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DeutschUNC Greensboro Spartans
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| UNC Greensboro Spartans | |
|---|---|
 | |
| University | University of North Carolina at Greensboro |
| Conference | Southern Conference |
| NCAA | Division I |
| Athletic director | Brian Mackin |
| Location | Greensboro, North Carolina |
| Varsity teams | 16 |
| Football stadium | N/A |
| Basketball arena | Greensboro Coliseum |
| Baseball stadium | UNCG Baseball Stadium |
| Soccer stadium | UNCG Soccer Stadium |
| Other venues | Fleming Gymnasium |
| Mascot | "Spiro" the Spartan |
| Nickname | Spartans |
| Fight song | Blue and Gold, previously Go U Northwestern[1] |
| Colors | Navy, white, and gold[2] |
| Website | www |
The UNC Greensboro Spartans are the athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in Greensboro, North Carolina. They compete in the Southern Conference in all sports.
History[edit]
The intercollegiate athletics program at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro reaches as far back as the late 1940s during the days of the WCUNC, with students participating in national golf tournaments in 1948 and the school hosting the national tournaments for women's golf (1954) and tennis (1965). During the 1980s, all Spartan teams competed in Division III (non-scholarship) and then Division II (scholarship) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and all teams have competed in Division I since Fall 1991. UNC Greensboro is a three-time winner of the Big South's Sasser Cup.
Teams[edit]
A member of the Southern Conference, UNC Greensboro sponsors teams in eight men's and nine women's NCAA sanctioned sports:[3]
| Men's Intercollegiate Sports | Team Article | Head Coach | Women's Intercollegiate Sports | Team Article | Head Coach | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baseball | Spartans Baseball | Cody Ellis | Basketball | Spartans women's basketball | Trina Patterson | |
| Basketball | Spartans Men's Basketball | Mike Jones | Cross Country | Kaleigh Roach | ||
| Cross Country | Kaleigh Roach | Golf | Ashley Leonard | |||
| Golf | Terrance Stewart | Soccer | Stefani Workman | |||
| Soccer | Spartans men's soccer | Chris Rich | Softball | Janelle Breneman | ||
| Tennis | Jeff Trivette | Tennis | Jeff Trivette | |||
| Track & Field (Indoor & Outdoor) | Kaleigh Roach | Track & Field (Indoor & Outdoor) | Kaleigh Roach | |||
| Volleyball | Felicia Turner |
Although not considered official sports teams, the Athletic Department also includes the UNCG Cheerleading Squad and the UNCG Dance Team, the Spartan Gs. The college's only college football team plays at the club level, in the South Atlantic Conference of the National Club Football Association.
National Championships[edit]
UNCG has won five national championships. All five were won while at the Division III level of the NCAA.
- Men's Soccer – 1982*, 1983*, 1985*, 1986*, 1987*
(*) NCAA Division III
Achievements[edit]
Baseball[edit]
Brian Moehler played at UNCG from 1991-1994 and was selected in the sixth round of the 1993 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft. Moehler played 13 seasons in Major League Baseball and was inducted into the UNCG Athletic Hall of Fame in 2005.
Danny Valencia played third base at UNCG and was the 2004 Southern Conference Freshman of the Year, and was voted second-team All-Conference.[4]
On April 18, 2006, UNCG earned its first win over a top-ranked team in any sport during the university's Division I era. The baseball team defeated top-ranked North Carolina, 7–6, in front of a crowd of 1,835.
On February 20, 2024, UNCG beat No.1 [Wake Forest, 4-3. On March 12, 2024, UNCG beat No.13 NC State, 18-3.
The baseball team plays its home games at UNCG Baseball Stadium.
- 2022: SoCon Tournament Champions.
- 2024: SoCon Regular Season Champions.
Men's Basketball[edit]
On March 2, 1996, UNCG knocked off Liberty, 79–53, to claim the Big South Tournament Championship and advance to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in Division I. The Spartans lost to Cincinnati in the NCAA Tournament, 66–61. The five seniors from the team had their numbers honored. Scott Hartzell finished his career as the men's basketball's all-time leading scorer with 1,539.
On March 4, 2001, UNCG Men's Basketball won its first Southern Conference Championship on David Schuck's buzzer-beating layup. The team went on to play top-ranked Stanford in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, its second trip to the "Big Dance" in five years. Guard Nathan Jameson was named first-team Verizon Academic All-America.
On December 31, 2005, UNCG hosted top-ranked Duke at the Greensboro Coliseum in front of a record crowd of 21,124. The near capacity crowd was the largest to ever see a UNCG athletic event.
On December 5, 2008, it was announced that UNCG would be moving their home games to the Greensboro Coliseum for the 2009–2010 season.
On March 5, 2018, UNCG beat ETSU to win the Southern Conference Tournment Championship to secure an NCAA Tournament bid, 62-47. On March 15, 2018, UNCG played Gonzaga in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament.
On March 8, 2021, UNCG beat Mercer to win the Southern Conference Tournament Championship to secure an NCAA Tournament bid, 69-61. On March 20, 2021 UNCG played Florida State in the first round of the NCAA tournament and lost 54-64.
On November 17, 2023, UNCG beat No.14 ranked Arkansas in Bud Walton Arena, 78-72. The upset was UNCG's first win over a Top 25 team and the first Southeastern Conference (SEC) win in UNCG program history.
- 2017: SoCon Regular Season Champions.
- 2018: SoCon Tournament Champions.
Women's Basketball[edit]
In December 2005, UNCG's women's basketball program enjoyed two of its greatest non-conference wins since moving to the Division I level. In a 12-day span, UNCG knocked off Big East foe West Virginia at home and ACC member Wake Forest on the road. It was UNCG's first-ever win over a Big East school and the program's first victory over Wake Forest since 1977.
In March 2006, the UNCG women's basketball team made its first SoCon Tournament title game appearance since 2002. The Spartans rallied from nearly all of a 21-point deficit, closing to within three in the final four minutes. However, Chattanooga pulled away late for a 91–79 win.
Men's Golf[edit]
Men's Soccer[edit]
- 1989: Defeated in the NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship by New Hampshire College (now Southern New Hampshire University). This would be the Spartans' only appearance in the Division II championship.
- 1991: UNCG Soccer Stadium, a $3.6 million facility, opened for its first game on September 7, as the men's team defeated Campbell, 3–1. Four days later, the Spartans stunned No. 2 NC State, 2–1.
- 1997: SoCon Regular Season Champions.
- 1998: SoCon Regular Season Champions.
- 2004: Was ranked #1 in the country for 11 weeks. SoCon Regular Season Champions. The UNCG's Men's Soccer team lost in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament to UC-Santa Barbara's Men's Soccer team in overtime, 0-1.
- 2005: SoCon Regular Season Champions. SoCon Tournament Champions. The UNCG's Men's Soccer team advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament to which they lost at SMU 1–3.
- 2006: Socon Regular Season Champions. SoCon Tournament Champions. Once again advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament and lost to Northwestern 1–2.
- 2007: Advanced to the SoCon Tournament Championship game and lost to Furman in Overtime.
- 2008: Went into the SoCon Tourny as the #7 seed. They shocked the conference by winning the SoCon Championship being the lowest seed to ever win the championship. During their unbelievable run, the Spartans knocked off Duke in the first round of the NCAA tournament, Loyola (MD) in overtime in the second round, and were the first team to make it to the final 16 of the NCAA tournament with a losing record.
- 2020: SoCon Tournament Champions. On April 29, 2021 UNCG played Omaha in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and lost, 2-3.
- 2022: SoCon Tournament Champions. On November 20, 2022 UNCG played Ohio State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament and won in penalty kicks, 6-5. On November 27, 2022 UNCG played No.5 Stanford in the third round of the NCAA Tournament and won in penalty kicks, 3-1. On December 3, 2022 UNCG played No.13 Indiana in the Elite 8 and lost 0-2. After the season, UNCG Midfielder and 2022 SoCon Player of the Year J.C. Ngando was picked fifth overall in the 2023 MLS SuperDraft and signed with the Vancouver Whitecaps FC.
Women's Soccer[edit]
- 1997: SoCon Regular Season Champions and SoCon Tournament Champions.
- 1998: SoCon Regular Season Champions and SoCon Tournament Champions.
- 2000: SoCon Tournament Champions.
- 2001: SoCon Regular Season Champions and SoCon Tournament Champions.
- 2004: SoCon Regular Season Champions.
- 2006: SoCon Regular Season Champions and SoCon Tournament Champions.
- 2007: SoCon Regular Season Champions and SoCon Tournament Runner up.
- 2008: SoCon Regular Season Champions and SoCon Tournament Runner up.
- 2017: SoCon Tournament Champions.
- 2018: SoCon Tournament Champions.
Softball[edit]
- 2017: SoCon Regular Season Champions.
- 2018: SoCon Regular Season Champions and SoCon Tournament Champions.
- 2019: SoCon Regular Season Champions.
- 2021: SoCon Regular Season Champions and SoCon Tournament Champions.
- 2022: SoCon Regular Season Champions.
- 2023: SoCon Regular Season Champions and SoCon Tournament Champions.
Volleyball[edit]
- 2021: SoCon Regular Season Champions.
Hall of Fame[edit]
The university established the UNCG Athletics Hall of Fame in 2000. The Hall of Fame honors those athletes, coaches, and people whose outstanding contributions have enriched the athletic programs of The University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
Athletic Director[edit]
- Nelson E. Bobb (1983–2009)
- Kim Record (2009–2021)
- Brian Mackin (2022–present)
References[edit]
- ^ Levin, Andrew (April 2012), "Go U (insert school name here)!: What different schools use our fight song as their own and why?" (PDF), The Growl: The Newsletter of the Northwestern University Marching Band and Band Alumni Organization, retrieved April 17, 2012
- ^ "Brand Guide – University of North Carolina at Greensboro". Retrieved September 9, 2018.
- ^ "UNCGSPARTANS.COM". The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
- ^ Omar Kelly (February 11, 2005). "Future Investment; Transfer Danny Valencia Hopes To Garner Attention – And a Full Ride". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved July 3, 2010.
