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Brown Bears
University Brown University
Conference(s) Ivy League
NCAA Division I
Athletics director Jack Hayes
Location [[Providence, RI|Providence]], [[RI|]]
Varsity teams 38
Football stadium Brown Stadium
Basketball arena
Baseball stadium Murray Stadium
Mascot Bruno
Nickname Bears
Fight song Ever True To Brown
Colors Seal browncardinal red and white

              

Homepage [1]

The Brown Bears are the sports teams at Brown University, located in Providence, Rhode Island in the United States. The Bears are part of the Ivy League conference. Brown's mascot is Bruno. Both the men's and women's teams share the name, competing in 38 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I sports. In football, the Bears, along with all other the Ivy League teams, compete in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).[1]

Varsity athletics[]

The Bears participate in 38 NCAA sports, ranking them third among all Division I institutions for number of sports offered.[1] The Bears first fielded a football team in 1878, playing Amherst College in their inaugural game.[2]

The Bears participate in the following varsity sports:

Additions and subtractions[]

In 2011, a Special Committee recommended that Brown cut four varsity sports due to Brown's budget cut backs — men's fencing, women's fencing, men's wrestling, and women's skiing — and recommended elevating at least one women's sport to varsity status to ensure Title IX compliance.[3] These proposed changes would have reduced the number of varsity sports at Brown from 37 to 34. None of the four varsity programs were cut.

Brown added women's rugby as its 38th varsity sport in 2014, becoming the second Ivy League school (after Harvard) to offer rugby as a varsity sport.[4] Brown added rugby as a varsity sport in part due to the growth of rugby across communities and at the high school level.[5]

Teams[]

Football[]

The Brown Bears football team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and are members of the Ivy League. Brown's first football team was fielded in 1878. The team plays its home games at the 20,000 seat Brown Stadium in Providence.

Men's Basketball[]

The Brown Bears men's basketball team competes in the Ivy League. The Brown Bears have appeared in the NCAA Tournament two times, including the inaugural tournament in 1939. Their combined record is 0–2. The Brown Bears have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) one time. Their record is 0–1.

Men's Soccer[]

The Brown Bears men's soccer team compete in the NCAA Division I in the Ivy League and are one of the most prolific collegiate men's soccer programs in the country with 27 appearances;[citation needed] the Bears have been semifinalists in the NCAA tournament in 1968, 1973, and 1975. They also finished in fourth place in 1977.[6]

Mascot[]

Brown's first mascot was a burro, first introduced in 1902 in a game against Harvard.[7] The burro mascot was not retained after it seemed frightened by the noise of the game, and due to the laughter it provoked.[8] The University originally settled on the Bruin, but later changed it to a bear after the head of bear was placed at an archway above the student union in 1904.[8] In 1905 The Bears introduced Helen, the university's first live bear mascot, at a game against Dartmouth.[7] Bruno, Brown's current mascot, was introduced in 1921, originally also as a live bear.[8] A number of bears represented Bruno over the years, later being represented by a person in costume by the late 60's.[8]

Notable athletes[]

The Bears have produced many athletes. One of Brown's most famous athletes is John Heisman, namesake of the Heisman Trophy. Before finishing college at the University of Pennsylvania, Heisman played college football at Brown as a lineman.[9]

Football[]

Baseball[]

  • Bill Almon – professional baseball player, #1 pick in the 1974 Major League Baseball draft
  • Mark Attanasio (Class of 1979) – financier and owner of the Milwaukee Brewers
  • Tommy Dowd – professional baseball player
  • Dave Fultz (Class of 1898) – professional baseball player
  • Irving "Bump" Hadley (Class of 1928) – professional baseball player, pitcher for the Washington Senators and New York Yankees
  • Lee Richmond – professional baseball player, first major league player to throw a perfect game[citation needed]

Rowing[]

  • Jamie Koven (Class of 1995) – US national rower, World Champion in single scull 1997 France
  • Denis Žvegelj (Class of 1997) – Slovenian Rower, Brown Crew Varsity Eight 1994, 1995, 1992 bronze medalist in Men's Coxless Pairs
  • Porter Collins (Class of 1998) – American Rower, Brown Men's Crew Varsity Eight, 1996 and 2000 Olympian, 1999 World Champion in US Eight[10]
  • Xeno Müller – Swiss Rower, Brown Men's Crew, 1996 Gold Medalist and 2000 Silver Medalist in Single Scull at Olympic Games, 3x Silver Medalist in Single Scull at World Championships[10]

Other sports[]

  • Curt Bennett (Class of 1970) – professional ice hockey player, St. Louis Blues and Atlanta Flames
  • Yann Danis (Class of 2004) – professional ice hockey player, Montreal Canadiens and New York Islanders
  • Mark Donohue (Class of 1959) – professional racing driver, 1972 Indianapolis 500 champion
  • Brian Eklund - retired professional hockey player, Stanley Cup Champion
  • Cory Gibbs (Class of 2001) – professional soccer player, Chicago Fire
  • Lindsay Gottlieb (Class of 1999) - head coach of University of California women's basketball
  • Fred Hovey (1890) – professional tennis player, U.S. Open Men's Doubles Champion (1893) and Men's Singles Champion (1895)
  • Jimmy Pedro – most decorated American Judo athlete;[citation needed] Judo World Champion (1999), two-time Olympic bronze medalist (1996, 2004)
  • Norman Taber (Class of 1913) – track and field athlete, member of the 1912 Olympic gold medal-winning 3,000-m relay team
  • Fred Tenney – professional baseball player
  • Chazz Woodson (Class of 2005) – Major League Lacrosse player currently with the Chicago Machine

References[]

External links[]

Template:USCSA

Template:Rhode Island Sports

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