The Niagara Purple Eagles are athletics teams that represent Niagara University in

college sports College athletics encompasses non- professional, collegiate and university-level competitive sports and games. World University Games The first World University Games were held in 1923. There were originally called the ''Union Nationale de ...

. Part of the

NCAA 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 ...

's Division I, the Purple Eagles field 18 varsity level teams. The Purple Eagles are members of the

Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC, ) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I. Of its current 11 full members, 10 are located in three states of the northeastern United States: Connecticut, New Jersey, and ...

and

Atlantic Hockey The Atlantic Hockey Association (AHA) is an NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey conference which operates primarily in the northeastern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as an ice hockey-only conference. Unlike several othe ...

. Between 1946 and 1958, Niagara was a member of the

Western New York Little Three Conference {{Location map+ , New York , caption = Locations in New York , width = 295 , places = {{Location map~ , New York , label = Canisius College , position = right , mark = Gold pog.svg , marksize = 7 , link = Cani ...

. In 2012, the

women's 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 hock ...

program was replaced by women's

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

Teams

Club teams

Teams competing at the club level are: *Men's ice hockey competes in the Northeast Collegiate Hockey League of the ACHA. *Men's rugby competes in the Upstate Small College Rugby Conference (West Division) of the NSCRO. *Women's rugby competes in the West Region Upstate New York Collegiate Rugby Conference of the NSCRO. *Men's lacrosse competes in the Empire West D2 of the NCLL. *Men's roller hockey competes in Division IV Eastern Collegiate Roller Hockey Association of the NCRHA.

Former sports

Football

Niagara first played football in 1897 and continued until suspending operations after the 1909 season. The Purple Eagles returned for the 1914 season and kept playing college football until World War II made the 1941 season Niagara's last until 1946. For the third time, the Purple Eagles suspended their team after the 1950 season, only to return in 1967. After 20 seasons of play that had seven winless seasons with six occurring in a span of seven years, the Purple Eagles dropped football for the fourth and final time after the 1987 season. Over the span of 67 seasons, the team went won 182 games, lost 205 games, and had 31 ties. In the 1975 club season they played the Heritage Bowl in

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 census, making it the second- most populous city in New England after ...

, losing to Assumption College (27-7). The Eagles had 37 seasons in which they finished with more wins and ties than losses, though the Purple Eagles finished on an 18-game losing streak in over three seasons, their last win occurring in October 1985. The most wins they had in a season was 1902, in which they went 9–3–1, while the most losses they had in a season was 1922, when they finished 1–8–1.

Notable players

* Tom Cahill * Dan DeSantis * Bob Stefik Chris Cappanola

Women's ice hockey

Rivalries

Niagara's fiercest rivals include: * St. Bonaventure Bonnies *

Canisius Golden Griffins The Canisius College Golden Griffins are composed of 16 teams representing Canisius College in intercollegiate athletics. These teams include men's and women's basketball, cross country, track, lacrosse, soccer, and swimming and diving. Men's spor ...

All-Americans

* Calvin Murphy, 1970 (men's basketball) * Tania Pinelli, 2002 (women's hockey) * Juan Mendez, 2005 (men's basketball) * Allison Rutledge, 2007 (women's hockey) *

Paul Zanette Paul Zanette (born April 8, 1988) is a Canadian-Italian professional ice hockey player. He is currently an unrestricted free agent who most recently played for the Indy Fuel of the ECHL. In 2011, while playing for the Niagara University P ...

, 2011 (men's hockey)

NCAA postseason appearances

* Men's Hockey:

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

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; ...

, 2004, 2000 * Women's volleyball: 2011, 2010,

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; Protests ...

* Men's basketball: 2007, 2005, 1970 *

Women's Tennis Women's tennis is one of the most popular sports for women. It is one of the few sports in which women command fame and popularity that equal those of their male counterparts. Women's Tennis Association is the main organisation which runs femal ...

: 2005, 2003 *

Women's soccer Women's association football, more commonly known simply as women's football or women's soccer, is a team sport of association football when played by women only. It is played at the professional level in multiple countries and 176 national te ...

: 2006 * Women's Hockey: 2002 *

Softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

: 1998 * Men's soccer: 2012

Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament championships

*Women's Volleyball: 2011, 2010, 2009 * Men's basketball: 2007, 2005 *Women's Soccer: 2006 *Women's Tennis: 2005, 2003 *Softball: 1998 *Men's Swimming: 1994 *Women’s Swimming: 2022 * Men's soccer: 2012

Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference regular-season titles

*Women's Volleyball: 2011, 2010 *Women's Tennis: 2009, 2003 *Men's Basketball: 2013, 2005, 2001, 1999

College Hockey America Tournament championships

*Men's Hockey:

, 2004, 2000

College Hockey America regular-season titles

*Men's Hockey: 2007, 2006, 2000

Atlantic Hockey Association regular-season titles

*Men's Hockey: 2013

References

External links

* {{New York Sports