Providence Friars
Encyclopedia
The Providence Friars is the name of the athletic teams of Providence College
. They compete in the Big East Conference
(NCAA Division I) for every sport except for ice hockey
, where they compete in Hockey East
and in women's volleyball
, where they compete in the America East Conference
. The Big East Conference was founded in 1979 by former athletic director and men's basketball coach Dave Gavitt
, and the current commissioner is former athletic director John Marinatto
.
The school's men's and women's sports teams are called the Friar
s, after the Dominican Order
that runs the school. They are the only collegiate team to use the name.
Overall, the program consists of 19 varsity
sports, seven for men and ten for women: men's and women's basketball
, men's and women's cross country
, field hockey
, men's and women's ice hockey, men's lacrosse
, men's and women's soccer, softball
, men's and women's swimming
and diving
, women's tennis
, men's and women's track and field
, and women's volleyball
. The lacrosse team competed in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
through the 2009 season before joining the newly-created Big East lacrosse league for 2010.
Former sports include football
, which was offered from 1921 until World War II
in 1941, and baseball
, which was dropped due to Title IX
in 1999. Other dropped sports include men's tennis and men's golf
.
The school's biggest rivalries are Boston University
and Boston College
in hockey and UConn
and URI
in the school's other sports, especially in soccer, swimming and diving, and basketball.
In August 2005, the school opened an artificial turf
field for its lacrosse and field hockey programs adjacent to the Peterson Recreation Center; underneath the field is a parking garage.
In December 2005, the Rhode Island Convention Center Authority purchased the Dunkin' Donuts Center from the city of Providence and spent $80 million on an extensive renovation. Major elements of the construction included a significantly expanded lobby and concourse, an enclosed pedestrian bridge from the Rhode Island Convention Center, a new center-hung LED
video display board, a new restaurant, 20 luxury suites, four new bathrooms, and all-new seats with cupholders in the arena bowl. Behind-the-scenes improvements included a new HVAC
system, ice chiller, and a first-of-its-kind fire suppression system. These renovations were completed in October 2008.
In 2006, Schneider Arena underwent a refurbishment that included new seats and renovated training rooms, locker rooms, and offices.
In 2007, the Concannon Fitness Center was built between Alumni Hall and the Peterson Recreation Center, and included the Jimmy Walker
Strength and Conditioning Center for student-athletes. At the same time, improvements were made to Alumni Hall, including the opening of the Canavan Sports Medicine Center, the Helen Bert Student Athlete Lounge, and the Joe Calabria Hallway of Legends. Mullaney Gymnasium, inside Alumni Hall, was also refurbished during this time, including a new floor, scoreboard, locker rooms, and offices for the basketball programs and athletic department.
Providence College
Providence College is a private, coeducational, Catholic university located about two miles west of downtown Providence, Rhode Island, United States, the state's capital city. With a 2010–2011 enrollment of 3,850 undergraduate students and 735 graduate students, the College specializes in academic...
. They compete in the Big East Conference
Big East Conference
The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletics conference consisting of sixteen universities in the eastern half of the United States. The conference's 17 members participate in 24 NCAA sports...
(NCAA Division I) for every sport except for 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...
, where they compete in Hockey East
Hockey East
Hockey East Association is a NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey conference which operates in New England. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference....
and in women's 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...
, where they compete in the America East Conference
America East Conference
The America East Conference is a NCAA Division I college athletic conference whose members are located mainly in the northeastern United States. The conference was known as the ECAC North from 1979 to 1988 and the North Atlantic Conference from the fall semester of 1988 to the end of the spring...
. The Big East Conference was founded in 1979 by former athletic director and men's basketball coach Dave Gavitt
Dave Gavitt
David "Dave" Gavitt was a American college basketball coach and athletic director at Providence College in Providence, Rhode Island...
, and the current commissioner is former athletic director John Marinatto
John Marinatto
John Marinatto is the commissioner of the Big East Conference. He served as senior associate commissioner of the Big East from 2002 until he began his tenure as third commissioner of the conference on July 1, 2009....
.
The school's men's and women's sports teams are called the Friar
Friar
A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders.-Friars and monks:...
s, after the Dominican Order
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
that runs the school. They are the only collegiate team to use the name.
Overall, the program consists of 19 varsity
Varsity team
In the United States and Canada, varsity sports teams are the principal athletic teams representing a college, university, high school or other secondary school. Such teams compete against the principal athletic teams at other colleges/universities, or in the case of secondary schools, against...
sports, seven for men and ten for women: men's and women'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...
, men's and women's cross country
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...
, 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...
, men's and women's ice hockey, men'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...
, men's and women's soccer, softball
Softball
Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
, 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...
and 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...
, women's 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...
, men's and women's 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...
, and women's 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...
. The lacrosse team competed in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference is a college athletic conference which operates in the northeastern United States. MAAC teams compete in the NCAA's Division I. Most of the members are Catholic or formerly Catholic institutions; the only exception is the private but secular Rider...
through the 2009 season before joining the newly-created Big East lacrosse league for 2010.
Former sports include 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...
, which was offered from 1921 until World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in 1941, and 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...
, which was dropped due to Title IX
Title IX
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is a United States law, enacted on June 23, 1972, that amended Title IX of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In 2002 it was renamed the Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act, in honor of its principal author Congresswoman Mink, but is most...
in 1999. Other dropped sports include men's tennis and men's 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....
.
The school's biggest rivalries are Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
and Boston College
Boston College
Boston College is a private Jesuit research university located in the village of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA. The main campus is bisected by the border between the cities of Boston and Newton. It has 9,200 full-time undergraduates and 4,000 graduate students. Its name reflects its early...
in hockey and UConn
University of Connecticut
The admission rate to the University of Connecticut is about 50% and has been steadily decreasing, with about 28,000 prospective students applying for admission to the freshman class in recent years. Approximately 40,000 prospective students tour the main campus in Storrs annually...
and URI
University of Rhode Island
The University of Rhode Island is the principal public research university in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. Its main campus is located in Kingston. Additional campuses include the Feinstein Campus in Providence, the Narragansett Bay Campus in Narragansett, and the W. Alton Jones Campus in West...
in the school's other sports, especially in soccer, swimming and diving, and basketball.
Athletic facilities
All home games are played on-campus, with the exception of men's basketball:- Dunkin' Donuts CenterDunkin' Donuts CenterThe Dunkin' Donuts Center , is an indoor arena, located in downtown Providence, Rhode Island, United States...
– the home court for men's basketball, located in downtown Providence; opened in 1972, known as the Providence Civic Center until 2001 - Alumni HallAlumni Hall (Providence)Alumni Hall is the on-campus basketball gymnasium at Providence College in Providence, Rhode Island. It was built in 1955 and was the home court for the school's men's basketball program until 1972...
– the home court (Mullaney Gymnasium since 2001) for women's basketball; opened in 1955; home of men's basketball until 1972; also contains administrative offices for athletics and the Canavan Sports Medicine Center (opened in 2008) - Schneider ArenaSchneider ArenaSchneider Arena is a 3,030-seat hockey arena in Providence, Rhode Island. It is home to the Providence College Friars men's and women's ice hockey teams....
– the home ice rink for men's and women's hockey; opened in 1973 - Taylor Natatorium – located in the Peterson Recreation Center adjacent to Alumni Hall; home to the Providence College men's and women's swimming & diving programs; the vast majority of Providence's varsity athletic programs also use the facility for strength and conditioning workouts
- Jimmy WalkerJimmy Walker (basketball)James "Jimmy" Walker was an American professional basketball player. A 6'3" guard, he played nine seasons in the NBA as a member of the Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets, and Kansas City Kings. Walker was a two-time All-Star who scored 11,655 points in his career...
Strength and Conditioning Center – located in the Concannon Fitness Center; opened in 2007; used by varsity athletes only - Glay Field – home field for men's and women's soccer; opened in 1976
- Raymond Field – home field for softball; opened in 2001
- Lennon Family Field – home field for field hockey and lacrosse; opened in 2005; also used for club and intramural sportsIntramural sportsIntramural sports or intramurals are recreational sports organized within a set geographic area. The term derives from the Latin words intra muros meaning "within walls", and was used to indicate sports matches and contests that took place among teams from "within the walls" of an ancient city...
- Hendricken Field – former home of the football and baseball programs; also used as soccer practice field and for club sports
Renovations
The mid-2000s saw the beginning of the improvement of many of the on- and off-campus facilities under new president Fr. Brian Shanley:In August 2005, the school opened an artificial turf
Artificial turf
Artificial turf is a surface manufactured from synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass. It is most often used in arenas for sports that were originally or are normally played on grass. However, it is now being used on residential lawns and commercial applications as well...
field for its lacrosse and field hockey programs adjacent to the Peterson Recreation Center; underneath the field is a parking garage.
In December 2005, the Rhode Island Convention Center Authority purchased the Dunkin' Donuts Center from the city of Providence and spent $80 million on an extensive renovation. Major elements of the construction included a significantly expanded lobby and concourse, an enclosed pedestrian bridge from the Rhode Island Convention Center, a new center-hung LED
LEd
LEd is a TeX/LaTeX editing software working under Microsoft Windows. It is a freeware product....
video display board, a new restaurant, 20 luxury suites, four new bathrooms, and all-new seats with cupholders in the arena bowl. Behind-the-scenes improvements included a new HVAC
HVAC
HVAC refers to technology of indoor or automotive environmental comfort. HVAC system design is a major subdiscipline of mechanical engineering, based on the principles of thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer...
system, ice chiller, and a first-of-its-kind fire suppression system. These renovations were completed in October 2008.
In 2006, Schneider Arena underwent a refurbishment that included new seats and renovated training rooms, locker rooms, and offices.
In 2007, the Concannon Fitness Center was built between Alumni Hall and the Peterson Recreation Center, and included the Jimmy Walker
Jimmy Walker (basketball)
James "Jimmy" Walker was an American professional basketball player. A 6'3" guard, he played nine seasons in the NBA as a member of the Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets, and Kansas City Kings. Walker was a two-time All-Star who scored 11,655 points in his career...
Strength and Conditioning Center for student-athletes. At the same time, improvements were made to Alumni Hall, including the opening of the Canavan Sports Medicine Center, the Helen Bert Student Athlete Lounge, and the Joe Calabria Hallway of Legends. Mullaney Gymnasium, inside Alumni Hall, was also refurbished during this time, including a new floor, scoreboard, locker rooms, and offices for the basketball programs and athletic department.