The George Mason Patriots are the intercollegiate athletic teams representing George Mason University (GMU), located in

Fairfax, Virginia The City of Fairfax ( ), colloquially known as Fairfax City, Downtown Fairfax, Old Town Fairfax, Fairfax Courthouse, FFX, or simply Fairfax, is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth ...

. The Patriots compete in Division I of the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

(NCAA) as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference for most sports.

History

The Patriots began to move from NAIA and

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

status into the

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athletic ...

ranks with men's

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

in the 1978–1979 season. According to the

History of George Mason basketball George Mason Patriots men's basketball program dates to 1966. Basketball and athletics as a whole have contributed significantly to George Mason's popularity and success. The Patriots are the mascot and logo of George Mason University. The Patrio ...

, both the men's and women's basketball program have been fixtures of campus life. Within a few years, all other sports also were elevated to Division I status. George Mason reached its current level of 20 varsity sports with the addition of

women's lacrosse Women's lacrosse (or girls' lacrosse), sometimes shortened to lax, is a sport with twelve players on the field at a time (including the goalkeeper). Originally played by indigenous peoples of the Americas, the modern women's game was introduce ...

(1993–1994), women's

rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically ...

(1997–1998) and men's and women's

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

diving Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), a ...

(1999–2000). In addition, George Mason has fielded a varsity club football team since 1993 that competes intercollegiately. Their opponents range from other club teams to

NCAA Division I FCS The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the Football Bowl Subdivision. Sponsored by the National Collegiate Athletic ...

programs. GMU was a founding member of the CAA but joined the Atlantic 10 in 2013.

Sports sponsored

Men's basketball

While many of the schoolʼs athletic programs have had historical seasons, the men's basketball program remains the flagship sport at the university. The menʼs basketball team has played at the

Patriot Center EagleBank Arena (originally the Patriot Center) is a 10,000-seat arena in the eastern United States, on the campus of George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, a suburb southwest of Washington, D.C. Opened in 1985, it is the home of Patr ...

since 1985 after playing prior seasons in the PE Building on the west side of the Fairfax Campus. The menʼs basketball team has made the NCAA tournament six times (

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...

, 1999, 2001, 2006,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, and 2011) and the

NIT tournament The National Invitational Tournament (NIT) is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Played at regional sites and traditionally at Madison Square Garden (Final Four) in New York City ...

four times (1986, 2002, 2004 and 2009). The Patriot basketball team is most famous for its 2006 NCAA run to the Final Four. GMU beat perennial powers UNC,

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

, and Michigan State, as well as a highly ranked Wichita State team, before losing to eventual National Champion

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

in the Final Four. The programʼs largest rivals include conference foes

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

and Virginia Commonwealth. New rivalries are forming via George Masonʼs admission to the A-10. The best-known player in Patriots history is George Evans, a Gulf War veteran who played from 1997 to 2001 and was a CAA player of year three consecutive seasons. He shares the CAA record with NBA legend

David Robinson David Maurice Robinson (born August 6, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player who played for the San Antonio Spurs in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1989 to 2003, and minority owner of the Spurs. Nicknamed ...

for winning the award three straight times. Other Patriot standouts include Andre Gaddy,

Carlos Yates Carlos Yates (February 22, 1962 – August 13, 1989) was an American basketball player notable for college career at George Mason University. College career Yates began his collegiate career at George Mason and played for the Patriots all four y ...

, Kenny Sanders,

Curtis McCants Curtis Reynard McCants (born August 2, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player. A 6-foot point guard, he played college basketball at George Mason for 3 years, being named CAA Rookie of the Year in 1994 and first team All-Confer ...

, Nate Langley, Robert Dykes, Robert Rose, Jason Miskiri, Jai Lewis, Lamar Butler,

Tony Skinn Tony Oludewa Skinn (born February 8, 1983) is a NigerianAmerican basketball coach and former player. He played guard for the George Mason University Patriots from 2003–2006, later playing professionally for six years. Skinn is currently an as ...

Gabe Norwood Gabriel Daniel Viloria Norwood (born February 9, 1985) is a Filipino-American professional basketball player for the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He played college basketball at George Mason Univ ...

Folarin Campbell Folarin Yaovi Campbell (born February 27, 1986) is a Nigerian-American basketball player who last played for Maccabi Kiryat Motzkin of the Israeli National League. He played college basketball for the George Mason Patriots. Campbell started at ...

, and Will Thomas.

Men's soccer

Men's soccer was one of the first varsity sports to be offered when the then George Mason College began its athletic program in the late 1960s. Since then, it has become one of the most successful programs among the 22 NCAA Division I sports currently offered. In the 39-year history of George Mason soccer, the program has a record of 377-264-76 for a winning percentage of .579. The Patriots have posted at least 10 victories in 23 of those seasons, including 14 in a row from 1980 to 1993, and they have finished a season nationally ranked nine times (1981, '82, '84, '85, '87, '88, '90, '92 and '96) in the last 24 years. At

George Mason Stadium George Mason Stadium is a 5,000-seat stadium in Fairfax, Virginia on the campus of George Mason University. It serves as the home to George Mason's soccer and lacrosse teams. The stadium hosted the first home game for the Washington Bayhawks ...

, the team's 5,000-seat home field which opened for the 1982 season, the Patriots have a record of 140-61-26 (.674 winning percentage). The men's team has reached the

NCAA Men's Division I Soccer Championship The NCAA Division I men's soccer tournament, sometimes known as the College Cup, is an American intercollegiate soccer tournament conducted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and determines the Division I men's national champi ...

eight times (1985, '86, '87, '89, '90, '96, 2006 and

). Notable former players include

Joe Addo Joseph ''Joe'' Addo (born 21 September 1971 in Accra) is a former Ghanaian Association football defender and one-time captain of the Ghana national team. Club career Addo went to the United States to attend college and play soccer at George Ma ...

Denis Hamlett Denis Hamlett (born January 9, 1969) is a Costa Rican-American former professional soccer player and coach currently serving as sporting director for the New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer. Hamlett spent his entire professional career in ...

Ritchie Kotschau Richard Scott Kotschau (born November 22, 1975) is an American former soccer player who last played as a defender for the Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer. Club career Kotschau was born in Levittown, New York. After playing college soccer a ...

, Bob Lilley, Tamir Linhart, Anthony Noreiga, John O'Hara,

Mark Pulisic Mark Pulisic (born September 20, 1968) is an American soccer former footballer and coach who is currently the assistant manager of Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC in the USL Championship. College Pulisic attended George Mason University, where he pla ...

Conor Shanosky Conor Shanosky (born December 13, 1991) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a defender. Early life Shanosky was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; he grew up in Sterling, Virginia. Professional career D.C. United ...

, John Borrajo,

Irad Young Irad Young ( he, עירד יאנג; born 25 March 1971) is a retired Israeli-American professional Association football, football (soccer) player. Playing for George Mason University he set the school's career assist record. After college he playe ...

, and Brent Brockman. George Mason won the A-10 conference championship their first year in the league (2013).

Women's soccer

Women's soccer has been perhaps the most successful program at George Mason University. The Patriots have reached the NCAA Division 1 Women's Soccer Championship twelve times and the College Cup four times (1983, '85, '86, '93), in

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

they reached the final but would lose 4–0 to

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

. Under Coach Hank Leung, the Patriots would again reach the final in the 1985 tournament, on Nov. 24, in front of a record-crowd of 4,500 people at George Mason Stadium and millions on national television on an ESPN broadcast, No. 3 George Mason would beat No. 2 North Carolina 2–0 to win the school's first ever National Championship in their history. GMU players Pam Baughman and Betsy Drambour won the ''Most Outstanding Player and Most Outstanding Defensive Player'' awards respectively while another GMU player, Lisa Gmitter, being the tournament's top scorer with 3 goals.

Track and field

Notable athletes

Old Dominion at George Mason 2012 - Erik Copes shoots a layup

Club sports

In addition to its NCAA Division I sports, George Mason fields club teams in the following sports: *

Bowling Bowling is a target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). The term ''bowling'' usually refers to pin bowling (most commonly ten-pin bowling), thou ...

Crew A crew is a body or a class of people who work at a common activity, generally in a structured or hierarchical organization. A location in which a crew works is called a crewyard or a workyard. The word has nautical resonances: the tasks involved ...

Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

(club) *

Equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or Riding in British English) Examples of this are: * Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes i ...

Fencing Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, ...

Field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ...

* Football (Varsity Club) *

Ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

Lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensiv ...

(club) * Rugby * Soccer (club) *

Swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

(club) * Synchronized swimming *

Tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

* Trap and skeet * Ultimate *

Underwater hockey Underwater hockey (UWH), (also known as Octopush in the United Kingdom) is a globally played limited-contact sport in which two teams compete to manoeuvre a puck across the bottom of a swimming pool into the opposing team's goal by propelling ...

* Men's volleyball *

Inline hockey Roller inline hockey, or inline hockey is a variant of hockey played on a hard, smooth surface, with players using inline skates to move and ice hockey sticks to shoot a hard, plastic puck into their opponent's goal to score points. The spo ...

Championships and titles

National Championships

The Patriots have won 2 NCAA team championships, 23 George Mason student-athletes have claimed 35 individual national championships, and 13 George Mason teams have made more than 117 NCAA postseason appearances since the school opened. Men's * Indoor Track and Field (1): 1996 Women's * Soccer (1): 1985

NCAA Tournament appearances

Men's * Basketball (6),

, 1999, 2001, 2006,

, 2011 * Volleyball (4), 1984, 1985, 1988, 2016 * Soccer (8) * Baseball Women's * Soccer * Volleyball

Colonial Athletic Association titles

Mason athletes have captured 280 individual CAA championships. Men's * Baseball (2) * Basketball (4) Regular Season Championships and (4) Conference Tournament Championships * Soccer (4) * Track & field (6) * Wrestling (5) Women's * Cross Country (4) * Soccer (1) * Swimming & Diving (4) * Track & Field (9) (all consecutive from 1990 to 1998) * Volleyball (7, including 5 in a row from 1992 to 1996)

Atlantic 10 titles

Mason has captured 10 team A-10 championships. Men's * Soccer (1) 2013 * Baseball (1) 2014 * Cross Country (1) 2014 * Indoor Track & Field (2) 2017, 2019 * Outdoor Track & Field (2) 2015, 2016, 2019 Swimming and Diving (1) 2020 Women's * Indoor Track & Field (1) 2014 * Outdoor Track & Field (2) 2014, 2015,2019

References

External links

* {{Navboxes , titlestyle = {{CollegePrimaryStyle, George Mason Patriots, color=white , list = {{Atlantic 10 Conference navbox {{Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association navbox {{Mid-American Conference navbox {{Virginia Sports {{WashingtonDCSports