St. Edward's Hilltoppers

The St. Edward's Hilltoppers are the athletic teams that represent St. Edward's University, located in Austin, Texas, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sporting competitions. The Hilltoppers compete as members of the Lone Star Conference for all 13 varsity sports. St. Edward's was a member of the Heartland Conference from 1999 to 2019.

St. Edward's Hilltoppers
Logo
UniversitySt. Edward's University
ConferenceLSC (primary)
NCAADivision II
Athletic directorDebbie Taylor
LocationAustin, Texas
Varsity teams13 (5 men's, 6 women's, 2 co-ed)
Basketball arenaRecreation and Athletics Center
Baseball stadiumLucian-Hamilton Field
Softball stadiumDiane Daniels Field
Soccer stadiumLewis-Chen Family Field
MascotMountain goat
NicknameHilltoppers
ColorsNavy and Vegas gold[1]
   
Websitegohilltoppers.com

History

As of Fall 2014, the Hilltopper varsity athletic teams made 29 NCAA Tournament appearances over the last five seasons. Since joining the NCAA in 1999, the Hilltopper teams have won 55 Heartland Conference Championships. In 2008–2009, five St. Edward's athletes were named All-American, and 56 individuals were named to the All-Heartland Conference Team. St. Edward's men's soccer team was the Heartland Conference Champions in 2009. The women's soccer team has been very successful since 2006, posting winning records each season, and being selected to the NCAA Tournament 6 out of 7 years.[2]

The university's official spirit group is the HillRaisers. The university's student-athlete graduation rate of 88% is fourth highest in the nation out of 270 Division II institutions. The Dallas Cowboys football team used the campus for pre-season training from 1990 to 1997.[3]

Early history

In late 1926, St. Edward's joined the Texas Conference,[4] where they competed until late 1939, when the university discontinued intercollegiate athletics.[5] During the pre-World War II era, St. Edward's teams had at least three different nicknames: Saints, Tigers, and Crusaders.[6]

Present era

In April 2020, St. Edward's abruptly discontinued five NCAA Division II programs: men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s tennis and men’s soccer, while also downgrading its cheer squad to a club sport.[7]

Varsity teams
The Hilltoppers softball team in action against the Texas A&M–Commerce Lions in 2015

List of teams

Football

St. Edward's fielded an intercollegiate football team, last known as the Crusaders. The program was discontinued following the 1939 season.

Club sports and campus recreation

In 2009, the university added a Campus Recreation program to meet the growing needs of the student population. All club sports are housed within the Campus Recreation office. The university supports several club-level programs including:

Competitive club sports teams
  • Cycling
  • Men's Basketball
  • Men's Lacrosse
  • Men's Soccer
  • Rugby
  • Rowing
  • Women's Soccer
  • Swimming
  • Women's Volleyball

Conditional club sports teams
  • Archery
  • Bass Fishing Club
  • Cultural Dance Club
  • Dance Team
  • Karate
  • Men's Volleyball
  • Outdoor Adventure Club
  • Ving Tsun Martial Arts Club
  • Women's Basketball
  • Women's Lacrosse

Intramural sports
  • 5-on-5 Basketball
  • 7-on-7 Soccer
  • Dodgeball
  • Flag football
  • Indoor Soccer
  • Indoor Volleyball
  • Innertube Water Polo
  • Racquetball
  • Ultimate Frisbee
  • Volleyball

Rugby club

Founded in 2009, the St Edward’s University Rugby Football Club plays in NSCRO or National Small College Rugby Organization in the Lonestar Conference. St. Edward's joined the Lonestar Conference in May 2013. St. Edward's ascended from Division III to Division I being promoted to the next division in three straight seasons from 2011-2013. In 2010-2011, their first season, St. Edwards had an undefeated regular season, won the Texas DIII league, and finished fifth nationally among small schools. In 2011-2012, St. Edwards again had an undefeated regular season in DII winning their conference. 2012-2013 saw St. Edward's join the DI South West Conference where they finished as the runner up in both 15's and 7's rugby. St. Edward's then rejoined the NSCRO Lone Star conference and finished with consecutive undefeated conference records and conference championships in 2013-2014 and 2014-2015. In 2014 St. Edward's won the inaugural Texas Cup competition which is an open tournament across all divisions and brackets in Texas college rugby, they also became the first team in the history of NSCRO to defeat a Varsity Cup team when they defeated the University of Texas.[8] In 2015 St. Edwards was named men's college rugby program of the year.[9] St. Edward's has seen an increase in applications and matriculating students who target the school because of its rugby program, and as a result, the administration has put more support behind the rugby program.

References
  1. St. Edwards Logo Reference Sheet (PDF). April 28, 2017. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  2. Hilltoppers Athletics 2015-2016
  3. "Camp Returning to Oxnard" Archived 2009-05-31 at the Wayback Machine, Dallas Morning News (Cowboys Blog), 29 Feb 2008
  4. "St. Edwards Admitted To Texas Conference Thursday". Austin American-Statesman. December 10, 1926. p. 11. Retrieved January 11, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
  5. "Saint Abdication Seems Definite". Austin American-Statesman. December 11, 1939. p. 11. Retrieved January 11, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
  6. Hart, Weldon (August 31, 1939). "The Tigers Are Crusaders Now". Austin American-Statesman. p. 19. Retrieved January 11, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
  7. "Slashed St. Ed's: Reeling school cuts teams, breaks hearts". Associated Press. 7 May 2020.
  8. http://www.nscro.org/news_article/show/440165?referrer_id=1276243
  9. "USA Rugby Class of 2014 Review: How Our Predictions Fared".
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