George Mason Patriots
Encyclopedia
The George Mason Patriots are the athletic teams of George Mason University
George Mason University
George Mason University is a public university based in unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, south of and adjacent to the city of Fairfax. Additional campuses are located nearby in Arlington County, Prince William County, and Loudoun County...

. 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
Colonial Athletic Association
The Colonial Athletic Association is a NCAA Division I college athletic conference whose full-time members are located in East Coast states from Massachusetts to Georgia. Most of its members are public universities, with five in Virginia alone, and the conference is headquartered in Richmond,...

, which they were a founding member of in 1985.

History

The Patriots began to move from NAIA
National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics is an athletic association that organizes college and university-level athletic programs. Membership in the NAIA consists of smaller colleges and universities across the United States. The NAIA allows colleges and universities outside the USA...

 and NCAA Division II status into the NCAA Division I ranks with men’s basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 in the 1978-79 season. According to the History of George Mason basketball
History of George Mason basketball
George Mason Patriots men's basketball program has a long history. Since Masons founding in 1957, basketball and athletics as a whole have contributed significantly to George Mason's popularity and success. The Patriots are the mascot and logo of George Mason University. The Patriots home court for...

, both the mens and women's 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
Lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...

 (1993-94), women’s rowing
Sport rowing
Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...

 (1997-98) and men’s and women’s swimming
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...

 & diving
Diving
Diving is the sport of jumping or falling into water from a platform or springboard, sometimes while performing acrobatics. Diving is an internationally-recognized sport that is part of the Olympic Games. In addition, unstructured and non-competitive diving is a recreational pastime.Diving is one...

 (1999-2000). In addition, George Mason has fielded a 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
    College baseball
    College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. Compared to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a less significant contribution to cultivating professional players, as the minor leagues primarily...

  • Basketball
    College basketball
    College basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....

  • Cross Country Running
    Cross country running
    Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...


  • Golf
    Golf
    Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....

  • Track and Field
    Track and field
    Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...

     (Indoor and Outdoor)
  • Soccer
    College soccer
    College soccer is a term used to describe association football played by teams who are operated by colleges and universities as opposed to a professional league operated for exclusively financial purposes...

  • Swimming and Diving
    Swimming (sport)
    Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...

  • Tennis
    Tennis
    Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...

  • Volleyball
    Volleyball
    Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...

  • Wrestling
    Collegiate wrestling
    Collegiate wrestling, sometimes known in the United States as Folkstyle wrestling, is a style of amateur wrestling practised at the collegiate and university level in the United States. Collegiate wrestling emerged from the folk wrestling styles practised in the early history of the United States...



Women's
  • Basketball
    College basketball
    College basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....

  • Cross Country Running
    Cross country running
    Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...

  • Track and Field
    Track and field
    Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...

     (Indoor and Outdoor)
  • Lacrosse
    Lacrosse
    Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...

  • Rowing
    Rowing (sport)
    Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...

  • Soccer
    College soccer
    College soccer is a term used to describe association football played by teams who are operated by colleges and universities as opposed to a professional league operated for exclusively financial purposes...

  • Softball
    College softball
    College softball is softball as played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education, predominantly in the United States. College softball is normally played by women at the intercollegiate level, whereas college baseball is normally played by men.As with other intercollegiate...

  • Swimming and Diving
    Swimming (sport)
    Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...

  • Tennis
    Tennis
    Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...

  • Volleyball
    Volleyball
    Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...



Club Sports

In addition to its NCAA Division 1 sports, George Mason fields club teams in the following sports.http://recsports.gmu.edu/club-sports
  • Bowling
    Bowling
    Bowling Bowling Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule...

  • Crew
    Crew
    A crew is a body or a class of people who work at a common activity, generally in a structured or hierarchical organization. A location in which a crew works is called a crewyard or a workyard...

  • Baseball
    Baseball
    Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

     (club)
  • Equestrian
    Equestrianism
    Equestrianism more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding refers to the skill of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses...

  • Fencing
    Fencing
    Fencing, which is also known as modern fencing to distinguish it from historical fencing, is a family of combat sports using bladed weapons.Fencing is one of four sports which have been featured at every one of the modern Olympic Games...

  • Field Hockey
    Field hockey
    Field Hockey, or Hockey, is a team sport in which a team of players attempts to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking a ball into an opposing team's goal using sticks...

  • Football
    American football
    American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

     (Varsity Club)
  • Ice hockey
    Ice hockey
    Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

  • Lacrosse
    Lacrosse
    Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...

     (club)
  • Rugby
    Rugby football
    Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...

  • Soccer (club)
  • Swimming
    Swimming (sport)
    Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...

     (club)
  • Synchronized Swimming
    Synchronized swimming
    Synchronized swImming is a hybrid form of swimming, dance and gymnastics, consisting of swimmers performing a synchronized routine of elaborate moves in the water, accompanied by music....

  • Tennis
    Tennis
    Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...

  • Trap and skeet
  • Ultimate Frisbee
  • Underwater Hockey
    Underwater hockey
    Underwater hockey is a global non-contact sport in which two teams compete to maneuver a puck across the bottom of a swimming pool into goals.-Play:...

  • Men's Volleyball

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, 1996


Women's
  • Soccer, 1985, defeating perennial power North Carolina
    University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
    The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...



NCAA Tournament Appearances

Men's
  • Basketball (6), 1989
    1989 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
    The 1989 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 16, 1989, and ended with the championship game on April 3 in Seattle, Washington...

    , 1999
    1999 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
    The 1999 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 11, 1999, and ended with the championship game on March 29 at Tropicana Field in St....

    , 2001
    2001 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
    The 2001 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 65 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 13, 2001 with the play-in game, and ended with the championship game on April 2 in...

    , 2006
    2006 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
    The 2006 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 65 schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball as a culmination of the 2005–06 basketball season...

    , 2008
    2008 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
    The 2008 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 65 schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball as a culmination of the 2007–08 basketball season...

    , 2011
    2011 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
    The following sites were selected to host each round of the 2011 tournament:First Four*March 15 and 16**University of Dayton Arena, Dayton, OhioSecond and third rounds*March 17 and 19**Verizon Center, Washington, D.C....

  • Volleyball (3)
  • Soccer
  • Baseball


Women's
  • Soccer
  • Volleyball


Colonial Athletic Association Titles

Mason athletes have captured 280 individual CAA championships.
Men's
  • Baseball (2)
  • Basketball (4) Regular Season Championships and (4) Conference Tournament Championships
  • 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
Patriot Center
The Patriot Center is a 10,000-seat arena in Fairfax, Virginia. It is located on the campus of George Mason University , and has attracted 9.6 million people to over 2,958 events. In 2010, the Patriot Center was ranked No. 7 nationwide and No...

 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
NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...

 six times (1989
1989 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 1989 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 16, 1989, and ended with the championship game on April 3 in Seattle, Washington...

, 1999
1999 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 1999 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 11, 1999, and ended with the championship game on March 29 at Tropicana Field in St....

, 2001
2001 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 2001 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 65 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 13, 2001 with the play-in game, and ended with the championship game on April 2 in...

, 2006
2006 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 2006 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 65 schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball as a culmination of the 2005–06 basketball season...

, 2008
2008 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 2008 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 65 schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball as a culmination of the 2007–08 basketball season...

, and 2011
2011 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The following sites were selected to host each round of the 2011 tournament:First Four*March 15 and 16**University of Dayton Arena, Dayton, OhioSecond and third rounds*March 17 and 19**Verizon Center, Washington, D.C....

) and the NIT tournament
National Invitation Tournament
The National Invitation Tournament is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. There are two NIT events each season. The first, played in November and known as the Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off , was founded in 1985...

 four times (1986, 2002, 2004 and 2009). 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
Old Dominion University
Old Dominion University is a state university located in Norfolk, Virginia, United States, and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools...

, Virginia Commonwealth
Virginia Commonwealth University
Virginia Commonwealth University is a public university located in Richmond, Virginia. It comprises two campuses in the Downtown Richmond area, the product of a merger between the Richmond Professional Institute and the Medical College of Virginia in 1968...

, James Madison
James Madison University
James Madison University is a public coeducational research university located in Harrisonburg, Virginia, U.S. Founded in 1908 as the State Normal and Industrial School for Women at Harrisonburg, the university has undergone four name changes before settling with James Madison University...

, and Hofstra
Hofstra University
Hofstra University is a private, nonsectarian institution of higher learning located in the Village of Hempstead, New York, United States, about east of New York City: less than an hour away by train or car...

.

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
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...

 legend David Robinson
David Robinson (basketball)
David Maurice Robinson is a retired American NBA basketball player, who played center for the San Antonio Spurs for his entire NBA career. Based on his prior service as an officer in the United States Navy, Robinson earned the nickname "The Admiral". He and teammate power forward Tim Duncan were...

 for winning the award three straight times. Other Patriot standouts include Andre Gaddy, Carlos Yates
Carlos Yates
Carlos Yates was an American former college basketball player for George Mason University.-College career:Yates began his collegiate career at George Mason and remained with the team all four years. He was the Eastern College Athletic Conference's Rookie of the Year in 1982 and its Co-Player of...

, Kenny Sanders
Kenny Sanders
Kenny Sanders is an American former college basketball player for George Mason University. He was the Colonial Athletic Association's Rookie of the Year in 1986 and its Player of the Year in 1988...

, Curtis McCants, Nate Langley, Robert Dykes, Robert Rose
Robert Rose
Robert Rose may refer to:* Robert E. Rose, Lieutenant Governor of Nevada* Robert L. Rose, U.S. Representative from New York* Robert S. Rose , U.S...

, Jason Miskiri
Jason Miskiri
Jason Miskiri is an Guyanese professional basketball player.Miskiri attended George Mason University and Montgomery College. He played one game for the National Basketball Association's Charlotte Hornets during the 1999-2000 NBA season.-External links:**...

, Jai Lewis
Jai Lewis
Jai Lamar Lewis is an American basketball player who currently plays in Japan for Rera Kamuy Hokkaido.-College career:...

, Lamar Butler
Lamar Butler
Lamar Edward Butler, Jr. is an American basketball player for the Reno Bighorns of the NBA Development League. He was a starting guard for the Patriots of George Mason University during the Patriots' surprising run to the Final Four...

, Tony Skinn
Tony Skinn
Tony Oludewa Jeffrey Skinn was a college basketball player who was a starting guard for the George Mason University Patriots.-College career:...

, Gabe Norwood
Gabe Norwood
Gabriel Daniel Norwood also known as Gabe Norwood is a Filipino-American professional basketball player and a former NCAA basketball player at George Mason University. Norwood is currently playing for the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in the Philippine Basketball Association...

, Folarin Campbell
Folarin Campbell
Folarin Yaovi Campbell is a Nigerian-American basketball player who played for the George Mason Patriots. Campbell started at guard for the Patriots, including during his sophomore season when the Patriots made their improbable run to the NCAA Tournament's Final Four in 2006.Campbell is a former...

, and Will Thomas
Will Thomas (basketball)
William Benson Thomas is an American former college basketball player for George Mason University.-College career:As a starter in his sophomore year, Thomas was part of the 2005-06 Mason Final Four team. During his college career, Thomas was named to the Colonial Athletic Association's All-CAA...

.

Men's Soccer

Men’s soccer was one of the first varsity sports to be offered when the then George Mason College began its athletic program in the late 1960s. Since then, it has become one of the most successful programs among the 22 NCAA Division I sports currently offered. In the 39-year history of George Mason soccer, the program has a record of 377-264-76 for a winning percentage of .579. The Patriots have posted at least 10 victories in 23 of those seasons,
including 14 in a row from 1980-93, and they have finished a season nationally ranked nine times (1981, '82, '84, '85, '87, '88, '90, '92 and '96) in the last 24 years. At George Mason Stadium
George Mason Stadium
George Mason Stadium is a 5,000-seat stadium in Fairfax, Virginia on the campus of George Mason University. It serves as the home to George Mason's soccer and lacrosse teams....

, the team’s 5,000-seat home field which opened for the 1982 season, the Patriots have a record of 140-61-26 (.674 winning percentage). The men's team has reached the NCAA Men's Division I Soccer Championship seven times (1985, '86, '87, '89, '90, '96, 2006
2006 Division I Men's College Cup
The 2006 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship was a tournament of 48 teams from NCAA Division I who played for the NCAA Championship in soccer. The College Cup Final Four was held at Hermann Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri. All the other games were played at the home field of the higher-seeded...

 and 2008
2008 Division I Men's College Cup
The 2008 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship was a tournament of 48 teams from NCAA Division I who played for the NCAA Championship in soccer. The College Cup for the final four teams was held at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas. All the other games were played at the home field of the...

). Notable former players include Joe Addo
Joe Addo
Joseph Addo is a former Ghanaian football defender and one-time captain of the Ghana national team.- Career :Addo went to the United States to attend college and play soccer at George Mason University...

, Denis Hamlett
Denis Hamlett
Denis Hamlett is a Costa Rican former professional soccer player. He has also served as an assistant coach and manager in Major League Soccer....

, Ritchie Kotschau
Ritchie Kotschau
Richard Scott Kotschau is a former American soccer player who last played as a defender for the Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer.-Career:...

, Bob Lilley
Bob Lilley
Robert "Bob" Lilley is an American former soccer player and head coach. He has managed the Hershey Wildcats, Montreal Impact, Vancouver Whitecaps, Detroit Ignition, and Rochester Rhinos....

, Tamir Linhart
Tamir Linhart
Tamir Linhart is a former professional and college soccer player.Linhart played professionally for 7 years for Hapoel Tel Aviv of the Israeli Premier League. He was a member of the two-time championship team and qualified with Hapoel Tel Aviv for the UEFA Cup...

, Anthony Noreiga
Anthony Noreiga
Anthony Noreiga is a Trinidadian footballer with Joe Public F.C.. Noreiga joined the Trinidad and Tobago national football team for the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup. He attended George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia for university.Prior to this he attended University of Mobile. He is from South...

, John O'Hara
John O'Hara (soccer)
John Gerard O'Hara is an Irish football player, currently assistant coach for the George Mason University soccer teams.-Youth:...

, Mark Pulisic
Mark Pulisic
Mark Pulisic is a former U.S. soccer forward and currently director of soccer operations of the Detroit Ignition of the Major Indoor Soccer League.-College:Pulisic attended George Mason University where he played soccer from 1986 to 1989...

, Conor Shanosky
Conor Shanosky
Conor Shanosky is an American soccer player currently playing for Harrisburg City Islanders in the USL Professional Division on loan from D.C. United.-Professional:...

, and Brent Brockman
Brent Brockman
Brent Brockman is an American soccer player currently playing for F.C. New York in the USL Professional Division.-College:...

.

External links

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