George Mason Patriots

Infobox college athletics
name = George Mason Patriots

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university = George Mason University
conference = Colonial Athletic Association
division = Division I
director = Tom O'Connor
city = Fairfax
state = Virginia
stateabb = VA
teams = 22
stadium = George Mason Stadium
arena = Patriot Center
mascot = Gunston
nickname = Patriots
color1 = Green
color2 = Gold
hex1 = 008000
hex2 = FFCC00
pageurl = http://www.GoMason.com/
pagename = GoMason.com

The George Mason Patriots are the athletic teams of George Mason University. The school's athletic program includes 22 NCAA Division I varsity sports, consisting of 11 men's and 11 women's teams. They compete in the Colonial Athletic Association, of which they were a founding member of in 1985. Their mascot is Gunston the Patriot, a furry creature who is seen mostly in basketball games wearing a George Mason jersey and a three-sided hat. He is named after Gunston Hall, the home of Founding Father and school namesake George Mason.

History

The Patriots began to move from NAIA and NCAA Division II status into the NCAA Division I ranks with men’s basketball in the 1978-79 season. According to the History of George Mason basketball, both the mens and womens basketball program have been fixtures of campus life. Within a few years, all other sports also were elevated to Division I status. George Mason reached its current level of 20 varsity sports with the addition of women’s lacrosse (1993-94), women’s rowing (1997-98) and men’s and women’s swimming & diving (1999-2000). In addition, George Mason has fielded a [http://www.gmufootball.gmu.edu/ varsity club football team] since 1993 that competes intercollegiately. Their opponents range from other club teams to NCAA Division I-FCS programs.

Athletic teams

Men's
* Baseball
* Basketball
* Cross Country Running
* Football
* Golf
* Track and Field (Indoor and Outdoor)
* Soccer
* Swimming and Diving
* Tennis
* Volleyball
* WrestlingWomen's
* Basketball
* Cross Country Running
* Track and Field (Indoor and Outdoor)
* Lacrosse
* Rowing
* Soccer
* Softball
* Swimming and Diving
* Tennis
* Volleyball

Championships and titles

National Championships

23 George Mason student-athletes have claimed 35 individual national championships and 13 George Mason teams have made more than 117 NCAA postseason appearances since the school opened.Men's
* Indoor Track & Field, 1996Women's
* Soccer, 1985, defeating perennial power North Carolina

NCAA Tournament Appearances

Men's
* Basketball (5), 1989, 1999, 2001, 2006, 2008
* Volleyball (3)
* Soccer
* BaseballWomen's
* Soccer
* Volleyball

Colonial Athletic Association Titles

Mason athletes have captured 280 individual CAA championships.Men's
* Baseball (2)
* Basketball (4)
* Soccer (4)
* Track & field (3)
* Wrestling (5)Women's
* Cross Country (4)
* Soccer (1)
* Swimming & Diving (4)
* Track & Field (9) (all consecutive from 1990-1998)
* Volleyball (7, including 5 in a row from 1992-1996)

Men's basketball

While many of the school's athletic programs have had historical seasons, the men's basketball program remains the flagship sport at the University. The men's basketball team has played at the Patriot Center since 1985 and played the prior years in the PE Building on the west side of the Fairfax Campus. The men's basketball team has made the NCAA tournament five times (1989, 1999, 2001, 2006, and 2008) and the NIT tournament three times (1986, 2002 and 2004). The Patriot basketball team is most famous for its 2006 NCAA run to the Final Four. GMU beat perennial powers UNC, Connecticut, and Michigan State, as well as a highly ranked Wichita State team, before losing to eventual National Champion Florida in the Final Four.

The program's largest rivals include conference foes UNC Wilmington, Old Dominion, Virginia Commonwealth, James Madison, and Hofstra.

The best-known player in Patriots history is George Evans, a Gulf War veteran who played from 1997–2001 and was a CAA player of year three consecutive seasons. He shares the CAA record with NBA legend David Robinson for winning the award three straight times. Other Patriot standouts include Andre Gaddy, Carlos Yates, Kenny Sanders, Curtis McCants, Nate Langley, Robert Dykes, Robert Rose, Jason Miskiri, Jai Lewis, Lamar Butler, Tony Skinn, Gabe Norwood, Folarin Campbell, and Will Thomas.

2005-06 season and the Final Four

The Patriots enjoyed their best season in 2006 when they won a school-record 23 games in the regular season, and for one week were even ranked in the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 for the first time. Head coach Jim Larranaga, who began his stint at George Mason in 1997, also became the CAA's all-time leader in coaching victories and was named the winner of the 2006 Clair Bee Coach of the Year Award [ [http://gazette.gmu.edu/articles/8158/ Coach Larranaga Receives Clair Bee Coach of the Year Award] ] on march 31, 2006, and the Virginia Coach of the Year on June 26, 2006, the same day he was nominated for an ESPY award. [ [http://gomason.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/062606aae.html Larranaga Named Virginia Coach of the Year] ] Although the team lost to Hofstra during the CAA tournament, George Mason were still able to grab an at-large bid in the NCAA tournament. This marks the first time in which the Patriots earned an at-large bid and the first time in 20 years in which the CAA sent two teams to the tournament (the other being conference tournament winner UNC Wilmington).

The at-large selection of teams from mid-major conferences (which included George Mason) to the tournament was criticized by media personalities, most notably Billy Packer. In the case of George Mason, this was possibly because of the absence of Tony Skinn, who was suspended for one game by the Patriots for punching Hofstra guard Loren Stokes in the groin during the CAA tournament semifinal loss. Moreover, many believed that Hofstra, who didn't get invited to the tournament despite of the fact that they beat the Patriots twice in a span of ten days, deserved to get in instead of them. Nevertheless, the Patriots entered the tournament as an 11th seed and defeated the 6th seeded Michigan State Spartans behind strong play from Jai Lewis.

In their second round matchup against the defending champion North Carolina, the Patriots were once again unbelievable underdogs. After falling in a 16–2 hole early in the game, the team was able to bounce back and win the game, 65–60. Their next game was against another mid-major, the Wichita State Shockers. George Mason jumped out to a big early lead, and the Shockers were not able to overcome. The Patriots won, 63–55.

Their Elite Eight matchup found themselves facing the Connectucit Huskies, a team that was noticed as the favorite to win it all the entire season. The Patriots were able to defeat the top-seeded Huskies, 86–84 in overtime, in what is recognized as one of the most memorable games in tournament history. The Patriots were the first team out of the CAA to reach the Final Four and also became the second team to reach it as a two-digit (11th) seed (the other being the LSU Tigers in 1986, also an 11th seed). Finally, they became the first mid-major team to reach the Final Four since 1979, when both the Penn Quakers (#9 seed) and the Larry Bird-led Indiana State Sycamores (#1 seed) advanced that far.

George Mason's Cinderella story ended in Indianapolis, when eventual national champion Florida defeated them 73–58 in the national semifinals on April 1 2006. Despite their loss, many sports analysts consider their performance in the 2006 tourney to be the best run by a mid-major in tournament history. In the final rankings of 2005-2006 season, the USA Today/ESPN poll ranked the Patriots eighth in the nation—their highest rank to date.

2006-07 Season

George Mason suffered through a mediocre 2006-07 campaign, having lost three of their starters from the Final Four team. The Patriots failed to beat the top four teams in the CAA during the regular season and sat in the middle of the conference for the majority of the season, finishing 6th with a record of 15-14.

However, George Mason rebounded in the CAA Tournament, defeating James Madison and league powers Hofstra and Old Dominion on its way to the conference championship game against VCU. Although they had a 57–51 lead late in the game, George Mason ended up losing the game to the Rams, 65-59, ending their chances of the NCAA tournament.

References

External links

* [http://gomason.cstv.com Official George Mason athletics site]
* [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/sports/colleges/georgemason/index.html Washington Post] – George Mason sports
* [http://hoops.gmu.edu Mason Basketball Digital Memory Bank]
* [http://masonstudents.com MasonStudents.com] – Student-run Discussion Forum
* [http://masonhoops.com Masonhoops.com] – fan discussion board
* [http://georgemasonbasketball.blogspot.com George Mason Basketball Blog]