- Davenport Panthers
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Davenport Panthers 
University Davenport University Conference(s) Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference NAIA Region VIII Athletics director Paul Lowden Location Caledonia, MI Varsity teams 23 Basketball arena Field House Baseball stadium Baseball Sportsplex Soccer stadium DU Turf Field Other arenas Patterson Ice Center Mascot Pounce the Panthers Nickname Panthers Fight song Colors Red and Black Homepage DU Panthers Athletics The Davenport Panthers are the athletic teams of Davenport University located in Caledonia Township, Michigan. DU is a member of the NAIA and the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference for most sports. In addition to NAIA sports, DU also offers additional sports that the NAIA does not currently sponsor championships for. Men's lacrosse is a member of the MCLA Division II in the Central Collegiate Lacrosse Association;[1] women's lacrosse is a member of the National Women's Lacrosse League (NWLL). Men's rugby competes at the Division I level of USA Rugby's Midwest Rugby Union,[2] as well as a JV team at the DII level. Men's ice hockey competes in the ACHA Division I in the Great Lakes Collegiate Hockey League (GLCHL),[3] as well as a JV team at the ACHA DIII level.
Contents
Sports
Men's athletics
Women's athletics
Men's ice hockey
DU hockey player in an away uniform (2010).
Men's ice hockey is arguably the most storied athletic program at Davenport. From the program's start in 2002 through the 2009-2010 season the program competed in at the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) Division II level in the Great Midwest Hockey League (GMHL). In recent years, Davenport University has become a powerhouse with numerous regular season and tournament championships, but more notably captured three straight Division II National Championships in 2008, 2009, and 2010.[4] As of the conclusion of the 2009-10 season the Panthers have a record of 325-75-13 (.803)[5] Beginning in the 2010-11 season the program will compete at the ACHA Division I level in the Great Lakes Collegiate Hockey League.[3] The team finished their first season at the ACHA DI level with an overall record of 36-10-0 and 15-4-0 in the GLCHL. The season concluded on March 9, 2011 won the ACHA Mens Division I National Championship 3-2 in overtime against two-time defending champions Lindenwood.[6]
Since 2008-2009, DU has fielded two teams with the second/JV team participating at the ACHA Division III level in the Michigan Collegiate Hockey Conference (MCHC).
Lacrosse (M)
Men's lacrosse program began in 2008 and is coached by Bob Clarkson.[7] In 2011, the Panthers defeated the two-time defending champion, St. Thomas 14-9 in the MCLA Division II National Championship game. to win the school's first lacrosse championship. The win concluded a program best record of 18-5. In addition to the 2011 Championship, the Panthers have received bids to the MCLA Division II Tournament three straight seasons in 2009, 2010, and 2011.[7]
Lacrosse (W)
Women's lacrosse joined the NAIA independent National Women's Lacrosse League (NWLL) starting in the 2011-12 academic year. The program began in 2008 as a member of the WDIA Division II in the Women's Collegiate Lacrosse League.[8] In the first four seasons the team complieed a record of at the WDIA club level.
Rugby
Rugby is one of the newest sport offerings by the university, first played in 2009. DU Rugby competes at the Division I level in the Eastern League of the Midwest Rugby Union and is goverened by USA Rugby as the sport is not governed by the NAIA or NCAA.[9] The team opened their inaugural season in September 2009 with a 100-0 shutout win over Wayne State.[10] The Panthers finished the 2009 season with a record of 10-3 and went 7-0 in conference play.[11] Despite a loss to Bowling Green State in the Midwest Rugby Union's Eastern League Tournament, Davenport qualified for the USA Rugby Division 1 National Championship tournament with a come-from-behind 29-27 win over Indiana.[12] In the university's first appearance in the tournament DU entered the 16-team tournament as the 16th seed and only at-large bid.[13] Davenport first shutout Minnesota 27-0 before defeating Kansas State 46-5 in the Regional Championship Round to earn a spot in the USA Rugby Final Four, held in Stanford, California.[14] Davenport then defeated Harvard 62-21 in the D1 National Semifinals to clitch a berth in the championship in only the program's second season of play. In the championship game Davenport defeated UC-Santa Barbara 38-19 to win the USA Rugby Men's Division I Rugby Championship.[15] DU finished the championship season with a record of 15-2 and outscored opponents by a combined score of 595 to 255[16]
Championships
National championships
Ice Hockey (M) 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 Lacrosse (M) 2011 Rugby (M) 2011 Conference championships
i. Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC):
Basketball (W) 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011 Golf (M) 2006, 2007, 2008 Soccer (M) 2005, 2011 Softball 2011 ii. Great Lakes Collegiate Hockey League (GLCHL): 2011
iii. Great Midwest Hockey League (GMHL): 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
iv. Great Lakes Intercollegiate Hockey Association (GLIHA): 2004
v. Midwest Rugby Eastern Conference (MREC): 2011
References
- ^ Staff (May 1, 2010). "Davenport Edges Grove City in CCLA Quarterfinals". laxpower.com. http://www.laxpower.com/laxnews/news.php?story=19936. Retrieved November 23, 2010.
- ^ VanOchten, Brian (July 13, 2010). "Davenport rugby program promoted to Division 1 Eastern Conference". The Grand Rapids Press. http://www.mlive.com/smallcolleges/grandrapids/index.ssf/2010/07/davenport_lacrosse_program_pro.html. Retrieved November 23, 2010.
- ^ a b Staff (November 13, 2010). "All-Michigan GLCHL League To Debut in 2010-2011". American Collegiate Hockey Association. http://achahockey.org/news2.php?news_id=214675&league_id=1066. Retrieved November 23, 2010.
- ^ Staff (March 20, 2010). "Davenport men's hockey club seals third ACHA Division II title in a row with 12-4 win". The Grand Rapids Press.
- ^ "Hockey Records". Davenport University. http://www.dupanthers.com/documents/2010/9/29/Hockey_Miscellaneous_Records.pdf. Retrieved November 23, 2010.
- ^ "2010-2011 ACHA D1 National Champions! Panthers Defeat Lindenwood 3-2". Davenport University. March 9, 2011. http://www.dupanthers.com/news/2011/3/9/MHOCKEY_0309111848.aspx. Retrieved March 9, 2011.
- ^ a b Hanson, Tim (May 31, 2011). MLive.com. http://topics.mlive.com/tag/Bobby%2520Collar/index.html. Retrieved May 31, 2011.
- ^ http://www.womenscollegiatelacrosse.com/
- ^ "Varsity Rugby Team Accepted into Midwest Rugby League". Davenport University. June 12, 2009. http://www.dupanthers.com/news/2009/6/12/061209aaa_688.aspx?path=mrugby. Retrieved September 13, 2011.
- ^ "Ruggers Dominate Wayne State for Program Opening Victory". Davenport University. September 5, 2009. http://www.dupanthers.com/news/2009/9/5/090509aaa_571.aspx?path=mrugby. Retrieved September 13, 2011.
- ^ "2009-10 Men's Rugby Schedule". Davenport University. http://www.dupanthers.com/schedule.aspx?path=mrugby&schedule=239. Retrieved September 13, 2011.
- ^ "Ruggers Earn National Tournament Berth with 29-27 Win over Indiana". Davenport University. November 6, 2010. http://www.dupanthers.com/news/2010/11/6/MRUGBY_1106101426.aspx?path=mrugby. Retrieved September 13, 2011.
- ^ Clifton, Pat (May 14, 2011). "Davenport Wins DI National Title". Rugby Magazine. http://www.rugbymag.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=849:davenport-wins-di-national-title&catid=48:mens-di-college&Itemid=208. Retrieved September 13, 2011.
- ^ "D1 Rugby Advances to Final Four with 46-5 Win over Kansas State". Davenport University. May 1, 2011. http://www.dupanthers.com/news/2011/5/1/MRUGBY_0501112834.aspx?path=mrugby. Retrieved September 13, 2011.
- ^ Chaney, Jeff (May 14, 2011). "Davenport rugby team beats University of California-Santa Barbara for national title". Mlive.com (The Grand Rapids Press). http://www.mlive.com/sports/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2011/05/davenport_rugby_team_beats_uni.html. Retrieved September 13, 2011.
- ^ "2010-11 Men's Rugby Schedule". Davenport University. http://www.dupanthers.com/schedule.aspx?path=mrugby&schedule=297. Retrieved September 13, 2011.
External links
Categories:- College sports in Michigan
- Sports in Grand Rapids, Michigan
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