Lebanon Valley College - Athletics

Athletics

Lebanon Valley's athletic program began in the mid-1890s with baseball and then football in 1897. Men's and women's basketball were introduced in 1904. Currently, LVC is an NCAA Division III school that sponsors 21 intercollegiate programs and competes in the MAC Commonwealth Conference (half of the two-conference Middle Atlantic Conferences). It also plays ice hockey in the American Collegiate Hockey Association.

• Baseball began in the mid-1890s. Not a perennial power, it last won a Commonwealth title in 2002. It plays its home games at beautiful McGill Park, which opened in 1999 and has earned national awards for its design and upkeep. The team competes in the Commonwealth Conference.
• Men's Basketball has been the most successful program at LVC. Winners of the school's only national championship in 1994, it has been extremely successful since its inception in 1904. In 1953, the team, under legendary head coach George "Rinso" Marquette, advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament (which at that time was not split by divisions) after beating Fordham at the Palestra in Philadelphia in the first round. To this day, LVC is the smallest school to ever advance to the Sweet 16. The program won several conference titles in the 1970s, but the early 1990s were a renaissance period. By 1994, coach Pat Flannery, with junior national player of the year Mike Rhodes, led the team to the national championship by beating New York University (NYU) 66-59 in overtime. The team earned several more NCAA bids in coming years behind another national player of the year, Andy Panko, and in 2005 the team again returned, advancing to the second round. They play their home games at the new LVC Gymnasium after spending 50 years playing at Lynch Gymnasium. The team competes in the Commonwealth Conference.
• Women's Basketball has recently found success under former head coach Peg Kauffman, earning multiple conference playoff berths and winning the ECAC Southern tournament in 2002-03. The team competes in the Commonwealth Conference. They are currently coached by Todd Goclowski.
• Cross Country competes in the MAC.
• Field Hockey became a national powerhouse under former head coach and former athletic director Kathy Tierney. The team made two straight Final Four appearances in 1996 and 1997. In 2001, the new LVC Field Hockey stadium opened, and it hosted the NCAA Final Four in 2003. The team won the ECAC Southern title in 2004. The team competes in the Commonwealth Conference. The team also made two straight Final Four appearances in 2006 and 2007 under current head coach Laurel Martin.
• Football, which began in 1897, has traditionally been weak, winning its last conference title in 1969. However, since the 2004 season, which saw the return of Jim Monos as head coach, the Dutchmen have shown significant improvement on the gridiron. The squad went 6-4 in 2006, the first winning season for the Dutchmen in 14 years. In 2009, the Dutchmen set a program record for wins in a season, finishing 9-2. The Dutchmen also beat Salisbury University 37-21 in the 2009 ECAC Southwest Bowl, their first post-season game since the 1951 Burley Bowl. The all-time record as of 2009 is 391-532-37. The team competes in the MAC and plays its home games at Arnold Field.
• Golf competes in the Commonwealth Conference.
• Ice hockey was introduced in 1996 and found immediate success, winning the ECAC Northeast conference title in 2001, earning a berth in the NCAA tournament. The program shifted affiliation to the ECAC West from the 2004-05 season through the 2009-2010 season. The team posted a dismal record of 12-135-3 since the move. On February 23, 2010 LVC announced the team will shift to ACHA Division I varsity-club play beginning in the 2010-2011 season. The team plays home games at the 7,225-seat Hersheypark Arena in Hershey, Pennsylvania, approximately 15 minutes west of campus. Occasionally, home games are played at Giant Center, home of the Hershey Bears (AHL).
• Indoor Track competes in the Arnold Arena in the MAC.
• Men's and women's Lacrosse begins competition in spring 2010 and will compete at Arnold Field.
• Outdoor Track competes at Arnold Field in the MAC.
• Men's Soccer competes at Herbert Field in the Commonwealth Conference, coached by Charlie Grimes.
• Women's Soccer competes at Herbert Field in the Commonwealth Conference, coached by Lauren Frankford.
• Women's Softball competes at the LVC Softball Park in the Commonwealth Conference, coached by Stacey Hollinger. On October 1, 2009 the team was honored by NFCA for Academic Success. The team's GPA ranked them 40th among all 386 Division 3 schools playing softball. In addition, 9 team members were individually honored by the NFCA as Scholar-Athletes.
• Men's and women's Swimming competes in the Arnold pool in the MAC
• Women's Volleyball competes at the LVC Gymnasium in the Commonwealth Conference.
• Men's and women's Tennis competes in the Commonwealth Conference.