St. Bonaventure Bonnies

The St. Bonaventure Bonnies (formerly the St. Bonaventure Brown Indians from 1927 to 1992[2]) are the varsity intercollegiate athletic programs of St. Bonaventure University, based in St. Bonaventure, New York between the two towns of Allegany and Olean. The Bonnies compete in the National Collegiate Athletics Association's Division I Atlantic 10 Conference,[3] of which it has been a member since 1979.[4] The programs' mascot is the Bona Wolf and the colors are brown and white.[5][6]

St. Bonaventure Bonnies
Logo
UniversitySt. Bonaventure University
ConferenceAtlantic 10 Conference
NCAADivision I
Athletic directorJoe Manhertz
LocationSt. Bonaventure, New York
Varsity teams17 (9 men's, 8 women's)
Basketball arenaReilly Center
Baseball stadiumFred Handler Park at McGraw-Jennings Field
Soccer stadiumTom and Michelle Marra Athletics Field Complex
Lacrosse stadiumTom and Michelle Marra Athletics Field Complex
MascotThe Bona Wolf
NicknameBonnies
Fight song"Unfurl the Brown and White"
ColorsBrown and white[1]
   
Websitegobonnies.com

They have collectively won 13 team conference championships, as well as numerous individual conference titles and accolades.

Sports sponsored
Men's sports Women's sports
BaseballBasketball
BasketballCross country
Cross countryLacrosse
GolfSoccer
LacrosseSoftball
SoccerSwimming and diving
Swimming and divingTennis
TennisTrack and field†
Track and field†
† – Track and field includes both indoor and outdoor

A member of the Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10), St. Bonaventure University sponsors teams in nine men's and eight women's NCAA sanctioned sports. The Bonnies men's lacrosse program competed as an associate member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference through the 2022 season, after which the A-10 established a men's lacrosse league.[7]

Baseball
Main article: St. Bonaventure Bonnies baseball

The Bonnies were coached by Larry Sudbrook for 35 seasons. The team captured Atlantic 10 division championships in 2000 and 2002. The 2004 squad won the Atlantic 10 championship and made its first appearance in the NCAA tournament. They are currently coached by B. J. Salerno.

Men's basketball
Main article: St. Bonaventure Bonnies men's basketball

The men's basketball program has enjoyed success on and off throughout its history, including an NCAA Final Four appearance in 1970,[8] and an NIT Championship in 1977.[9] St. Bonaventure's most recent NCAA tournament appearance was in 2021, where it lost in the first Round to LSU. Its most recent victory was in the 2018 Tournament where the Bonnies won their play-in game against UCLA. The win marked the program's first NCAA tournament win since reaching the Elite Eight in 1970. The Bonnies would drop their next game, a 77–62 loss to Florida. Currently, St. Bonaventure's head men's basketball coach is Mark Schmidt.[10] St. Bonaventure won the Atlantic 10 regular season and tournament championships in 2021.

NBA Hall of Famer Bob Lanier played at St. Bonaventure, leading them to the 1970 Final Four.[8] The men's and women's basketball teams play at the 6,012-seat Reilly Center.[11] The playing surface was renamed Bob Lanier Court in a dedication ceremony on October 12, 2007. Lanier attended along with his mother, sister, and daughter.[12]

NCAA tournament appearances 1961, 1968, 1970, 1978, 2000, 2012, 2018, 2021
National Invitation tournament appearances 1951, 1952, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1964, 1971, 1977, 1979, 1983, 1995, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2016, 2022
NIT championships 1977
Atlantic 10 championships 2012, 2021
Atlantic 10 Regular season championships 2016, 2021

Women's basketball
Main article: St. Bonaventure Bonnies women's basketball

In the 2011–2012 season, the Bonnies women's basketball team had the best season in their history. They accumulated a record of 31–4 in the regular season, including a perfect 14–0 record in the Atlantic 10 conference. They were ranked as high as 16th in the national polls and earned a 5th seed in the NCAA tournament. They beat Florida Gulf Coast and Marist in the Tallahassee Regional to advance to the Sweet 16, where they lost to eventual national runner-up Notre Dame. The women's basketball team made its second NCAA tournament appearance in 2016.

NCAA tournament appearances 2012, 2016
Women's National Invitation tournament appearances 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014
Atlantic 10 Regular season championships 2012

Men's lacrosse

In 2017 the Bonnie's announced they would add men's lacrosse as a varsity team, beginning in the 2018–2019 academic year.[13] In the program's fourth varsity season, it captured the 2022 MAAC Regular season Championship. The Bonnies are coached by Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame inductee Randy Mearns.

Former sports

Football
Main article: St. Bonaventure Brown Indians football

St. Bonaventure fielded an American football team sporadically from 1892 to 1970. The program gained national recognition in the post-World War II era under Coach Hugh Devore, a former All-American player at Notre Dame. The Brown Indians compiled a record of 25-9-1 during his tenure, which ended after the 1949 season (http://archives.sbu.edu/football/the_history.htm).

Wrestling

The Brown Indians had a wrestling team in 1927, led by player-coach Ed George,[14] and again in 1954, coached by Mike Green. They were winless each season, going 0–2 in 1927 and 0–1 in 1954. Due to their lopsided loss to Alfred Ag Tech in 1954, they discontinued the sport.[15]

Ice Hockey

While currently a club team, St. Bonaventure had a Division III from 1982 through 1993. The Brown Indians had success as an independent recording four consecutive winning seasons before joining the ECAC West in 1986. After a 19–11 mark the program declined and finished near the bottom of the conference for six years before the program dropped from Division III to club status.[16]

Accolades

NCAA postseason appearances
Sport Years Number of Appearances
Baseball20041
Men's Basketball1961, 1968, 1970, 1978, 2000, 2012, 2018, 20218
Women's Basketball2012, 20162
Men's Tennis2001, 20032
Total Appearances: 13

Conference championships
Sport Conference Championship years Number of championships
BaseballAtlantic 1020041
Men's BasketballAtlantic 102012, 20212
Men's Swimming and DivingAtlantic 101993, 1999, 2006, 2013, 20145
Women's Swimming and DivingAtlantic 101996, 1997, 19983
Men's TennisAtlantic 102001, 20032
Total Championships: 13

Conference regular-season championships
Sport Conference Regular season Championship years Number of championships
Men's BasketballAtlantic 102016, 20212
Women's BasketballAtlantic 1020121
Men's LacrosseMAAC20221
Total Championships: 4

Men's basketball

Bonnies in the Olympics
Name Year City Sport Country Medal
Ed Don George1928AmsterdamWrestling United States4th
Lou Gregory1932Los AngelesTrack United StatesDNF
Barry Mungar1988SeoulBasketball Canada6th
Norman Clarke1988SeoulBasketball Canada6th
Garvin Ferguson1988SeoulSwimming Bahamas32nd, 48th
Tom Fitzgerald1996AtlantaHandball United States9th
Ayse Diker2000SydneySwimming Turkey43rd
Stef Collins2012LondonBasketball England11th

Bonnies in the Paralympics
Name Year City Sport Country Medal
Kevin Whalen2004AthensWheelchair tennis United StatesRound of 16

Facilities

Source:[20]

Sport Facility
Baseball Fred Handler Park
Basketball Reilly Center
Golf St. Bonaventure Golf Course/Bartlett Country Club
Lacrosse Tom and Michelle Marra Athletics Field Complex
Soccer Tom and Michelle Marra Athletics Field Complex
Softball Joyce Field
Swimming & Diving Reilly Center Pool
Tennis St. Bonaventure Outdoor Tennis Center

Mascot and colors
St. Bonaventure's former athletics logo in use prior to 1992, depicting the school's Brown Indian mascot.

The school's current mascot is the Bona Wolf, the third mascot in school history.[5] The wolf is a reference to the Wolf of Gubbio, a story from the life of St. Francis. The school's colors, brown and white, reflect the colors of Franciscan friar robes. The university is closely affiliated with this religious order.[21]

From 1927 to 1992, St. Bonaventure's mascot was the Brown Indian. The school's athletics logo during this period featured a stylized letter "B" with a war bonnet hanging over the left side. As part of an ongoing debate over Native American mascots, however, this was changed to the Bona Fanatic.[22] This new mascot was poorly received, so much so that costume wearers were assaulted by St. Bonaventure fans. After only a few years (1996–1998) in existence, the Fanatic was dropped in favor of the current Bona Wolf.[23]

Fight song

The school fight song is "Unfurl the Brown and White."[24] The song was written by St. Bonaventure graduates L.G. O'Brien '25 and C.R. Kean '24.[24]

References
  1. St. Bonaventure University Brand Style Guide (PDF). May 1, 2019. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  2. Patt, David (April 4, 2008). "The St. Bonaventure Brown Indian". SBU.edu. Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved March 11, 2012. The Brown Indian represented St. Bonaventure University athletics from Fall 1927, its earliest mention in The Laurel, to 1992.
  3. "St. Bonaventure University". NCAA. Archived from the original on October 18, 2011. Retrieved June 1, 2011.
  4. "About Atlantic 10". Atlantic 10. Archived from the original on August 7, 2011. Retrieved June 1, 2011.
  5. Patt, David (February 14, 2008). "The Athletic Symbols of St. Bonaventure University". Archives.SBU.edu. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  6. "St. Bonaventure Athletic Traditions". GoBonnies.SBU.edu. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  7. "Atlantic 10 Conference Adds Men's Lacrosse as 22nd Championship Sport" (Press release). Atlantic 10 Conference !date=May 23, 2022. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
  8. "1970 Final Four team to be honored on Jan. 16". Go Bonnies. January 11, 2010. Archived from the original on March 24, 2012. Retrieved June 1, 2011.
  9. "NIT Champions". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved June 1, 2011.
  10. "2010–11 Men's Basketball Roster". Go Bonnies. Archived from the original on December 18, 2010. Retrieved June 1, 2011.
  11. "Reilly Center". Go Bonnies. Archived from the original on July 23, 2011. Retrieved June 1, 2011.
  12. "New Reilly Center Court To Be Named For Bob Lanier". CSTV. July 25, 2007. Archived from the original on September 16, 2012. Retrieved June 1, 2011.
  13. "St. Bonaventure To Add Men's Lacrosse As Varsity Sport". www.usalaxmagazine.com. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  14. "1926–1927 St. Bonaventure Wrestling". Armdrag. August 26, 2015. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
  15. "1953–1954 St. Bonaventure Wrestling". Armdrag. August 26, 2015. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
  16. "St. Bonaventure Hockey". St. Bonaventure. Retrieved September 21, 2019.
  17. "1960's Men's Basketball All-Americans". Hickok Sports. Archived from the original on June 5, 2011. Retrieved June 1, 2011.
  18. "1970 Men's Basketball All-Americans". Hickok Sports. Archived from the original on June 5, 2011. Retrieved June 1, 2011.
  19. "Nicholson, Watt on All-America list". The Buffalo News. March 26, 2012. Retrieved March 27, 2012.
  20. "St. Bonaventure Athletic Facilities". Go Bonnies. Archived from the original on July 23, 2011. Retrieved June 1, 2011.
  21. Patt, David (April 27, 2010). "Franciscan Friars and University Colors". The Symbols of St. Bonaventure University. Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved June 1, 2011.
  22. Patt, David (April 4, 2008). "The St. Bonaventure Brown Indian". The Symbols of St. Bonaventure University. Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved June 1, 2011.
  23. Patt, David (March 23, 2005). "The Bona Fanatic". The Symbols of St. Bonaventure University. Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved June 1, 2011.
  24. "Cheers and Fight Songs". The History of St. Bonaventure University Football. September 6, 2004. Archived from the original on May 27, 2011. Retrieved June 1, 2011.
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