The Trinity Tigers is the nickname for the sports teams of Trinity University in

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

, Texas. They participate in the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

Division III In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Third ...

and the

Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference The Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC), founded in 1962, is an intercollegiate athletic conference which competes in the NCAA's Division III. Member institutions are located in Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, and Texas. Difficulti ...

(SCAC). The school mascot is LeeRoy, a

Bengal tiger The Bengal tiger is a population of the ''Panthera tigris tigris'' subspecies and the nominate tiger subspecies. It ranks among the largest wild cats alive today. It is estimated to have been present in the Indian subcontinent since the Late ...

. In the 1950s, LeeRoy was an actual tiger who was brought to sporting events, but today LeeRoy is portrayed by a student wearing a tiger suit. Early in its history, the school participated in Division I and Division II athletics, but by 1991 the entire program made the move to Division III, at which time it joined the SCAC. Trinity fields strong teams, evidenced by its finishes in the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Learfield Directors' Cup, which recognizes the strength of athletic programs by division. Since the Directors' Cup inception in 1995, Trinity has finished in the top 10 on five occasions out of over 400

programs; it finished 20th in 2021–22. In recent years, Trinity has reached the national Division III playoffs in several sports, including

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

(national runners-up, 2002), women's basketball (2003 national champions),

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

(second place in 2022 and 1999; third place in 2019),

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

(national champion in 2016), women's cross country, men's and women's track and field, and men's and women's soccer (men's team won the national title in 2003 and placed second in 2007; women placed second in 2013). In 2011–12, the Trinity sports program reclaimed Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference "President's Trophy," awarded to the school in the conference that has the best overall sports record for the year. as of 2022, Trinity has won the President's Trophy every year since. Prior to that, the Tigers had won the award eleven out of the preceding twelve seasons. In addition to team success, individual Trinity student-athletes have won a number of championships over the years which are detailed below. Club sports include men's and women's

Lacrosse Lacrosse is a contact 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 w ...

Water Polo Water polo is a competitive sport, competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...

, and Trap and Skeet.

Varsity teams

Baseball

The Trinity University baseball program has a motto - "the tradition continues" - that the players look to in the heat of battle and celebrate in victory. “The Tradition Continues” is a staple of the baseball program's team-first approach and commitment to the good of the whole, the belief that each player contributes to the proud tradition of Trinity Baseball every time they step on the field. The Trinity Baseball Stadium was refurbished in 2022 with a turf field, new netting, updated batting cages and new dugouts. In May 2015, Trinity baseball qualified for the Division III College World Series for the first time, falling one game short of the championship round and placing third overall. In 2016, Trinity won the NCAA Division III College World Series and became national champions. In a best-of-three format, Trinity defeated

Keystone College Keystone College is a private college in northeastern Pennsylvania, United States. Although the college's official mailing address is La Plume, Pennsylvania in Lackawanna County, much of the campus is in Factoryville in Wyoming County. It was ...

14-6 in game 1 and 10-7 in game 2. Trinity defeated the 2015 champion,

SUNY Cortland The State University of New York at Cortland (SUNY Cortland, C-State, or Cortland State) is a public university in Cortland, New York. It was founded in 1868 and is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. History The State Univ ...

, twice in the bracket rounds of the tournament en route to the national championship. Jeremy Wolf was playing in the outfield when the Trinity baseball team won the 2016

NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is the lowest division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that do not offer athletic scholarships to student- ...

Baseball Championship. In 2016, Wolf hit .408/.508/.741 with 60 runs, 28 doubles (leading the

, and establishing new Trinity and SCAC single-season records), 149 total bases (third in the nation), 11 home runs, and 70 RBIs (4th in the nation). He was named

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

First Team of both the

American Baseball Coaches Association The American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) is the world's largest Amateur baseball in the United States, amateur baseball Manager (baseball), coaching organization. It was founded in 1945 as the American Association of College Baseball Coach ...

(ABCA) and D3baseball.com, was named the West Region Player of the Year by the ABCA and D3baseball.com, and was named

Player of the Year. In his college career Wolf hit 72 doubles, a Trinity record, over 189 games. The 2021 Trinity baseball team was ranked #1 in the country during the regular season and was selected for the NCAA Regional Tournament in St. Paul, Minnesota. Trinity won SCAC conference championships in 1995, 1999, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2019. In addition to 2015 and 2016, the Trinity Tigers made it to the NCAA College World Series in 2022. A number of former Trinity baseball players have made names for themselves in the ranks of professional baseball teams around the country. Tim Scannell is in his 26th season as the head baseball coach. After serving as an assistant coach for two seasons, Coach Scannell took the Tigers’ reins prior to the 1999 campaign. Since that time, the Tigers have amassed an impressive 775 victories (.728) over 25 seasons with Coach Scannell at the helm. Coach Scannell is ranked in the top 10 among active

coaches by winning percentage. The other Trinity baseball coaches are both former Trinity baseball players — David Smith is the pitching coach.

Basketball

The Tigers had a successful men's basketball program under

Bob Polk James Robert Polk (February 28, 1915 – March 18, 1986) was an American basketball coach. Polk coached the Vanderbilt Commodores, the Trinity Tigers, the Saint Louis Billikens and Rice University. He began his college coaching career as an ...

from 1965 to 1968; Polk, an

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

native, had compiled a record of 197–106 at Vanderbilt, but poor health led to his resignation on the advice of his doctors. However, he was out of basketball for only 18 months as his health rapidly improved. As both the head basketball coach and athletics director, Polk became Southland Conference Coach-of-the-Year in 1967. He was also the NCAA National Coach of the Year for the

NCAA College Division The NCAA College Division was a historic subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) consisting of member schools competing at a lower level of college sports. The NCAA initially divided schools into a College Division and a ...

(the predecessor of today's

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is the 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 environment ...

and

) in 1968. In his three years at Trinity, Polk compiled a 69–28 record and led the Tigers to the 1968 NCAA Men's Division II Basketball Tournament, where they finished third overall. Trinity's women's teams, however, have had considerably more success. The 2002–03 edition went 28–5 and won the national championship under the leadership of coach Becky Geyer, despite never previously having won an NCAA playoff game in school history. While under the leadership of coach Cameron Hill, the team has become a perennial playoff participant, making it to the Elite 8 in 2022 and the Sweet 16 in 2023. In 12 seasons, Hill's teams have earned a record of 249–49 (0.835).

Football

Trinity University started its football team in 1900 and played

Baylor University Baylor University is a Private university, private Baptist research university in Waco, Texas, United States. It was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Te ...

in the first game. The Tigers won conference championships in 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2011, 2019, 2021, 2022, and 2023. Trinity athletics may be most famous for the "Mississippi Miracle" executed by the Tiger football team in the 2007 Trinity vs. Millsaps football game. On October 27, 2007, in a game played in Jackson, Mississippi, against conference rival

Millsaps College Millsaps College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Jackson, Mississippi. It was founded in 1890 and is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. History The college was founded ...

, Trinity trailed by two points with two seconds left. With time for only one more play and being too far way for a field goal, the Tigers ran the "hook and lateral play," in which a receiver runs a short hook route, and then laterals the ball to a trailing player. After the first lateral the Millsaps defense was not fooled and seemed about to tackle the ball carrier and end the game. At this point the Tigers showed their knowledge of rugby by lining up across the field, rather than gathering in front of the ball carrier as is typical in American football. This meant that there was always a Tiger player in position, either even with or behind the ball carrier, to legally receive another lateral. Every time the Millsaps defense closed on the ball carrier the Trinity player was able to complete a legal lateral to a teammate. In what ESPN said may have been the "longest play in football history," in terms of time elapsed (sixty seconds exactly), Trinity completed 15 laterals before breaking through the Millsaps defense for a 61-yard touchdown. The score, known in Jackson, MS as the "Major Disaster," (Millsaps' nickname is "The Majors") gave Trinity the victory and ultimately led to the conference championship. The Trinity community is especially proud of this play because it demonstrated not only the Tigers' athletic ability, but also their intelligence and poise under pressure. The unlikely play was named the top sports moment of the year by ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' magazine as well as the "Game Changing Performance of the Year" by

Pontiac Pontiac most often refers to: * Pontiac (Odawa leader) ( – 1769), Native American war chief *Pontiac (automobile), a former General Motors brand Pontiac may also refer to: Places and jurisdictions Canada * Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality ** Apo ...

. In November 2015, Trinity and

Austin College Austin College is a private liberal arts college affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and located in Sherman, Texas.Southern Athletic Association The Southern Athletic Association (SAA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference that competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III that began play in the 2012–13 school year. It was formed in 2011 by seven ...

for football in 2017. The 2019 football team were co-champions of the Southern Athletic Association.

Jerheme Urban Jerheme Wayne Urban (born November 26, 1980) is an American college football coach and former wide receiver. He is the head football coach for Trinity University, a position he had held since 2014. Urban played college football at Trinity and pr ...

has served as head coach of the football team since 2014. Coach Urban played football and ran track at Trinity University and was a football All-American. After graduating from Trinity in 2003, Coach Urban had a nine-year career in the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

. In 2019, Coach Urban was inducted into the Trinity University Athletics Hall of Fame.

Tennis

Trinity has historically had a strong tennis program, once a Division I tennis power, under tennis coach Clarency Mabry, winning the men's NCAA championship in 1972, as well as being runners up in 1970, 1971, 1977 and 1979. The women's team captured the first USLTA women's collegiate championship in 1968 and won several more titles. In the early 1960s the program was home to arguably some of the best tennis players in the world, and bypassed the

tournament to enter

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...

. In 1963,

Chuck McKinley Charles Robert McKinley Jr. (January 5, 1941 – August 11, 1986) was an American former world no. 1 men's amateur tennis champion of the 1960s. He is remembered as an undersized, hard-working dynamo, whose relentless effort and competitive spi ...

of Trinity won the Wimbledon Men's Singles Championship. He was also the runner up in

1961 Events January * January 1 – Monetary reform in the Soviet Union, 1961, Monetary reform in the Soviet Union. * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and cons ...

. In 1970, as a freshman at Trinity,

Brian Gottfried Brian Edward Gottfried (born January 27, 1952) is an American retired tennis player who won 25 singles titles and 54 doubles titles during his professional career. He was the runner-up in singles at the 1977 French Open – Men's singles, 1977 F ...

won the

USTA The United States Tennis Association (USTA) is the national Sport governing body, governing body for tennis in the United States. A not-for-profit organization with more than 700,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds to promote and devel ...

boys 18s singles championship, as well as the doubles championship with Alexander Mayer. Other famous tennis players to attend Trinity included Butch Newman, Bob McKinley,

Frank Froehling Frank Arthur Froehling III (May 19, 1942 – January 23, 2020) was an American tennis player. During his college career at Trinity University Froehling recorded 46–5 in singles matches and won nine singles titles. He was runner-up at U.S. ...

Dick Stockton Richard Edward Stokvis (born November 22, 1942), known professionally as Dick Stockton, is an American retired sportscaster. Stockton began his career in Philadelphia, then moved to Pittsburgh, where he worked as the sports director for KDKA-T ...

Bill Scanlon William Neil Scanlon (November 13, 1956 – June 2, 2021) was a tennis player from the United States, who won seven singles and two doubles titles during his 13-year professional career. The right-hander reached his career-high ATP singles ran ...

and

Gretchen Magers Gretchen Anne Rush (born February 7, 1964), also known by her married name Gretchen Magers, is a former professional tennis player from the United States who was active in the 1980s and early 1990s. Rush played tennis at Trinity University in S ...

. The school's men's and women's programs both claimed national championships in 2000.

Tennis Team championships (Division I era)

*1968 USTA National Women's Collegiate Championship *1969 USTA National Women's Collegiate Championship *1972 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championship *1973 USTA National Women's Collegiate Championship *1975 USTA National Women's Collegiate Championship *1975 National Collegiate Team Champions – Trap and Skeet *1976 USTA National Women's Collegiate Championship *1976 National Collegiate Team Champions – Trap and Skeet *1977 National Collegiate Team Champions – Trap and Skeet *1980 National Collegiate Team Champions – Trap and Skeet

NCAA Team championships (Division III era)

*2000 NCAA Division III Men's Tennis Championship *2000 NCAA Division III Women's Tennis Championship *2003 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship *2003 NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship *2015 ITA Men's Tennis Indoor National Championship *2016 NCAA Division III Men's Baseball Championship

Tennis Individual championships (Division I/II era)

*1966 NCAA Division II Men's Outdoor 100yd Dash (Clyde Glosson) *1968 USTA National Women's Singles Championship (Emilie Burrer) *1968 USTA National Women's Doubles Championship (Emilie Burrer & Becky Vest) *1968 NCAA Division II Men's Outdoor 200yd Dash (Clyde Glosson) *1969 USTA National Women's Singles Championship (Emilie Burrer) *1969 USTA National Women's Doubles Championship (Emilie Burrer & Becky Vest) *1972 NCAA Division I Men's Singles Championship (

) *1975 USTA National Women's Singles Championship (Stephanie Tolleson) *1975 USTA National Women's Doubles Championship (JoAnne Russell & Donna Stockton) *1976 NCAA Division I Men's Singles Championship (

) *1979 NCAA Division I Men's Doubles Championship (Erick Iskersky & Ben McCown) *1983 NCAA Division I Women's Doubles Championship (Louise Allen & Gretchen Rush)

NCAA/ITA Individual championships (Division III era)

*1997 ITA Men's National Singles Championship (Jamie Broach) *1997 ITA Men's National Doubles Championship (Jamie Broach & Michael Slutzky) *1998 ITA Women's National Singles Championship (Lola Taylor) *1998 ITA Women's National Doubles Championship (Lola Taylor & Lizzie Yasser) *1999 ITA Women's National Singles Championship (Lizzie Yasser) *1999 ITA Women's National Doubles Championship (Lizzie Yasser & Amanda Browne) *2003 ITA Men's National Doubles Championship (Sean Fifield & Stefan Parker) *2003 ITA Women's National Doubles Championship (Heather McGowan & Hayley Dittus) *2004 NCAA Division III Women's Outdoor High Jump (Christyn Schumann) *2004 NCAA Division III Women's Indoor High Jump (Christyn Schumann) *2005 NCAA Division III Women's Outdoor High Jump (Christyn Schumann) *2006 NCAA Division III Women's Outdoor High Jump (Christyn Schumann) *2009 NCAA Division III Men's Indoor Pentathlon (Todd Wildman) *2010 NCAA Division III Women's 1-Meter Diving (Lindsay Martin) *2010 NCAA Division III Women's 3-Meter Diving (Hayley Emerick) *2010 NCAA Division III Men's Indoor Pentathlon (Todd Wildman) *2010 ITA Men's National Doubles Championship (Bobby Cocanougher & Cory Kowal) *2012 NCAA Division III Women's 3-Meter Diving (Ruth Hahn) *2012 ITA Men's National Singles Championship (Aaron Skinner) *2014 NCAA Division III Men's 100 Yard Freestyle (Stephen Culberson) *2014 ITA Men's National Doubles Championship (Jordan Mayer & Aaron Skinner)

References

External links

* {{Southern Athletic Association navbox