Saint Peter's University - Athletics

Athletics

Main article: Saint Peter's Peacocks and Peahens See also: List of college athletic programs in New Jersey, USA

Competing in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), the college fields 18 athletic teams. The men's teams are known as the Peacocks, and the women's teams are the Peahens; Saint Peter's is the only NCAA Division I institution with this mascot. The baseball, softball and soccer teams play at Joseph J. Jaroschak Field, in Lincoln Park. All other teams play at the The Victor R. Yanitelli, S.J. Recreational Life Center, located on campus. The school also uses the Jersey City Armory for some events. On June 14, 2007, it was announced that the football team would be disbanded.

Basketball has long been the most popular sport at the college. Under legendary coach Don Kennedy, the men's team gained national attention by defeating heavily favored and nationally ranked Duke University in the 1968 NIT quarterfinals, en route to a fourth-place finish.

Saint Peter's has won the MAAC men's basketball championship and the accompanying automatic bid to the NCAA tournament three times (1991, 1995, and 2011) and has appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) 12 times (1957, 1958, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1975, 1976, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1987 and 1989). The women's basketball team has won seven MAAC championships and automatic bids to the NCAA tournament (1982, 1992, 1993, 1997, 1999, 2000 and 2002); it also won the MAAC championship in 1983 and 1984, years when the MAAC champion did not receive an automatic NCAA tournament berth.

In recent years the basketball program has seen a resurgence, owing much to the success of Keydren "Kee-Kee" Clark '05. In 2004 and 2005, Clark led the nation in points scored per game, becoming just the eighth player to repeat as NCAA Division I scoring champion. On March 4, 2006, Clark became only the seventh NCAA player to score more than 3,000 points in his career; on the next day, he passed Hersey Hawkins to become the sixth-leading scorer of all time. At the time of his final game on March 6, 2006, Clark held the NCAA all-time record for 3-point shots, with 435. A second fourth-year student and a forward on the basketball team, George Jefferson, died on June 21, 2005, due to a previously undiagnosed heart condition. In 2011, Saint Peter's won the MAAC tournament to make the Peacocks' first March Madness appearance since 1995.

John Dunne was named the 14th head coach in Saint Peter’s College men’s basketball history on May 24, 2006. On November 25, 2007, the Peacocks defeated Rutgers University 65–58 at the Jersey City Armory. This victory was Saint Peter's first win against a Big East Conference opponent since defeating Seton Hall University at the Meadowlands in 1995.

The men's soccer team has also enjoyed some success of late. The Peacocks were crowned the 2003 MAAC Men's Soccer Champions after defeating Loyola College (Maryland), 2–1. In 2006 the Peacocks returned to the MAAC Men's Soccer Championship finals where they were outlasted by Fairfield University, 1–0. The Peacocks again returned to the MAAC Men's Soccer Championship Finals in 2007, where they fell to Loyola College, 1–0. In 2007, the men's team earned a place in the 2007 NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament with the first at-large nomination in school history. The Peacocks met the University of Virginia in the first Round of play at Charlottesville, Virginia. Saint Peter's lost by a score of 3–1. In 2010 Saint Peter's College Mens Soccer term earned their 2nd MAAC Championship title defeating Iona College 2–1.

The women's bowling team is one of the most successful programs at the school, winning its first-ever championship title in 2009.

The golf team enjoys access to the prestigious Liberty National Golf Club on the beautiful Jersey City waterfront — home to The Barclays 2009, first stage of the PGA Tour Playoffs for the FedEx Cup. Liberty National is noted as a unique course because of its proximity to and panoramic views of both the Statue of Liberty and Manhattan.