Sacred Heart Pioneers

Sacred Heart Pioneers
University	Sacred Heart University
Conference	Northeast Conference (most sports) Atlantic Hockey (men's ice hockey) Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (men's volleyball) EIWA (wrestling)
NCAA	Division I
Athletic director	Bobby Valentine
Location	Fairfield, CT
Varsity teams	32
Football stadium	Campus Field
Basketball arena	William H. Pitt Center
Baseball stadium	Pioneer Park, The Ballpark at Harbor Yard
Other arenas	Milford Ice Pavilion, Webster Bank Arena
Nickname	Pioneers
Colors	Red, White, and Gray
Website	www.sacredheartpioneers.com

The Sacred Heart Pioneers are the 32 sports teams (14 men, 18 women) representing Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut in intercollegiate athletics, including men and women's basketball, cross country, fencing, golf, hockey, lacrosse, soccer, tennis, track & field, and volleyball; women's-only bowling, field hockey, rowing, and swimming; and men's-only baseball, football, and wrestling. The Pioneers compete in the NCAA Division I and are members of the Northeast Conference.^[1]

Teams

A member of the Northeast Conference, Sacred Heart sponsors teams in thirteen men's, sixteen women's, and one coed NCAA sanctioned sports, with women's rugby to be added in 2015–16:^[2]

• ^¶ -= The equestrian team competes as an independent, and participates in the IHSA as well as the NCEA/NCAA.
• ^↓ = Fencing in the NCAA is a coed sport with men's and women's squads. Sacred Heart competes as an independent.
• • = Men's ice hockey competes as a member of Atlantic Hockey.
• ° = Women's ice hockey competes as an independent.
• ^‡ = The rowing team competes as an associate member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
• * = Rugby is an NCAA "emerging sport" which is fully sanctioned, but does not yet have a national championship.^[3]
• ^# = Men's volleyball competes as a member of the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association.
• ^† + The wrestling team competes as a member of the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association.

History

Nearly 800 students participate in the university's 31 athletic teams (17 female teams and 14 male teams) along with more than 500 students who participate in 23 Club Sports.

In March 2009, the Women's Basketball team won the NEC Title and earned their second trip to the NCAA Tournament in the last four years. The team faced the Ohio State Buckeyes in the first round of the tournament on March 21, 2009, and lost, 77–63. The Sacred Heart Pioneers women's ice hockey program competes as an independent in NCAA Division I women's ice hockey.

The men's golf team won the NEC Title in May 2008, 2009 and 2011.

The SHU Baseball Team has appeared in the NEC Championship game the past 4 seasons (2009–2012) and won the past 2 Northeast Conference Titles. These wins have earned SHU back to back NCAA tournament bids.

On February 21, 2013, the Sacred Heart University Athletics Department hired longtime Major League Baseball player and manager Bobby Valentine to head its athletics department.

The SHU Men's Fencing Team won the Northeast Fencing Conference Championship title five years in a row (2010–2014) and was ranked #9 in 2011.

Club sports

Currently there are twenty-four club sports active on campus. The active clubs are:

References

External links

• Official website

Sports teams based in Connecticut
Baseball	EL Hartford Yard Goats NYPL Connecticut Tigers ALPB Bridgeport Bluefish New Britain Bees NECBL Danbury Westerners Mystic Schooners FCBL Bristol Blues Torrington Titans
Basketball	WNBA Connecticut Sun
Football	WFA New England Nightmare
Ice hockey	AHL Bridgeport Sound Tigers Hartford Wolf Pack FHL Danbury Titans NWHL Connecticut Whale
Soccer	USL PDL Connecticut FC Azul
Roller derby	WFTDA CT RollerGirls MRDA Connecticut Death Quads
Rugby union	NERFU Connecticut Yankees RFC Hartford Wanderers RFC New Haven Old Black RFC New London County RFC
Softball	ASA Connecticut Brakettes
College athletics (NCAA Div. I)	Central Connecticut Blue Devils Connecticut Huskies Fairfield Stags Hartford Hawks Quinnipiac Bobcats Sacred Heart Pioneers Yale Bulldogs

Sport teams based in the New York metropolitan area
Australian rules football	USAFL New York Magpies
Baseball	MLB New York Mets New York Yankees NYPL Brooklyn Cyclones Hudson Valley Renegades Staten Island Yankees ALPB Bridgeport Bluefish Long Island Ducks Somerset Patriots CanAm New Jersey Jackals Rockland Boulders Sussex County Miners
Basketball	NBA Brooklyn Nets New York Knicks WNBA New York Liberty D-League Long Island Nets Westchester Knicks ABA Jersey Express EBA Hudson Valley Hype Entertainment Teams Harlem Wizards
Football	NFL New York Giants New York Jets WFA New York Sharks
Hockey	NHL New Jersey Devils New York Islanders New York Rangers AHL Bridgeport Sound Tigers FHL Danbury Titans NWHL New York Riveters
Lacrosse	MLL New York Lizards
Rugby league	USARL Brooklyn Kings New York Knights White Plains Wombats
Rugby union	USAR New York Athletic Club RFC Old Blue
Soccer	MLS New York City FC New York Red Bulls NASL New York Cosmos USL New York Red Bulls II NWSL Sky Blue FC PDL F.A. Euro Jersey Express S.C. Long Island Rough Riders New York Red Bulls U-23 Westchester Flames NPSL Brooklyn Italians New York Athletic Club S.C. New York Cosmos B
Roller derby	WFTDA Gotham Girls Roller Derby Jersey Shore Roller Girls Long Island Roller Rebels Suburbia Roller Derby MRDA New York Shock Exchange
Team tennis	WTT New York Empire
College athletics (NCAA Division I)	Army Columbia Fairfield Fairleigh Dickinson Fordham Hofstra Iona LIU Brooklyn Manhattan NJIT Princeton Quinnipiac Rider Rutgers Sacred Heart St. Francis Brooklyn St. John's Saint Peter's Seton Hall Stony Brook Wagner Yale
Ultimate	AUDL New York Empire MLU New York Rumble
Gaelic games	New York GAA: Gaelic football Hurling
Main article: Sports in New York City