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Mercer Bears

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Mercer Bears

Mercer Bears
Logo
University Mercer University
Conference Southern Conference
NCAA Division I
Athletic director Jim Cole
Location GA
Varsity teams 8 men's & 9 women's
Football stadium Moye Complex (10,200)
Basketball arena Hawkins Arena (3,200)
Baseball stadium Claude Smith Field (500)
Lacrosse stadium Bear Field (300)
Mascot Toby
Nickname Bears
Colors
     Orange       Black
Website .com.mercerbearswww

The Mercer Bears are the United States.

Mercer is the only NCAA Division I athletic program and fields teams in eight men's and nine women's sports. The university competes in the Southern Conference for most sports. In 2013, the football team competed in the Pioneer Football League.

Mercer joined the Southern Conference as a full member on July 1, 2014; all university-sponsored sports will compete in the Southern Conference except women's lacrosse and women's sand volleyball, which are not sponsored by the conference.[1]

History and conference affiliations

Mercer was a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) from 1906–11 and from 1919–37; the university won the conference championship in basketball in 1922 and 1924.[2] Without leaving the SIAA, which focused mostly on basketball and track, Mercer was a charter member of the Dixie Conference in 1930; the university played football in the new conference from 1930–42 and won the conference championship in 1932.[3] Mercer suspended athletics in 1942 during World War II, but rejoined the Dixie Conference from 1948-54 in all sports (except football, Mercer did not revive the sport after the war). The university won the Dixie Conference tournament championship in basketball in 1951, 1952 and 1954; Mercer won the regular season championship in 1950, 1952 and 1953.

Mercer began competition in women's basketball in 1970; the team won the Southern Women's Athletic Conference championship in 1972. The university, competing in the NCAA Division II Final Four; the team was defeated (82-79) by Central Missouri State University. Mercer was a charter member of the New South Women's Athletic Conference in 1985-86 and won the conference championship in 1991; the conference merged with the Trans America Athletic Conference the same year.

Mercer became a charter member of the Georgia Tech.

Mercer discontinued football in 1942. The sport was reinstated in 2013; Mercer competed in the non-scholarship Pioneer Football League for the 2013 season.

Mercer joined the Southern Conference on July 1, 2014; the university accepted an invitation on May 30, 2013, and will join along with East Tennessee State University and Virginia Military Institute.[4] Mercer shifted from non-scholarship to scholarship football when it joined the conference.

Championships

Mercer joined the Southern Conference on July 1, 2014. The university was previously a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference. Mercer won 21 Atlantic Sun championships (12 tournament and 9 regular season) including four in the spring of 2014.

Southern Conference Tournament Championships
Soccer (W) 2014
Southern Conference Regular Season Championships
Soccer (M) 2014
Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament Championships
Baseball 1979, 1981, 1983, 2010
Basketball (M) 1981, 1985, 2014
Golf (M) 2014
Soccer (M) 1992, 1999, 2001
Soccer (W) 2010
Atlantic Sun Conference Regular Season Championships
Baseball 2013
Basketball (M) 2003, 2013, 2014
Basketball (W) 1991, 1992
Lacrosse (M) 2014
Soccer (M) 2000, 2002

CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) Championship

The men's basketball team won the Old Dominion University and Fairfield University en route to the championship game at Utah State University; Mercer won the championship game 70-67. The championship capped the best season in university history; the team finished the season with a 27-11 record.

Athletics director

Jim Cole, a Mercer graduate and a former professional baseball player in the [6] He declined the appointment to become athletics director.[7] Since becoming athletics director, Cole has overseen the addition of men's lacrosse, women's lacrosse, and sand volleyball; the reinstatement of football; and the construction of Mercer's football and lacrosse complex.

Cole replaced Bobby Pope who retired on June 30, 2010 after 21 years as athletics director.[8] Pope was affiliated with Mercer for 40 years starting in 1970 as a radio announcer, and in 1980 became sports information director.[9] He became athletics director in 1989 and oversaw construction of the University Center and renovation of the baseball, softball, and tennis facilities. Pope was inducted into Mercer's Hall of Fame in 2010.[10]

Notable coaches

Sports

Mercer sponsors the following sports:

Football

Homer and Ruth Drake Field House, a component of the Tony and Nancy Moye Football and Lacrosse Complex

Reinstatement - NCAA Record Wins

On November 19, 2010, Mercer announced the reinstatement of intercollegiate football beginning in the fall of 2013.[12] In 2013, Mercer competed as a NCAA Division I FCS non-scholarship program in the Pioneer Football League; in 2014, Mercer began competing as a scholarship program in the Southern Conference. Reinstatement came after a 70-year hiatus; the university suspended football during World War II and did not revive it. The final game was in 1941.[13]

The modern Mercer football program played its first game on August 31, 2013; the team defeated Reinhardt University before an overflow crowd (12,172 spectators) at the Tony and Nancy Moye Football and Lacrosse Complex.[14] Mercer finished the 2013 season undefeated at home with a 10-2 win-loss record (the two road losses were to the University of San Diego and Marist College), setting a NCAA Division I record for wins (10) by a start-up football program; Mercer had eight home wins, also a NCAA Division I record tied the same year (2013) by Auburn University, the FBS national runner-up, and Sam Houston State University who achieved its eighth victory in the FCS post-season.

Tony and Nancy Moye Football and Lacrosse Complex (under construction, view from the Homer and Ruth Drake Field House)

History

The reinstatement of football revives a storied university program. Mercer and the College Football Hall of Fame. Other notable alumni are Joseph "Phoney" Smith and Bill Yoast. Smith was an All-American halfback and is Mercer's all-time leading scorer; he scored 176 points and later played for the semi-professional Ironton Tanks.[18][19] Yoast is the high school coach made famous in the movie Remember the Titans.

Bobby Lamb - Head Coach

On January 20, 2011, Mercer announced the hiring of Commerce.[21]

Mercer's 2014 Football Schedule - First Season in the Southern Conference[23]
Reinhardt August 28
Furman September 6
at Stetson September 13
Ave Maria September 20
at VMI September 27
at Samford October 4
Austin Peay October 11
Western Carolina October 18
at Chattanooga October 25
The Citadel November 1
Warner November 15
at Wofford November 22

Men's basketball

Bob Hoffman - Head Coach

Florida State (then the defending Atlantic Coast Conference champion), and Tennessee.

History

Hoffman replaced Mark Slonaker who served as head coach for ten seasons and was the 2002-03 Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year. Slonaker received that award after leading Mercer to the best one season turnaround in NCAA history, improving from 6-23 to 23-6. The team won the Atlantic Sun regular season championship with a 14-2 conference record and made school history for number of wins (23); Mercer won 22 games in 1923-24 and 1984-85. The season ended with a loss in the Atlantic Sun tournament. Slonaker was the first National Coach of the Year to receive the award after it was named in honor of Jim Phelan. The four other finalists were Lute Olson (Arizona), Skip Prosser (Wake Forest), Bo Ryan (Wisconsin), and Tubby Smith (Kentucky). Mercer did not maintain this level of success, which prompted the university to hire a new head coach.

Mercer's basketball alumni include Sam Mitchell, a retired NBA player who became head coach of the Toronto Raptors. Mitchell was drafted with the seventh pick of the third round (54th overall) by the Houston Rockets in the 1985 NBA draft. He scored nearly 2,000 points at Mercer, the leading scorer in team history, and led Mercer to the 1985 Trans-America Athletic Conference regular season and tournament championships. More recent alumni include Will Emerson, a forward on the men's basketball team, who was the 2004-05 and 2005-06 Atlantic Sun Conference Male Student Athlete of the Year, only the third person to be selected twice for the award. Emerson was also named to ESPN the Magazine's Academic All-American first team in 2005 and 2006.

Mercer received national attention in November 2007 when the team defeated USC, which was ranked 18th in the nation at the time of the game.

Recent Achievements

In 2012, Mercer won the Old Dominion and Fairfield en route to the championship game at Utah State University; Mercer won the championship game 70-67. The championship capped the best season in university history; the team finished the season with a 27-11 record.

In 2013, Mercer won the conference regular season championship and advanced to the National Invitation Tournament, defeating Tennessee before losing to BYU; the team finished the season with a 24-12 record, the first time in university history that the team had back-to-back 20-win seasons.[25] Mercer had opened the season ranked first in the conference preseason standings; during the season, notable wins included victories over defending Atlantic Coast Conference champion Florida State and Alabama.

In 2014, Mercer won the conference regular season championship for the second year in a row (co-champion, tied with Florida Gulf Coast) and the conference tournament championship; the team defeated Florida Gulf Coast for the tournament championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1985.[26] During the regular season, notable wins included victories over Seton Hall and Ole Miss. At the conclusion of the conference tournament, Mercer had a record of 26-8, the first time in university history the team had three straight 20-win seasons. Mercer coach Bob Hoffman was honored as the conference coach of the year for the second consecutive year; Mercer players were honored as the conference player of the year (guard, Langston Hall), defensive player of the year (forward, Daniel Coursey), and scholar-athlete of the year (forward, Jakob Gollon).[27][28] Mercer defeated Duke in the second round of the NCAA Tournament before losing to Tennessee in the third round. The team finished the season with a 27-9 record.

Women's basketball

Susie Gardner - Head Coach

Susie Gardner was named women's basketball head coach in 2010. She replaced Jannell Jones who resigned to become the head coach of [32]

Recent Achievements

In 2013, Mercer advanced to the post-season Women's Basketball Invitational losing to McNeese State University; the team finished the season with a 20-12 record, the first 20-win season since 1991-92.[33] The post-season appearance was Mercer's first in a nationally sponsored tournament since 1985.[34]

Baseball

Claude Smith Field (baseball)

History

Mercer fielded its first [36] In recent years, Mercer has won five Atlantic Sun Conference championships including the university's first regular season title in 2013.[37] Since the program began in 1871, ten Mercer players have advanced to the Major Leagues.[35]

First Pitch Classic

Mercer opens each baseball season with the annual First Pitch Classic.[38] First held in 2009, the event welcomes a distinguished guest with extensive baseball experience to the Macon campus; highlights include an autograph session and an evening banquet featuring the guest as the primary speaker. Speakers have included Jeff Francoeur (2009), Gordon Beckham (2010), John Smoltz (2011), Chipper Jones (2012), and Dale Murphy (2013).[38]

Recent Achievements

In 2010 under head coach University of Alabama.[39][40] The team finished the season with a 38-24 record, one of the most successful in university history.[41][42]

In 2013, Mercer won the conference regular season championship and advanced to the NCAA Division I Starkville Regional losing to the University of South Alabama and the University of Central Arkansas.[43] The team finished the season with a 43-18 record, the best in university history. With the conclusion of the 2013 NCAA Baseball College World Series, Mercer finished the season as the top fielding (.982 percentage) team in the nation out of all 296 eligible Division I teams; Mercer edged out the University of Nebraska, the University of California, Irvine and the University of Oregon.[44] In addition, junior outfielder Derrick Workman was named a first team Capital One Academic All-American, one of only eleven players in nation selected for this honor.[45]

Lacrosse

History

Mercer added men's Carthage College.[47]

Recent achievements

The Atlantic Sun Conference began sponsoring men's lacrosse in 2014; on February 22, 2014, Mercer won the conference opener, defeating Richmond.[48] Mercer went on to win the conference regular season championship (co-champion with High Point); the Bears were defeated in the opening round of the conference tournament.[49][50] Mercer joined the Southern Conference on July 1, 2014; on the same day, the Southern Conference took over sponsorship of men's lacrosse from the Atlantic Sun Conference.

Facilities

University Center (Hawkins Arena) and Sikes Field (softball)

Mercer opened the University Center (also known as Hawkins Arena) on the Macon campus in 2004. The $40 million 230,000-square-foot (21,000 m2) center houses Mercer's athletics department, a 3,500-seat basketball arena, an indoor pool, work-out facilities, intramural basketball courts, an air-rifle range, offices, a food court, and numerous meeting facilities. Mercer's Claude Smith Field (baseball), Sikes Field (softball), and intramural fields are next to the center along with the university's tennis complex. Bear Field, the home of men's and women's soccer, is located on the eastern edge of campus between the School of Medicine and the university's newest intramural fields. In 2007, a 101-room Hilton Garden Inn opened on university-owned land adjacent to the University Center.

The University Center arena was named Crawford County.[51][52]

In November 2011, the university began construction of the 10,200-seat Tony and Nancy Moye Football and Lacross Complex on the Macon campus.[53][54] The new facility, adjacent to Hawkins Arena and Mercer's other athletic facilities, has the following components: the Homer and Ruth Drake Field House, the William H. Anderson II Family Field, the Marshall and Jane Butler Family Plaza, and the Tony and Nancy Moye Family Football and Lacrosse Complex. Construction was completed in 2013; the Field Turf surface was completed in July 2012, the Drake Field House opened in November 2012.

Mercer's athletic facilities are located next to Interstate 75. Large parking lots are available for visitors-spectators arriving via the Mercer University Drive exit.

See also

References

  1. ^ http://news.mercer.edu/articles/2013/mercer-university-accepts-invitation-to-join-the-southern-conference.cfm#.Ucj1aOUo7IV
  2. ^ http://www.enotes.com/topic/Southern_Intercollegiate_Athletic_Association
  3. ^ http://www.cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/conference_champs/champions.php?conid=46
  4. ^ http://www.soconsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=207996762&DB_OEM_ID=4000
  5. ^ a b http://www2.mercer.edu/News/Articles/2012/120328_Mens-Basketball-Captures-CIT-Championship.htm
  6. ^ 3:30 pm December 31, 2009, by James Salzer (2009-12-31). "Rep. Jim Cole will be new Secretary of State | Gold Dome Live". Blogs.ajc.com. Retrieved 2010-07-23. 
  7. ^ Lough, Michael A. (2010-01-06). "Rep. Jim Cole to become Mercer athletics director - Politics". Macon.com. Retrieved 2010-07-23. 
  8. ^ Lough, Michael A. (2010-06-15). "Pope decides to retire at end of month - Mercer". Macon.com. Retrieved 2010-07-23. 
  9. ^ "News & Features 4-19-2006 Pope Inducted into Macon Sports Hall of Fame". .mercer.edu. 2006-04-19. Retrieved 2010-07-23. 
  10. ^ http://www.mercerbears.com/fanzone/hall_of_fame/index
  11. ^ http://www.mercerbears.com/sports/mbkb/2013-14/releases/20140303yjsg4a
  12. ^ http://www2.mercer.edu/News/Articles/2010/101119Football.htm
  13. ^ Robert E. Wilder, Gridiron Glory Days: Football at Mercer 1892-1942, Macon: Mercer University Press, 1982, ISBN 0-86554-052-7, p. 202
  14. ^ http://www.mercerbears.com/sports/fball/2013-14/releases/20140211ge46lw
  15. ^ http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-1994
  16. ^ http://gtalumni.org/Publications/techtopics/fall92/football.html
  17. ^ http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-729
  18. ^ Garbin, Patrick (2008). About them Dawgs!: Georgia football's memorable teams and players.  
  19. ^ Bryant, James C. (1993). A gift for giving: the story of Lamar Rich Plunkett.  
  20. ^ "Bobby Lamb Named to Lead Mercer’s Return to the Gridiron". Mercer University. January 20, 2011. Retrieved April 15, 2011. 
  21. ^ a b c "Furman Bio".  
  22. ^ "Bobby Lamb Resigns Football Post At Furman".  
  23. ^ http://www.mercerbears.com/sports/fball/2013-14/releases/20140211ge46lw
  24. ^ http://www.mercerbears.com/sports/mbkb/coaches/HOFFMAN_BOB
  25. ^ http://www.mercerbears.com/sports/mbkb/2012-13/schedule
  26. ^ http://www.mercerbears.com/sports/mbkb/2013-14/releases/20140309k3buss
  27. ^ http://www.mercerbears.com/sports/mbkb/2013-14/releases/20140303yjsg4a
  28. ^ http://www.mercerbears.com/sports/mbkb/2013-14/releases/2014030407kbrx
  29. ^ "MercerBears". MercerBears. 2010-06-09. Retrieved 2010-07-23. 
  30. ^ Lough, Michael A. (2010-06-10). "Jones resigns from Mercer - Mercer". Macon.com. Retrieved 2010-07-23. 
  31. ^ "MercerBears". MercerBears. 2010-06-24. Retrieved 2010-07-23. 
  32. ^ "Susie Gardner Named Mercer Women's Basketball Coach - Atlantic Sun Conference Official Site". Atlanticsun.org. 2010-06-24. Retrieved 2010-07-23. 
  33. ^ http://www.mercerbears.com/sports/wbkb/2012-13/schedule
  34. ^ http://www.mercerbears.com/sports/wbkb/2012-13/releases/20130320f6xggk
  35. ^ a b "Mercer University Baseball Players Who Made it to a Major League Baseball Team". Baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved 2010-07-23. 
  36. ^ http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/bio/_/id/28364/cy-young
  37. ^ http://www.mercerbears.com/sports/bsb/2012-13/releases/20130521d9ctq6
  38. ^ a b http://www.macon.com/2012/12/12/2283144/beloved-atlanta-outfielder-dale.html
  39. ^ a b Lough, Michael A. (2010-05-31). "Bears earn NCAA berth with A-Sun title - Sports Top Story". Macon.com. Retrieved 2010-07-23. 
  40. ^ Lough, Michael A. (2010-06-06). "Mercer rebounds, eliminates Elon in Bears’ first-ever NCAA Regional victory - Mercer". Macon.com. Retrieved 2010-07-23. 
  41. ^ Lough, Michael A. (2010-06-07). "Mercer’s regional run comes to end - Mercer". Macon.com. Retrieved 2010-07-23. 
  42. ^ Lough, Michael A. (2010-06-13). "Peach State baseball teams enjoy banner spring - Georgia College & State University". Macon.com. Retrieved 2010-07-23. 
  43. ^ http://www.mercerbears.com/sports/bsb/2012-13/releases/20130601ujr8iu
  44. ^ http://www.mercerbears.com/sports/bsb/2012-13/releases/20130627irxxlf
  45. ^ http://www.mercerbears.com/sports/bsb/2012-13/releases/20130531s2cmuc
  46. ^ "News & Features 6-18-2009 Mercer to Add Lacrosse". .mercer.edu. 2009-06-18. Retrieved 2010-07-23. 
  47. ^ "Mercer Lacrosse Nets First-Ever Program Victory". Mercer University. March 19, 2011. Retrieved April 15, 2011. 
  48. ^ http://www.mercerbears.com/sports/mlax/2013-14/releases/20140222t9s2ji
  49. ^ http://www.mercerbears.com/sports/mlax/2013-14/releases/20140419o7xsbk
  50. ^ http://www.mercerbears.com/sports/mlax/2013-14/schedule
  51. ^ http://www2.mercer.edu/News/Articles/2012/120423_Mercer-Receives-1-Million-Commitment-for-Basketball-Program.htm
  52. ^ http://www.macon.com/2012/04/23/2000592/mercer-basketball-facility-renamed.html
  53. ^ http://www.mercer.edu/football/
  54. ^ http://www.macon.com/2012/09/17/2180656/mercers-lamb-enjoying-friday-nights.html

External links

  • Official website
Current members
Associate Members
Former members
Championships & awards
Full members
Women's lacrosse-only members
Baseball
Basketball
Football
Hockey
Roller derby
Rugby union
Soccer
College athletics
(NCAA Division I)
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