The Shawnee State Bears are the athletic teams that represent

Shawnee State University Shawnee State University (SSU) is a public university in Portsmouth, Ohio, United States, established in 1986. It is the southernmost member of the University System of Ohio. History Although its roots date back to 1945 when Ohio University est ...

, located in

Portsmouth, Ohio Portsmouth is a city in Scioto County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Located in southern Ohio south of Chillicothe, Ohio, Chillicothe, it lies on the north bank of the Ohio River, across from Kentucky and just east of the mouth of th ...

, in intercollegiate sports. They are a member of the

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for higher education, colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic schola ...

(NAIA), primarily competing in the

River States Conference The River States Conference (RSC), formerly known as the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (KIAC), is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Although it was historica ...

(RSC). The Bears joined the RSC in 2023 after 13 years in the

Mid-South Conference The Mid-South Conference (MSC) is a List of college athletic conferences in the United States, college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Member institutions are located in Kentuc ...

(MSC). The Bears previously competed in the defunct

American Mideast Conference The American Mideast Conference (AMC) was an affiliate of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics that included eight member institutions in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Massachusetts. Founded in 1949, it was known as the Mid- ...

(AMC) from 1991–92 to 2009–10; and as an NAIA Independent from 1986–87 (when the school began its athletics program and joined the NAIA) to 1990–91. The Shawnee State athletics program was established in 1986. The Bears have participated in 25 national championships and 17 conference championships in 7 of 11 sponsored sports.

Varsity teams

Shawnee State competes in 20 intercollegiate varsity sports:

Club sports

Apart from the varsity teams, the university has a men's volleyball club.

Accomplishments

The SSU women’s basketball team won the NAIA Division II National Championship on March 16, 1999 with an 80-65 win over the

University of Saint Francis (Indiana) The University of Saint Francis (USF) is a private Catholic university in Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States. The university promotes Catholic and Franciscan values. The school's 2022–23 enrollment was 1,903 undergraduate and graduate student ...

. The SSU men's basketball team won the NAIA National Championship on March 23, 2021 with an 74-68 win over the Lewis-Clark State College.

National championships

NAIA

Other athletic highlights

* 1992 - softball team finishes 10th in NAIA National Tournament * 1995 - softball team finishes 8th in NAIA National Tournament * 1995 - women's basketball, NAIA National Tournament Final Four * 1996 - softball team finishes as NAIA National Tournament Runners-up * 1998 - softball team finishes 9th in NAIA National Tournament * 1999 - women's basketball team won the NAIA Division II National Championship * 2001 - softball team finishes 9th in NAIA National Tournament: * 2008 - men's cross country team finishes 11th in NAIA National Championships: * 2008 - women's cross country team finishes 13th in NAIA National Championships: *2021 - men's basketball team won the NAIA National Championship

References

External links

* {{Ohio college sports River States Conference teams Former Mid-South Conference teams NAIA teams Shawnee State University