Mellon Rugby Football Club and Geneva Rugby Football Club. The club also competes in an unofficial Presidents' Athletic Conference
Presidents' Athletic Conference
The Presidents' Athletic Conference is an athletic conference which competes in the NCAA's Division III. Member teams are private, liberal arts institutions of higher learning located in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Kentucky....
Championship every spring. In 2004, the men's club won the 2004 Allegheny Rugby Union Division 3 championship. They are now one of the most successful teams at Washington and Jefferson College. Under a newly appointed head coach, so far in 2011, the club is a perfect 8-0. Winning the 2011 Pittsburgh Collegiate Classic and the 2011 Westmoreland Collegiate Tournament.
Basketball
The men's basketball team was founded in 1913. In the 1930s and 1940s, the team played at Washington High SchoolWashington School District
The Washington School District is a small, urban, public school district in Washington County, Pennsylvania. It serves the city of Washington, Pennsylvania and the borough of East Washington, Pennsylvania. The district encompasses approximately 9 square miles. According to 2000 local census data,...
and regularly beat teams like West Virginia University
West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball
The West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball team represents West Virginia University in NCAA Division I college basketball competition. It is a member of the Big East Conference. West Virginia most recently reached the Final Four of the 2010 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, led by...
, Penn State
Penn State Nittany Lions men's basketball
The Penn State Nittany Lions basketball team is a NCAA Division I college basketball team representing the Pennsylvania State University. They are a member of the Big Ten Conference and play home games at the 15,261-seat Bryce Jordan Center, moving there from boisterous Rec Hall during the 1995–96...
, Navy
Navy Midshipmen men's basketball
The Navy Midshipmen men's basketball team represents the United States Naval Academy, in Annapolis, Maryland, in NCAA Division I college basketball...
, Carnegie Tech
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
, and Villanova
Villanova Wildcats men's basketball
This is the article about the men's basketball team from Villanova University. The team has competed since the 1920–21 season. Nicknamed the "Wildcats", Villanova is a member of the Big East Conference and the Philadelphia Big Five. The Villanova Wildcats have appeared in the NCAA...
.
received an invitation to the 1943
1943 National Invitation Tournament
The 1943 National Invitation Tournament was the 1943 edition of the annual NCAA college basketball competition.-Selected teams:Below is a list of the 8 teams selected for the tournament.-Brackets/Results:Below is the tournament bracket....
National Invitation Tournament
National Invitation Tournament
The National Invitation Tournament is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. There are two NIT events each season. The first, played in November and known as the Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off , was founded in 1985...
, where, as the 8th seed, they defeated the top seed Creighton University
Creighton University
Creighton University is a private, coeducational, Jesuit, Roman Catholic university located in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1878, the school is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities. The university is accredited by...
at Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
by a score of 43-42. After losing to Toledo in the semi-final round, W&J defeated Fordham 39-34 to take the third place in the tournament. Three W&J alumni went on to professional basketball careers, including Hal Tidrick
Hal Tidrick
Howard Benjamin Tidrick was a former professional basketball player for the Indianapolis Jets and the Baltimore Bullets. He attended college at Washington & Jefferson College.-References:...
, Harry Zeller
Harry Zeller
Harry Raymond Zeller was a professional basketball player for the Pittsburgh Ironmen. He attended St. George High School in Allentown, Pennsylvania. He attended college at Washington & Jefferson College.-References:...
, and Buddy Jeannette
Buddy Jeannette
Harry Edward "Buddy" Jeannette was a professional basketball player and coach.Jeannette was widely regarded as the premier backcourt player between 1938 and 1948. He was named to the First Team of the NBL four times, and won titles with the NBL's Sheboygan Red Skins and Fort Wayne Pistons...
. Jeanette was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame
Basketball Hall of Fame
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States, honors exceptional basketball players, coaches, referees, executives, and other major contributors to the game of basketball worldwide...
in 1994.
Baseball
The baseball team was founded in 1890. Five W&J alumni played professional baseball: Ody AbbottOdy Abbott
Ody Cleon Abbott was a major league outfielder for the St. Louis Cardinals for one year in . He attended Washington & Jefferson College....
, Farmer Burns
Farmer Burns (baseball)
James Joseph "Farmer" Burns , was a major league baseball player who pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1901. He had previously attended Washington and Jefferson College, where he was a strong starting pitcher in 1898 for their team "The Presidents," though he never graduated.-References:* * *...
, Doc Gessler
Doc Gessler
Henry Homer "Doc" Gessler was a Major League Baseball player born in Greensburg, Pennsylvania who began his eight season career, at the age of 22, with the Detroit Tigers in . He played mainly as a right fielder in a career that totaled 880 games played, 2969 at bats, 831 hits, 363 RBIs and 14...
, Andy Oyler
Andy Oyler
Andrew Paul Oyler was a Major League Baseball third baseman. He was born in Newville, Pennsylvania and attended Washington & Jefferson College. He played professionally for the Baltimore Orioles in the . In 27 professional games that year, he had 77 at-bats with 17 hits and one home run.He...
, and Bill Steen
Bill Steen
William John Steen was a right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played four years with the Cleveland Indians and Detroit Tigers .-Biography:...
.
Boxing
W&J had a boxing team from 1931 to 1937, when it was canceled due to a financial crisis. Al Demedowitz won the 1932 Eastern Intercollegiate Boxing Championship in the 165-pound weight class. Nicholas P. DallisNicholas P. Dallis
Nicholas Peter Dallis , known as Nick Dallis, was an American psychiatrist turned comic strip writer, creator of the soap opera-style strips Rex Morgan, M.D., Judge Parker and Apartment 3-G...
, who would later earn notoriety as a comic strip writer
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
, won the same title in 1933.