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{{Short description|Colgate University athletic teams}}
{{Infobox college athletics
| name = Colgate Raiders
| logo = Colgate Raiders (2020) logo.svg
| logo_width = 150
| university = [[Colgate University]]
| association = [[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA]]
| conference = [[Patriot League]] (primary)<br />[[ECAC Hockey]]
| division = [[NCAA Division I|Division I]] ([[NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision|FCS]])
| director = 
| location = [[Hamilton (village), New York|Hamilton, New York]]
| teams = 23
| stadium = [[Crown Field at Andy Kerr Stadium]]
| baseballfield =
| basketballarena = [[Cotterell Court]]
| arena2 = [[Class of 1965 Arena]]
| mascot =
| nickname = Raiders
| fightsong =
| pageurl = https://colgateathletics.com/
| altlogo = [[file:Colgate.png|200px]] 
}}

The '''Colgate Raiders''' are the [[College athletics in the United States|athletic]] teams that represent [[Colgate University]]. The teams include men and women's basketball, cross country, ice hockey, lacrosse, rowing, soccer, swimming & diving, track and field and tennis. Men's sports include golf and football. Women's sports include field hockey, softball, and volleyball.

The Raiders are members of the [[Patriot League]] for most sports, except for the men's and women's ice hockey teams, which compete in [[ECAC Hockey]].<ref name="susports">{{cite web| title=Colgate Athletics|publisher=gocolgateraiders.com| url=http://www.gocolgateraiders.com/|access-date=2013-03-19}}</ref> Colgate is part of [[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA]] [[NCAA Division I|Division I]] for all varsity sports.

Approximately 25% of students are involved in a varsity sport, and 80% of students are involved in some form of varsity, club, or intramural athletics.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.colgate.edu/distinctly-colgate/athletics|title=About Colgate University|year=2008|publisher=Colgate Athletics|access-date=2009-08-20}}</ref> There are 25 varsity teams, over 30 club sports teams, and 18 different intramural sports.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.colgate.edu/distinctly-colgate/athletics|title=Division I Athletics |publisher=Colgate University|access-date=2014-09-09}}</ref>

== History ==
[[File:Colgate athletics captains.jpg|thumb|left|The captains of the Colgate athletics teams c. 1890-1900]]
Starting in 1932, Colgate athletics teams were called the "Red Raiders" in reference to the new maroon uniforms of that season's [[1932 Colgate Red Raiders football team|"undefeated, untied, unscored upon, and uninvited" football team]], which was the first to use the moniker.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,769729-2,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103204144/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,769729-2,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 3, 2012|title=Sport: Football, Oct. 31, 1932|date=1932-10-31|publisher=Time|access-date=2009-08-20}}</ref> Apocryphal explanations for the name include the team's ability to defeat its much larger rival, the [[Cornell University]] [[Cornell Big Red|Big Red]], or that a rainstorm caused one Colgate football team's maroon jerseys to blend into a reddish color.<ref name=danielson/> Regardless, after the adoption of a [[Native American mascot controversy|Native American mascot]], the school debated changing the name and mascot in the 1970s out of sensitivity to [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]]. At that time the nickname was retained, but the mascot was changed to a hand holding a torch.<ref name=danielson>{{Cite news| last =Danielson| first = Stentor| title =Editor's Column: Why Not A Pirate?| newspaper = Colgate Maroon-News| date =April 27, 2001| url =http://debitage.net/apology/com/ed042701.html}}</ref> In 2001, the administration acknowledged concerns that the adjective "Red" still had a Native American implication, and the school shortened the nickname to the "Raiders" starting in the 2001–02 school year.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://patriotleague.org/sports/2016/6/13/genrel-081501aaa-html.aspx| title=Colgate To Drop 'Red' From Its Nickname Red Raiders|date=August 15, 2001|publisher=Patriot League|access-date=2018-12-19}}</ref> A new mascot was introduced in 2006.

Colgate University's football team was selected to share the 1932 [[College football national championships in NCAA Division I FBS|national championship]] by [[Parke H. Davis]] in 1933<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ncaa.org/champadmin/ia_football_past_champs.html |title=Past Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (Division I FBS) National Champions |publisher=[[NCAA]] |access-date=2007-09-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070704103516/http://www.ncaa.org/champadmin/ia_football_past_champs.html |archive-date=2007-07-04 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and appeared in the [[Associated Press]] top-level polls in 1942 and 1977.  The [[1932 Colgate Red Raiders football team|1932 team]] was "unbeaten, untied, unscored upon, and uninvited", as it registered shutouts against all nine opponents, but was not invited to the 1933 Rose Bowl.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/14/sports/question-box.html|title=Question Box|last=Corio|first=Ray|date=1991-01-14|newspaper=New York Times|access-date=2009-08-20}}</ref> Colgate began playing in NCAA Division I-AA, now known as Division I FCS, in 1982 and made the Division I-AA (now FCS) football playoffs in 1982, 1983, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2003, and 2005.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gocolgateraiders.com/Pdfs/football/2006/7/26/THE%20HISTORY.pdf|title=Colgate Football: The History|access-date=2007-09-01}}</ref>

In the 2003 season, the Raiders made it to the NCAA I-AA championship game in football for the first time, where they lost to the [[University of Delaware]]. At the end of the season, their record was 15–1.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/20/sports/college-football-colgate-s-bid-for-perfection-hits-wall.html|title=COLLEGE FOOTBALL; Colgate's Bid for Perfection Hits Wall |last=Thamel|first=Pete |author-link=Pete Thamel |date=2003-12-20|newspaper=New York Times|access-date=2009-08-20}}</ref> At the time, they had the longest winning streak in all of Division I football, including one win over a [[NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision|Division I-A]] (now Division I FBS) team, [[Buffalo Bulls|Buffalo]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/07/sports/college-football-with-a-late-flurry-colgate-reaches-i-aa-semifinals.html|title=COLLEGE FOOTBALL; With a Late Flurry, Colgate Reaches I-AA Semifinals|last=Thamel|first=Pete |author-link=Pete Thamel |date=2003-12-07|newspaper=New York Times |access-date=2009-08-20}}</ref>

== Teams ==
{{multiple image
| header =
| align = 
| direction =  
| total_width = 400
| perrow =  2
| image1 = Colgate vs. Air Force (48826653973).jpg
| caption1 = Colgate vs. Air Force, football
| image2 = Colgate Raiders ice hockey players.jpg
| caption2 = Colgate hockey players in 2025 
| image3 = Colgate vs Tennessee basketball 2019.jpg
| caption3 =  Colgate vs Tennessee, basketball
| image4 = Holy Cross Men's lacrosse v Colgate 2015 (cropped).jpg
| caption4 =  Colgate vs Holy Cross, lacrosse
| footer =
}}
{| class="wikitable"; style= "text-align: "
! width= 150px style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Colgate Raiders|border=1|color= white }}"| Men's sports
! width= 150px style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Colgate Raiders|border=1|color= white }}"| Women's sports
|-
|[[Colgate Raiders men's basketball|Basketball]] || [[Colgate Raiders women's basketball|Basketball]]
|-
| Cross Country || Cross Country
|-
| [[Colgate Raiders football|Football]] || Field Hockey
|-
| Golf || [[Colgate Raiders women's ice hockey|Ice Hockey]]
|-
| [[Colgate Raiders men's ice hockey|Ice Hockey]] || Lacrosse
|-
| [[Colgate Raiders men's lacrosse|Lacrosse]] || Rowing
|-
| Rowing || Soccer
|-
| Soccer || [[Colgate Raiders softball|Softball]]
|-
| Swimming || Swimming 
|-
| Tennis || Tennis
|-
| Track and field{{sup|1}} || Track and field{{sup|1}}
|-
| || Volleyball
|-
| colspan=2 style="{{CollegeSecondaryStyle|Colgate Raiders|border=1|color=white }}"| {{small|{{sup|1}} – includes both indoor and outdoor.}}
|}

==Former sports==
*[[Colgate Raiders baseball|Baseball]] (1886–1996)
*[[Collegiate wrestling|Wrestling]] (1930s–1982)<ref name="armdrag">{{cite web| title=1980-81 Colgate University Raiders Wrestling|publisher=armdrag.com| url=http://armdrag.com/matburn?team=2465&year=1981|access-date=2020-04-07}}</ref>

== Rivalries ==
Cornell is a common rival in all sports; hockey games against Cornell are major events on campus, with students lining up for hours before the game in order to secure tickets.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.colgatealumni.org/s/801/scene_inside.aspx?sid=801&gid=1&pgid=1252|title=go 'gate|date=Winter 2009|publisher=Colgate Scene|access-date=2009-08-20}}</ref> Colgate's teams (with the exception of football, golf, and men's hockey) also compete annually against [[Syracuse University]]. Cornell and Syracuse are both within two hours of Colgate's campus. Colgate and Syracuse were once bitter rivals in football (there are some old traditions related to their games),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archives.syr.edu/exhibits/colgate.html|title=HOODOO! The Syracuse / Colgate Football Rivalry|last=Galvin|first=Hilary|publisher=Archives and Records Management, Syracuse University|access-date=2009-08-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100609174542/http://archives.syr.edu/exhibits/colgate.html|archive-date=2010-06-09|url-status=dead}}</ref> but a variety of factors, including the splitting of Division I football into Division I FBS and Division I FCS in the late 1970s, helped end the annual game, with some exceptions (such as 2010) over the years.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.syracuse.com/today/index.ssf/2009/05/syracuse_lacrosse_to_host_colg.html|title=Syracuse lacrosse to host Colgate in regular-season finale|date=2009-05-01|publisher=Syracuse.com|access-date=2009-08-20}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* {{Official website}}

{{Colgate University}}
{{Patriot League navbox}}
{{ECAC Hockey League}}
{{New York Sports}}

[[Category:Colgate Raiders| ]]


{{NewYork-sport-team-stub}}