Northeastern State University - Athletics

Athletics

NSU's athletic teams are known as the RiverHawks. The university competes at the NCAA Division II level as a member of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA). The university previously competed in the Lone Star Conference before joining the MIAA in 2012. It was accepted into the MIAA on July 30, 2010 during the conference's expansion from 12 to 16 members. NSU began play in the MIAA in the 2012-13 academic year. NSU offers eleven sports including football, baseball, softball, men and women's basketball, men and women's soccer, golf, and tennis. In 2003, the men's basketball team won the Division II national championship.

NSU announced on May 23, 2006 that they would be dropping "Redmen" in favor of a new mascot to represent the school. Although the "Redmen" name was not deemed to be hostile or abusive towards Native Americans by the NCAA, restrictions connected to the use of American Indian nicknames could have affected future NSU athletic competitions had NSU not taken the initiative to comply before the Redmen name became an issue. The university announced its new athletic name as the RiverHawks on Nov. 14, 2006.