Wayne State Warriors
Encyclopedia
The Wayne State Warriors are the represent Wayne State University
, located in Detroit
, Michigan
. The university is a member of the NCAA
at the Division II level, WSU competes in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
(GLIAC) for all sports except fencing, which competes in the Midwest Fencing Conference (MFC).
A student poll selected the name of "Tartars" for the school's teams in 1927. In 1999, the university changed the name to the "Warriors," due to a feeling that the Tartar name was dated and that not many people knew what a Tartar was.
Wayne State was a founding member of the Mid-American Conference
in 1946, but left the conference before competition began. In 1955 the university, along with John Carroll University
and Case Institute of Technology
, and Western Reserve University
to form the Presidents' Athletic Conference
(PAC). The University competed in the PAC until 1967 before competing as an independent program and joining the upstart GLIAC
in 1975.
Men's athletic teams
Women's athletic teams
from 1990-1998. Wayne State has won three conference championships, one in the GLIAC and two PAC championships. Notable NFL alumni include: Vic Zucco
, Richard Byas, Jr., Paul Butcher, Sr., Tom Beer
, and Joique Bell
.
(CHA). The university dropped their men's program at the end of the 2007-08 season, followed in 2011 by ending the women's hockey program.
ii. President's Athletic Conference Championships:
iii. College Hockey America:
Wayne State University
Wayne State University is a public research university located in Detroit, Michigan, United States, in the city's Midtown Cultural Center Historic District. Founded in 1868, WSU consists of 13 schools and colleges offering more than 400 major subject areas to over 32,000 graduate and...
, located in Detroit
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. The university is a member of the NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
at the Division II level, WSU competes in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference is a competitive intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division II. The GLIAC was founded in June 1972. Member institutions are located in the midwestern United States in the States of Michigan and Ohio, with affiliate...
(GLIAC) for all sports except fencing, which competes in the Midwest Fencing Conference (MFC).
History
The school's intercollegiate athletic program was established in 1917 by director of athletics David L. Holmes. Revered by his athletes, Holmes initially coached all sports. His track teams were nationally known into the 1950s; in his first ten years, he produced two Olympians from the school's Victorian-era gym. Although he had major ambitions for Wayne and scheduled such teams as Notre Dame and Penn State in the 1920s, the lack of facilities and money for athletics kept the athletic program small.A student poll selected the name of "Tartars" for the school's teams in 1927. In 1999, the university changed the name to the "Warriors," due to a feeling that the Tartar name was dated and that not many people knew what a Tartar was.
Wayne State was a founding member of the Mid-American Conference
Mid-American Conference
The Mid-American Conference is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twelve full member schools are in Ohio and Michigan, with single members...
in 1946, but left the conference before competition began. In 1955 the university, along with John Carroll University
John Carroll University
John Carroll University is a private, co-educational Jesuit Catholic university in University Heights, Ohio, United States, a suburb of Cleveland. The university was founded in 1886 by the Society of Jesus as Saint Ignatius College.The university was founded in 1886 by the Society of Jesus, as...
and Case Institute of Technology
Case Western Reserve University
Case Western Reserve University is a private research university located in Cleveland, Ohio, USA...
, and Western Reserve University
Case Western Reserve University
Case Western Reserve University is a private research university located in Cleveland, Ohio, USA...
to form the Presidents' Athletic Conference
Presidents' Athletic Conference
The Presidents' Athletic Conference is an athletic conference which competes in the NCAA's Division III. Member teams are private, liberal arts institutions of higher learning located in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Kentucky....
(PAC). The University competed in the PAC until 1967 before competing as an independent program and joining the upstart GLIAC
Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference is a competitive intercollegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division II. The GLIAC was founded in June 1972. Member institutions are located in the midwestern United States in the States of Michigan and Ohio, with affiliate...
in 1975.
Sports
The Wayne State University Athletic Department sponsors the following sports:Men's athletic teams
- BaseballBaseballBaseball 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...
- BasketballBasketballBasketball 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...
- Cross CountryCross country runningCross 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...
- FencingFencingFencing, 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...
- FootballAmerican footballAmerican 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...
- GolfGolfGolf 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....
- SwimmingSwimming (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 DivingDivingDiving 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... - TennisTennisTennis 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...
Women's athletic teams
- BasketballBasketballBasketball 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...
- Cross CountryCross country runningCross 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...
- FencingFencingFencing, 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...
- SoftballSoftballSoftball 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...
- SwimmingSwimming (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 DivingDivingDiving 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... - TennisTennisTennis 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...
- VolleyballVolleyballVolleyball 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...
Football
Wayne State football competes with the other sports in the GLIAC, the program also competed in the PAC from 1955-1967 and in the Midwest Intercollegiate Football ConferenceMidwest Intercollegiate Football Conference
The Midwest Intercollegiate Football Conference was a football-only NCAA Division II Conference formed for the 1990 football season. The conference was formed as the result of a merger of the football only Heartland Football Conference and the football playing members of the Great Lakes...
from 1990-1998. Wayne State has won three conference championships, one in the GLIAC and two PAC championships. Notable NFL alumni include: Vic Zucco
Vic Zucco
Victor A. Zucco is a former professional American football defensive back in the National Football League. He played four seasons for the Chicago Bears....
, Richard Byas, Jr., Paul Butcher, Sr., Tom Beer
Tom Beer
Thomas John Beer was an American football player who played at the University of Houston and professionally for the Denver Broncos of the American Football League and the NFL's Boston Patriots and New England Patriots....
, and Joique Bell
Joique Bell
Joique D. Bell, Jr is an American football running back for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. He was signed by the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent in 2010...
.
Ice Hockey
Wayne State previously competed in men's and women's NCAA Division I ice hockey as a member of College Hockey AmericaCollege Hockey America
College Hockey America is a women's college ice hockey conference in the United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. The conference is currently made up of four women's teams in New York and Pennsylvania....
(CHA). The university dropped their men's program at the end of the 2007-08 season, followed in 2011 by ending the women's hockey program.
National Championships
| Fencing (M) | 1975, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985 |
| Fencing (W) | 1982, 1988, 1989 |
- Note: Although WSU competes at the DII level, the NCAA combines all three divisions for its National Fencing Championships.
Conference Championships
i. GLIAC Championships:| Baseball | 1980, 1981, 1982, 1998, 2005, 2008, 2010 |
| Basketball (M) | 1984, 1986, 1988, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1999 |
| Basketball (W) | 1980, 1981 |
| Cross Country (M) | 2001 |
| Football | 1976 |
| Golf (M) | 2004, 2009 |
| Softball | 1981, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010 |
| Swimming (M) | 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011 |
| Swimming (W) | 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011 |
| Track and Field (Indoor) | 1976, 1977 |
| Track and Field (Outdoor) | 1975, 1976, 1977 |
| Tennis (M) | 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981 |
| Tennis (W) | 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983 |
| Volleyball (W) | 1980, 1981, 1982, 1997, 1998, 1999 |
ii. President's Athletic Conference Championships:
| Baseball | 1959 |
| Cross Country (M) | 1960, 1961, 1963 |
| Football | 1957, 1965 |
| Golf (M) | 1947 |
| Swimming (M) | 1963, 1964, |
| Tennis (M) | 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1963, 1964 |
iii. College Hockey America:
| Ice Hockey (M) | 2001, 2002, 2003 |
| Ice Hockey (W) | 2008 |