Athletics
The school's athletic teams are the Wildcats, and they compete in the NCAA Division I. UNH is a member of the America East Conference for basketball, cross country, track and field, soccer, swimming & diving and tennis; and women's crew, field hockey, and volleyball. They also compete in Hockey East in men's and women's ice hockey, Eastern Collegiate Ski Association for skiing, as well as the Colonial Athletic Association for football at the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS, formerly known as Division I-AA) level.
In the 2006 academic year the university cut women's crew, men's swimming & diving, and men's and women's tennis at the varsity level, and trimmed the size of the men's ski team from 27 to 12. The reason given was the athletic department would save $500,000 towards a $1 million budet shortfall and be in compliance with Title IX for the first time. In 1997, the university cut baseball, softball, men's and women's golf, and men's lacrosse.
In addition to varsity athletics, the university offers many club sports through the Department of Campus Recreation, including Aikido, Archery, Baseball, Crew, Cycling, Dance, Fencing, Figure Skating, Golf, Lacrosse, Nordic Skiing, Rugby, Sailing, Softball, Tennis, Taekwondo, Ultimate Frisbee (Men and Women's), Wrestling, and the Woodsmen Club. Many of these clubs compete either on an intercollegiate basis with New England teams, or sponsor university tournaments and frequently participate in national championships. UNH also offers horseback riding as a recreation. Many students can take horseback riding lessons with instructors, on their horse or the schools. UNH holds many events each year, for they have a large cross country course. UNH also has a dressage team that competes yearly.
The school's official colors are blue and white. The school's official mascot is the wildcat and its uniformed mascot is known as "Wild E. Cat".
The recognized fight song of UNH is "On to Victory", the most current version of which was arranged by Tom Keck, Director of Athletic Bands from 1998–2003. In 2003, "UNH Cheer" (originally titled "Cheer Boys") was resurrected from the university archives by Erika Svanoe, former Director of Athletic Bands. Based on the school song "Old New Hampshire", not to be confused with the New Hampshire state song of the same name, "UNH Cheer" currently serves as a secondary fight song and is often performed immediately following "On to Victory".
On October 7, 2006, Wildcats wide receiver David Ball tallied the 51st receiving touchdown of his career to displace Jerry Rice of Mississippi Valley State University, who was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame a month earlier, atop the ranking of NCAA Division I and I-AA players by career receiving touchdowns. He later signed as a rookie free agent with the Chicago Bears and played with well-known college football players Chris Leak and Darius Walker.
The Wildcats are considered one of the top NCAA Division I hockey schools in the nation.
Read more about this topic: University Of New Hampshire