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The Elon Phoenix is the official mascot of Elon University, located in Elon, North Carolina. It is the name that each of the sports teams at the university are referred to. The university is a member of the
Colonial Athletic Association The Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I whose full members are located in East Coast states from Massachusetts to South Carolina. Most of its members are public universi ...
and competes in the NCAA Division I
Football Championship Subdivision 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 Athleti ...
, fielding 17
varsity Varsity may refer to: *University, an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in various academic disciplines Places *Varsity, Calgary, a neighbourhood in Calgary, Alberta, Canada * Varsity Lakes ...
teams in 11 sports. All of Elon's varsity teams currently compete in sports sponsored by the CAA. Elon moved to the
Colonial Athletic Association The Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I whose full members are located in East Coast states from Massachusetts to South Carolina. Most of its members are public universi ...
on July 1, 2014.


History

The turn of the century saw the foundation of then-Elon College athletics begin to form. The school's first intercollegiate athletic event came in 1900 when the school played two baseball games against Guilford College in a home-and-home series and the first gymnasium was built in 1905. Football began play in 1909, while men's basketball followed in 1911. In 1921, the team was first called the Fightin' Christians. The moniker is said to have been coined by a sportswriter covering a contest between Elon and nearby Guilford College, a Quaker school. The school became a charter member of the North State Conference in 1930 and remained a member of the conference and its successors until departing for the South Atlantic Conference in 1989. The Fightin' Christians saw great success in the North State Conference, winning numerous conference titles and national championships. The football team won NAIA national titles in 1980 and 1981 under Coach
Jerry Tolley Jerry Russell Tolley (born November 6, 1942) is an American football coach, educator and politician. He served as the head football coach at Elon University from 1977 to 1981, compiling a record of 49–11–2. His 1980 and 1981 teams were both c ...
, who was named national coach of the year for the 1980 season. Both titles were won in championship games played on Elon's home field in neighboring
Burlington, North Carolina Burlington is a city in Alamance County, North Carolina, Alamance and Guilford County, North Carolina, Guilford counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the principal city of the Burlington, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Are ...
. The men's golf team and men's tennis teams also claimed NAIA national championships in 1982 and 1990, respectively. Women's sports became a part of the Elon athletic department in the early 1970s, as legendary coach Kay Yow began her college coaching career by guiding the first-ever women's basketball and women's volleyball teams at Elon. Softball was added in 1977, while women's tennis began play in 1979. Six other women's teams have been added in the years since, including soccer, cross country, golf, indoor track, outdoor track and lacrosse. In 1993, the South Atlantic Conference and its members moved from NAIA competition to NCAA Division II, where Elon would remain through the 1996–1997 season. In 1997, Elon began the transition into NCAA Division I, becoming a full member in 1999. Division I membership meant a new conference and Elon joined the
Big South Conference The Big South Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I. Originally a non-football conference, the Big South began sponsoring football in 2002 as part of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). Th ...
. The women's soccer team quickly earned the school's first ever NCAA Division I tournament berth by winning the Big South tournament in the fall of 1999. Still known as the Fightin' Christians at the time, many did not feel that the nickname was universal enough for a team making the transition to Division I athletics. In 2000, Elon College officially changed its mascot to the Phoenix. The choice refers to a 1923 fire that destroyed nearly the entire campus. Soon after the fire, the university trustees began planning to make Elon "rise from the ashes". The Phoenix was a mythical creature that rose from the ashes of its predecessors. At the beginning of the 2001–02 season, the school was renamed Elon University to better reflect growing educational options. Change was not far behind in athletics as the Phoenix became members of the Southern Conference beginning in 2003.


National championships


Team


Facilities

Elon's sports facilities include the
Schar Center The Schar Center is a multi-purpose arena in Elon, North Carolina on the campus of Elon University Elon University is a private university in Elon, North Carolina. Founded in 1889 as Elon College, Elon is organized into six schools, most of whi ...
, Alumni Gym,
Walter C. Latham Park Walter C. Latham Park is a baseball venue located in Elon, North Carolina, United States. It is home to the Elon Phoenix baseball team, a member of the Division I Colonial Athletic Association.
, Rhodes Stadium, the on-campus
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
stadium, Alumni Field House, Koury Field House, Rudd Field, Hunt Softball Park, Jimmy Powell Tennis Center, the Jeanne and Jerry Robertson Track and Field Complex, Rudd Field and the Worseley Golf Center. Schar Center, the replacement for Alumni Gym as the home of Phoenix men's basketball, women's basketball and volleyball, opened on August 28, 2018 with a volleyball match against North Carolina A&T.


Notable former athletes

*
Hal Bradley Eugene Harold Bradley (November 23, 1913 – June 14, 1981) was an American football end in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins and the Chicago Cardinals. He played college football College football (french: Footba ...
, Football (1936) *
Jesse Branson Herman Jesse Branson (January 7, 1942 – November 2, 2014) was an American basketball player. Born in Graham, North Carolina, he played collegiately for Elon University. He was tall. He became known as the hoops legend at Elon, setting numero ...
, Basketball (1965) * John Brebbia (born 1990), Baseball * Elijah Bryant (born 1995), Basketball * Ward Burton, NASCAR driver (1985) * Joey Hackett, Football (1981) *
Greg W. Harris Gregory Wade Harris (born December 1, 1963), is an American former professional baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues from 1988 through 1995. Greg Harris was drafted by the San Diego Padres out of Elon University in the 10th round of ...
, Baseball (1987) * Clint Irwin, Soccer (2010) *
Steven Kinney Steven Kinney (born October 28, 1987 in Norcross, Georgia) is an American soccer player who plays as a defender. He is currently without a club. Career Youth and College Kinney helped his club team, '88 Concorde Fire Elite, to three Region III ...
, Soccer (2009) * Daniel Lovitz, Soccer (2013) * Chad Nkang, Football (2007) * Aaron Mellette, Football (2013) * Oli Udoh, Football (2018)


References


External links

* {{North Carolina Sports