St. Thomas Celts

St. Thomas Celts is the name given to the sports teams of the University of St. Thomas based in Houston. Starting in the 2019–2020 academic year, UST competes in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) of NCAA Division III. The Celts had previous competed as a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics in the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC).

St. Thomas Celts
UniversityUniversity of St. Thomas
AssociationNCAA Division III
ConferenceSouthern Collegiate Athletic Conference
Athletic directorTodd Smith
LocationHouston, Texas
Varsity teams12
Basketball arenaJerabeck Athletic Center
MascotLenny the Lion
NicknameCelts
ColorsRed and Gold
   
Websitewww.ustcelts.com

Sports

The University of St. Thomas competes with teams in the following sports:

History

UST men's basketball dates back to the late 1940s.[1] During their original athletic tenure, their mascot was the Warriors.[2][3] Their men's basketball program disbanded in 1967. UST also hosted a baseball team from 1948[4] to 1969.[5] Men's Basketball temporarily returned for the 1984–85 season, posting a 9–23 record and lost in the NAIA District IV (4) Tournament Semifinals, to Southwestern University.[6] 1984 was also when the UST athletic teams were first known as the Celts.[7]

In Fall 2006, the NAIA informed UST that its application to join had been accepted, bringing varsity intercollegiate athletics back to campus for the first time in 20 years.[8] Beginning in 2007, UST fielded both a women's volleyball team and a men's soccer team to compete as members of the Association of Independent Institutions (AII). The 2009–10 academic year marked the inaugural season of the UST men's varsity basketball team.[9] From 2011 to 2019, UST competed in the NAIA as members of the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC).[10]

On February 14, 2018, UST announced it would become the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference's 10th member after completing an exploratory year in NCAA Division III. Pending acceptance into Division III after that, SCAC competition would begin in the 2019–2020 season. As Division III and the SCAC require a minimum of 12 sports, UST will add men's and women's tennis and baseball during the 2019–2020 academic year. According to UST President Richard Ludwick, "[t]his is really recognition not only of the quality of our athletics program, but of the quality of our academics and institution as a whole. It is exciting to think about the level of competition that we have been invited to join."[11]

The school became a provisional member of Division III in 2019.[12]

See also

References
  1. https://www.newspapers.com/image/358165502/?terms=%22st.%20thomas%22%20%22basketball%22&match=1
  2. https://www.newspapers.com/image/755649574/?terms=%22st.%20thomas%22%20%22warriors%22&match=1
  3. https://www.newspapers.com/image/758557134/?terms=%22st.%20thomas%22%20%22warriors%22&match=3
  4. "Cookies not enabled?".
  5. "Cookies not enabled?".
  6. https://www.newspapers.com/image/358134526/?terms=%22st.%20thomas%22%20%22basketball%22&match=1
  7. https://www.newspapers.com/image/638566719/?terms=%22st.%20thomas%22%20%22celts%22&match=4
  8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-08-05. Retrieved 2009-02-20.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-01-20. Retrieved 2009-02-20.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. Staff (June 2, 2011). "St. Thomas joins Red River Conference". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  11. "University of St. Thomas Announces NCAA Division III Exploratory Membership". Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  12. Laymance, Reid (2019-02-25). "St. Thomas athletics to move to NCAA Division III". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2019-12-29.
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