Wooster Fighting Scots
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The Wooster Fighting Scots are the athletics teams of the College of Wooster, located in Wooster, Ohio. The university is member of the Division III level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA),[1] competing in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC).[2]
History
Wooster's athletic history dates back to its first baseball team, in 1880, which played only one game, losing 12–2 to Kenyon College. The football program was established in 1889; over its first two seasons, the team won all seven games it played, by a total score of 306–4. Included was a 64–0 victory at Ohio State on November 1, 1890, in the Buckeyes' first-ever home football game.[3] Shortly thereafter, intercollegiate sports were banned by the College President.[4]
After varsity athletics returned in 1901, Wooster became an early member of the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC). In 1983, Wooster (along with the rest of the Ohio Five) broke away from the OAC to form the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC). The NCAC, which competes at the non-scholarship Division III level of the NCAA, was founded primarily on the principle of offering women equal opportunity to participate in varsity sports.[5] In its first season of competition, 1984–85, the NCAC sponsored 21 sports, eleven for men and ten for women. Women's softball was added in 1998, and women's golf in 2010, giving the NCAC its current 23 sports. Wooster fields varsity athletic teams in all 23 of these sports.
Varsity sports
| width= 150px style="Template:CollegePrimaryStyle"| Men's sports | width= 150px style="Template:CollegePrimaryStyle"| Women's sports |
|---|---|
| Baseball | Basketball |
| Basketball | Cross country |
| Cross country | Field hockey |
| Football | Golf |
| Golf | Lacrosse |
| Lacrosse | Soccer |
| Soccer | Softball |
| Swimming | Swimming |
| Tennis | Tennis |
| Track and field | Track and field |
| Volleyball |
Baseball
The baseball team has made five appearances in the NCAA Division III World Series, including second-place finishes in 2009 and 1997. Wooster has made 23 appearances in the NCAA baseball tournament under head coach Tim Pettorini, who has led the Scots since 1982. Pettorini has guided the Scots to over 1,100 victories, placing him in the all-time top ten among D-III baseball coaches, and the winningest active coach as of 2017.[6] The Scots have also won a conference-record seventeen NCAC championships, most recently in 2017, under Pettorini. Prior to Pettorini's tenure, Bob Morgan led the Scots to the NCAA tournament in each of his final five seasons, giving Wooster a total of 25 appearances since the event began in 1976. During the first decade of the 21st century, the Scots had a record of 372–98, winning more games than any other team in Division III, and were second in winning percentage over that span, trailing only The College of St. Scholastica. Following his graduation in 2010, All-American second baseman Matthew Johnson signed with the Toronto Blue Jays organization, and played for four seasons in their minor-league system.
Basketball
Long-time head men's basketball coach Steve Moore has won over 700 games at Wooster, and in 2017 became the second-winningest coach all-time in NCAA Division III. His teams have won 17 NCAC championships and have made 24 appearances in the NCAA Men's Division III Basketball Championship,[7] including a record 14 in a row from 2003 through 2016. The team reached the national semifinals ("Final Four") of the NCAA D-III Tournament in 2003, 2007, and 2011. The 2011 team set a school record for victories, with a record of 31–3, and reached the national championship game before falling to St. Thomas (Minnesota). The 2003 team was close behind at 30–3, with center Bryan Nelson named D-III Men's Basketball Player of the Year. Home games are contested in the 3,400-seat Timken Gym,[8] which is often filled to capacity for big games, including the rivalry contest with Wittenberg University and post-season tournaments. Since 2000, the Scots have been in the top ten in D-III basketball attendance every year, ranking second in some seasons, with over 2,000 fans per home game.[9]
Football
Charles Follis, the first black professional football player, attended the University of Wooster and starred on the baseball team before signing with the Shelby Athletic Club to play professional football in 1902. Wooster was the last State of Ohio team not to be beaten by Ohio State, when it tied the Buckeyes at home on November 1, 1924. (as of 2018)
The football team's greatest success occurred between 1916 and 1934; during this era, Wooster had a record of 118–31–12,[10] and won four outright OAC championships.[11] The 1934 title would be the Scots' last outright conference championship for 70 years, with only a trio of shared conference titles (1959/1970 OAC and 1997 NCAC) during that time.
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Jack Lengyel, who is known for becoming Marshall's head coach following the airplane crash that killed their head coach, coached Wooster for five seasons before accepting the Marshall job. In 2004, the team recorded a perfect 10–0 regular season and won its first outright NCAC conference championship, as well as its first NCAA D-III football tournament game. The 2004 team was led by senior All-American running back Tony Sutton, who set multiple NCAA Division III career rushing records and was a 2004 finalist for the Gagliardi Trophy, the D-III equivalent of the Heisman Trophy. From 1995 through 2008, Wooster's record was 99–43, making this the most successful era since World War II. In 2009, lights and artificial turf were added to the Scots' 4,500-seat John Papp stadium. The first-ever nighttime football game at Wooster was played on October 10, 2009, against Case Western Reserve University, with Case retaining the Baird Brothers Trophy by virtue of a 53–32 victory over the Scots.
Other sports
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In the early 2000s, the women's field hockey and women's lacrosse teams each won multiple NCAC championships, earning automatic bids to their national NCAA D-III tournaments. The only national championship won by a Wooster athletic team came in 1975, when the men's golf team won the NCAA D-III title. They also have two world class, competitive ultimate frisbee teams: the Tippers and the Hawks.
Academic All-Americans
Since 2000, Scots have been named Academic All-Americans 32 times by College Sports Information Directors of America, in the college division, which includes NCAA Division II and Division III institutions, as well as NAIA schools, a total of over 1,000 colleges.
Facilities
The Scot Center is the recreation center for students and alumni at the college.[12] Construction was completed in January 2012 at a cost of roughly 30 million dollars.[13] Home to the Fighting Scots, the center offers a wide assortment of fitness equipment available to both college athletes and the community. It was built to improve athletics and overall fitness at the college.
facility includes four intramural courts for basketball, tennis, and volleyball, a 200-meter running track, equipment for indoor baseball practice, and an indoor golf simulator.
The previous recreation facility for the college, Armington Physical Education Center (the PEC), was adequate. However, an increased demand for high-end facilities pressured the administration and the board of trustees to build the Scot Center. The 123,000 square-foot facility houses four intramural courts for basketball, tennis and volleyball that are put to use daily.[14]
| width= 200px style="Template:CollegePrimaryStyle"| Venue | width= 150px style="Template:CollegePrimaryStyle"| Sport(s) | width= px style="Template:CollegePrimaryStyle"| Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| John P. Papp Stadium | Football Track and field Template:Refn |
[12] |
| Art Murray Field | Baseball | [12] |
| Timken Gymnasium Template:Refn | Basketball Volleyball |
[12] |
| Carl Dale Field | Soccer | [12] |
| Galpin Park | Softball | [12] |
| Timken Natatorium | Swimming | [12] |
| Wooster Tennis Courts | Tennis | [12] |
| Scot Center Template:Refn | (various) Template:Refn | [12] |
| L.C. Boles Course Template:Refn | Golf | [12] |
- Notes
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References
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- ↑ College of Wooster at NCAA.com
- ↑ College of Wooster at NCAC Conference
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- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Facilities at Wooster athletics
- ↑ "The Scot Center." - College of Wooster. Web. April 27, 2012.
- ↑ Baker, Becky."Scot Center taking shape."Daily Record October 18, 2010, ProQuest Newsstand, ProQuest. Web. April 5, 2012.
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External links
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