Jacksonville Dolphins

The Jacksonville University Dolphins are the athletics team of Jacksonville University in Jacksonville, Florida, USA. The Dolphins participate in NCAA Division I athletics, and are members of the Atlantic Sun Conference, the National Lacrosse Conference, and the Pioneer Football League.

Sports sponsored
Jacksonville offers 20 different varsity sports, of which all but one (men's rowing) are sponsored by the NCAA. NCAA-sponsored sports include basketball, cross country, golf, lacrosse, soccer, and tennis, offered to both men and women; baseball and football, offered to men only; and rowing, softball, volleyball, and track (both indoor and outdoor), offered only to women.

Baseball
The Jacksonville Dolphins baseball team began play in 1957, and was independent until joining the Sun Belt Conference in 1978. The Dolphins were affiliated with that conference until 1998, when they joined the Atlantic Sun Conference.

The Dolphins have participated in 13 NCAA tournaments, beginning in 1968. Jacksonville's best showing in the NCAA tournament came in the 1976 South Regional, when they were one game away from the College World Series, but were eliminated by Auburn 7–5. The Dolphins also were part of the NCAA tournament in 1972, 1976, 1989, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, and 2011.

Mens' basketball
The Jacksonville Dolphins men's basketball program was established in 1949.

Jacksonville has appeared in five NCAA Division I men's basketball tournaments, most recently in 1986. Their most successful tournament was the first they participated in, the 1970 NCAA tournament. The Dolphins, led by NBA Hall-of-Famer Artis Gilmore, the school's all-time leader in rebounds, blocks and field goals, and Rex Morgan, the career assists leader, advanced to the title game before losing to UCLA 80–69. During that 1969–70 season, the team became the first NCAA basketball program to average 100 points per game in a season.

The Dolphins have won one Atlantic Sun regular-season title (2008–09), but have not yet won the conference tournament and the accompanying automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as a member of the Atlantic Sun conference.

Football
The Jacksonville Dolphins football team competes in the Pioneer Football League, a Division I football-only conference. Their first season of play was in 1998, and they have been members of the Pioneer Football League since 2001.

They play their home games at D. B. Milne Field, which has a listed capacity of 5000 spectators.

The Dolphins won the PFL conference title in 2008 and 2010, and represented the PFL in the 2008 Gridiron Classic, losing to Albany.

Awards
Pioneer Football League Offensive Freshman of the Year
 * Josh McGregor, QB, 2008

Pioneer Football League Defensive Player of the Year
 * Tyrone Wright, DB, 2001

Pioneer Football League Coach of the Year
 * Kerwin Bell, 2008

Lacrosse
Jacksonville fielded both men's and women's NCAA Division I lacrosse teams starting with the 2010 season; both programs became the first in Florida to compete in an official game on February 6, 2010.

JU's lacrosse programs were founded by current Director of Lacrosse Mindy McCord, who also serves as the program's head women's coach. Assisting Mindy McCord are Brooke Richards Magnusson, a former University of Maryland standout and Maryland prep player of the year, and Jen Heup.

The women's team was a founding member of the National Lacrosse Conference. In addition to Jacksonville, the eight-team conference includes southern-based universities Davidson, High Point, Presbyterian, Liberty, and Longwood, as well as northern programs Detroit-Mercy and Howard. The conference will be a provisional conference for two years by NCAA standards; it must exist for two years to earn a potential automatic qualifier into the NCAA tournament.

The men's team, the only men's Division I lacrosse team in Florida, is a member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. The current coach of the men's team is Guy Van Arsdale.

Traditions and rivalries
Jacksonville University's most notable rivalry is with crosstown opponents the University of North Florida Ospreys. The two universities contest the "River City Rumble", in which the school with the most wins over the other across all sports receives a trophy, the SunTrust Old Wooden Barrel. JU has dominated the men's basketball series, going 13-1 at the close of the 2010–2011 regular season.