The Southern Connecticut Owls (also Southern Connecticut State Owls and SCSU Owls) are the athletic teams that represent

Southern Connecticut State University Southern Connecticut State University (Southern Connecticut, Southern Connecticut State, SCSU, or simply Southern) is a public university in New Haven, Connecticut. Part of the Connecticut State University System, it was founded in 1893 and is ...

, located in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134 ...

, in

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 ...

intercollegiate sports. The Owls' 17 athletic teams, seven for men and 10 for women, compete as members of either the

Northeast-10 Conference The Northeast-10 Conference (NE-10) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Member institutions are located in the northeastern United States in the states ...

or the

Eastern College Athletic Conference The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) is a college athletic conference comprising schools that compete in 15 sports (13 men's and 13 women's). It has 220 member institutions in NCAA Divisions I, II, and III, ranging in location fr ...

. SCSU has been a member of the NE-10 since 2000. There have been 10 NCAA National Championship Teams at Southern, as well as 75 NCAA Individual Champions in the sports of Track and Field, Swimming and Gymnastics.

Sports sponsored

Soccer

SCSU's men's soccer team won titles in 1987, 1990, 1992, 1995, 1998, 1999. The six titles are the most for any Division II men's soccer team in the country. The program has appeared in 32 NCAA Division II Tournaments, 17 NCAA Final Four appearances, and has produced 52 All-Americans, 15 Senior Bowl Players, 4 National Player of the Year Award Winners, and 1 Golden Boot Award (Top Goalkeeper in any NCAA Division) winner.

Basketball

On March 24, 2007, the women's

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

team won the

championships. In a 61–45 victory, SCSU beat the previously undefeated Florida Gulf Coast.

Gymnastics

The street circle in front of the Moore Fieldhouse is named in honor of former Olympian

Abie Grossfeld Abie Grossfeld (born March 1, 1934) is an American gymnastics coach and former gymnast. Grossfeld has represented the United States as a gymnastics competitor or coach in seven Olympic Games, seven World Championships, six Maccabiah Games, and f ...

, former head gymnastics coach at the university.

Swimming

The swimming and diving team scored their highest at the NCAA championship meet in March for the years 2007 and 2008.

Football

Elm City rivalry SCSU's football program has produced coaches and players who went on to the National Football League.

Alumni in the NFL

Active Coaches * Jeff Stoutland — Linebackers coach (1984-1985), Offensive coordinator (1988-1992) *

Tim Holt Charles John "Tim" Holt III (February 5, 1919 – February 15, 1973) was an American actor. He was a popular Western star during the 1940s and early 1950s, appearing in forty-six B westerns released by RKO Pictures. In a career spanning mo ...

— Tight ends coach & Assistant offensive line coach (1995-1996), Running backs coach (2005-2007) Former Coaches *

Kevin Gilbride Kevin Bernard Gilbride (born August 27, 1951) is an American football head coach. He was a coach for twenty years in the NFL, spending seven of them as the offensive coordinator for the New York Giants, with whom he earned two Super Bowl rings. ...

— Quarterback and Tight end, Head coach (1980-1984) * Chris Palmer — Quarterback (1969-1971) * Nick Nicolau — Running back (1957-1959), Assistant coach (1960) Former NFL Players *

Scott Mersereau Scott Robert Mersereau born (April 8, 1965 in Riverhead, New York, United States) is a former defensive lineman for the New York Jets of the National Football League. He attended college at Southern Connecticut State University. He played profe ...

— Defensive tackle for the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The ...

(1987-1993)

Volleyball

SCSU's volleyball program had its most successful seasons in 2017–18 and in 2018–19. The Owls had their first National Tournament berth in 2017 with a record of 24–11. They ended their campaign in the second round of the National Tournament when they lost to New Haven. In 2018, the Owls won their first-ever NE-10 Conference Title against American International College. The Owls then had their second berth into the National Tournament, bust lost in the first round.

Sports sponsored

Soccer

Basketball

Gymnastics

Swimming

Football

Alumni in the NFL

Volleyball

National championships

Team

References

External links