Tulane Green Wave

The Tulane Green Wave are the athletic teams that represent Tulane University, located in New Orleans, Louisiana. Tulane competes in NCAA Division I as a member of the American Athletic Conference (The American). There are 14 Green Wave intercollegiate programs,[2] two of which compete outside The American. Beach volleyball and bowling, women's sports that are not sponsored by The American, compete in Conference USA (C-USA).[3][4]

Tulane Green Wave
Logo
UniversityTulane University
ConferenceThe American (primary)
C-USA (beach volleyball, bowling)
NCAADivision I (FBS)
Athletic directorVacant
LocationNew Orleans, Louisiana
Varsity teams14
Football stadiumYulman Stadium
Basketball arenaDevlin Fieldhouse
Baseball stadiumGreer Field at Turchin Stadium
Other venuesCity Park/Pepsi Tennis Center
Colonial Lanes
English Turn Golf and Country Club
Reily Student-Recreation Center Natatorium
Tad Gormley Stadium
White Sands Volleyball Courts
MascotRiptide
NicknameGreen Wave
Fight song"The Olive and the Blue"
CheerThe Hullabaloo
ColorsOlive green and sky blue[1]
   
Websitewww.tulanegreenwave.com
Conference logo in Tulane's colors

Nickname

Tulane's nickname was adopted during the 1920 season, after a song titled "The Rolling Green Wave" was published in the Tulane Hullabaloo in 1920. From 1893 to 1919 the athletic teams of Tulane were officially known as "The Olive and Blue," for the official school colors. In 1919 the Tulane Weekly, one of Tulane's many student newspapers at the time and the predecessor of the Tulane Hullabaloo, began referring to the football team as the "Greenbacks," an unofficial nickname that also led to another: the "Greenies."[5]

History

The university was a charter member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), in which it competed until 1966. Tulane, along with other academically-oriented, private schools had considered forming the Southern Ivy League (a.k.a. Magnolia Conference) in the 1950s. It joined the newly formed Conference USA in 1995. In 2012 the university announced it would move to the Big East Conference (later renamed the American Athletic Conference) in all sports in July 2014.[6]

Conference affiliations

NCAA

Sports sponsored
Men's sports Women's sports
BaseballBasketball
BasketballBeach volleyball
Cross countryBowling
FootballCross country
SailingGolf
TennisSailing
Track and fieldSwimming and diving
Tennis
Track & Field
Volleyball
† – Track and field includes both indoor and outdoor

Baseball
Main article: Tulane Green Wave baseball
Green Wave baseball players in 2003

The Tulane baseball team, also established in 1893, is managed by head coach Jay Uhlman. The program has appeared in the NCAA tournament 22 times and in the College World Series twice. They play home games on campus at Turchin Stadium.

Men's basketball
Main article: Tulane Green Wave men's basketball

The men's basketball team, established in 1905, is coached by Ron Hunter, who was hired following the 2018-19 season. They play their home games in Devlin Fieldhouse, named after a donation that enabled extensive renovations in 2012–13. It is the 9th-oldest active basketball venue in the nation.[7]

Women's basketball
Main article: Tulane Green Wave women's basketball

The women's team has been coached since 1995 by Lisa Stockton, who has led the program to 15 postseason tournaments, including 10 NCAA tournament appearances. They play their home games in Devlin Fieldhouse, named after a donation that enabled extensive renovations in 2012–13. It is the 9th-oldest active basketball venue in the nation.[7]

Women's beach volleyball

The Tulane Green Wave women's beach volleyball team competes in NCAA Division I beach volleyball in Conference USA (C-USA), having joined that conference as an associate member in 2022. The team was founded in 2011.[8]

Football
Main article: Tulane Green Wave football
The Green Wave football team in 2013

The Tulane football team, established in 1893, competes in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. Green Wave football teams have won 10 conference championships, including three in the SEC and one each in C-USA and The American, and have appeared in 12 postseason bowl games. They are coached by Willie Fritz and play home games in Yulman Stadium.

Men's tennis

The Tulane Green Wave men's tennis team competes in NCAA Division I tennis and is part of the American Athletic Conference. The team won the NCAA tennis team championship in 1959. The men's tennis team also won eight singles team non-NCAA recognized national championships and two doubles team non-NCAA recognized national championships. It also won an individual indoor singles national championship.

Women's tennis

The Tulane Green Wave women's tennis team competes in NCAA Division I tennis and is part of the American Athletic Conference.

Women's volleyball

The Tulane Green Wave women's volleyball team competes in NCAA Division I volleyball and is part of the American Athletic Conference.

Championships

Men's conference championships
  • Baseball (6): 1948 • 1997 • 1998 • 2001 • 2005 • 2016
Tournament (9): 1979 • 1982 • 1992 • 1996 • 1998 • 1999 • 2001 • 2005 • 2023[9]
  • Basketball (4): 1924 • 1944 • 1976 • 1992
  • Cross Country (1): 2001[10]
  • Football (10): 1920 • 1925 • 1929 • 1930 • 1931 • 1934 • 1939 • 1949 • 1998 • 2022
  • Tennis (6): 1997 • 2001 • 2003 • 2004 • 2005[11] • 2018

Women's conference championships
  • Basketball (4): 1997 • 1999 • 2007 • 2010
Tournament (5): 1997 • 1999 • 2000 • 2001 • 2010[12]
  • Golf (7): 2004 • 2005 • 2009 • 2010 • 2013[13] • 2014[14] • 2022[15]
  • Swimming/Diving (1): 2005[16]
  • Tennis (4): 2001 • 2003 • 2004 • 2005[17]
  • Volleyball (1): 2008
Tournament (1): 2008[18]

NCAA team championships
Further information: American Athletic Conference NCAA team championships and List of NCAA schools with the most NCAA Division I championships

Tulane has won one team national championship granted by the NCAA.[19]

Men's (1)

Other national team championships

One national team title was bestowed by USA Rugby:

  • Women's Rugby (1): 2016 (Division II spring),[20] lost full-year title game

Two national team titles were bestowed by the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association:

Men's

Athletic facilities

Current facilities

Practice facilities
  • Hertz Basketball/Volleyball Practice Facility — Men's and women's basketball, Volleyball

Former facilities

Non-varsity athletic facilities
  • Reily Student-Recreation Center — Badminton, Basketball, Indoor soccer, Indoor track, Natatorium (Swimming), Racquetball, Rowing, Squash, Volleyball and Weightlifting
    • Brown Field — Flag football and Soccer
    • Tennis courts — Tennis

Traditions

Logo and mascot
The TUMB performs each pregame and halftime

Tulane officials commissioned John Chase in 1945 to illustrate the covers of its football game programs. He came up with Greenie, a mischievous boy who would be considered an unofficial mascot by many fans. Chase illustrated Greenie on program covers until 1969.[28]

In 1963 the Athletics Director and Eldon Endacott, manager of the university bookstore, contacted Art Evans, a commercial artist who already had designed the Boilermaker mascot for Purdue University, the Wisconsin Badgers and the University of Southern California Trojan, to create a new mascot for Tulane athletics. His design for a mean-looking anthropomorphic wave-crest was officially adopted in 1964.

A new logo consisting of a white block "T" with green and blue waves crossing its center was adopted in 1986 as the primary symbol for official uniforms, though the "Angry Wave" cartoon continued to be used in licensed products, and a costumed wave nicknamed Gumby also served as the mascot.

A full redesign of all athletics logos and marks was commissioned in 1998, replacing the "angry wave" and "wavy T" designs with a green and blue oblique T crested by a foamy wave. Gumby was replaced with a new pelican mascot, recalling the university seal, and the fact that a pelican was often used in the first half of the century as the emblem of Tulane's athletics teams. The pelican is also the Louisiana state bird and is found on the state flag and state seal. The name "Riptide" was selected for the performing pelican by the administration after a vote of the student body in which the students actually voted that the pelican be named "Pecker." The pelican mascot name may have been so voted as the student body had also overwhelmingly voted for Poseidon to be the mascot. Poseidon was rejected by the administration and student body government because it could be portrayed as a white male. In 2014, Tulane changed the color of the "wave" above the "T" from a seafoam green to a color closer to lime green.

In 2017, Tulane announced that the "T-Wave" would be replaced as the primary logo by a redesigned "Angry Wave".[29]

Notable sports alumni
See also: List of Tulane University people § Sports

Green Wave Club

The Green Wave Club, formerly known as the Tulane Athletics Fund, is the official fundraising arm of Tulane Green Wave, supporting Green Wave student-athletes in their academic, athletic, and community pursuits by providing unrestricted annual funds to the Athletics department.

In 2007 the fund set a record for membership with 2,210 donors contributing.[30] In 2011 it spearheaded the "Home Field Advantage" campaign to fully fund the $73 million construction of Yulman Stadium on the Uptown campus through private donations.

Athletics reform

After coming off a winning season and a Hawaii Bowl victory in 2003, it was leaked that Former President Scott Cowen and the Board of Trustees was planning to vote on either doing away with a commitment to Division 1 football, or propose scaling down to Division 3 due to their concern for the long-term financial viability of sustaining a Division 1 athletic program in the changing BCS landscape. When the news leaked, the outrage by fans, alumni, and boosters forced the Board of Trustees to pivot and claim it actually intended to undertake a comprehensive "review" of athletics.[31] The outcome of the review was a commitment to maintaining a Division I athletic program, and also included points to address academic performance, graduation rates, financial viability, and support for athletics within the overall University mission.[32] (In 2003 Tulane's graduation rate for student-athletes stood at 79%, ranking 14th among all Division I programs.)

Scott Cowen began a dialog with other university presidents calling for a change to the existing system that rewards established powers at the expense of less successful programs. His criticisms, in particular of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) in football, led to the creation of the Presidential Coalition for Athletics Reform and opened the door for hearings on college athletics revenues in the Senate Judiciary Committee in October 2003. On February 29, 2004, the BCS met in Miami, Florida, and agreed to amend revenue distribution and open the series to more opportunities for BCS non-AQ teams. As a member of the BCS Presidential Oversight Committee, Cowen was active in decision-making regarding the future of college football.[33]

Effects of Hurricane Katrina
Further information: Effect of Hurricane Katrina on Tulane University

As a result of Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, Tulane's varsity sports teams, with the exception of cross country and track and field, moved to four universities in Texas and Louisiana for the remainder of that academic semester, while continuing to represent Tulane in competition:[34]

For its fortitude in the face of Katrina, the 2005 Tulane football team received Disney's Wide World of Sports Spirit Award and the Football Writers Association of America Annual Courage Award.[35] The university's Renewal Plan called for the suspension of some of its sports, and it did not return to a full 16 teams until the 2011–12 school year.[2]

See also

References
  1. 2019 Tulane Athletics Art Sheet (PDF). October 10, 2019. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
  2. "Sports". Tulane. Retrieved 2020-06-26.
  3. "Tulane Joins C-USA as Affiliate Member in Beach Volleyball" (Press release). Conference USA. August 5, 2022. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
  4. "Conference USA to Add Bowling for 2023-24 Season" (Press release). Conference USA. May 10, 2023. Retrieved May 15, 2023.
  5. "Tulane Admission: Traditions". Tulane University. Archived from the original on October 27, 2016. Retrieved December 8, 2015.
  6. Pete Thamel (2012-11-27). "Big East adding East Carolina for football, Tulane for all sports". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2012-11-27.
  7. "Tulane Unveils Devlin Fieldhouse, the Newly Restored Facility for Basketball, Volleyball". TulaneGreenWave.com. Archived from the original on November 19, 2012. Retrieved December 26, 2012.
  8. "Tulane Beach Volleyball History". tulanegreenwave.com. Retrieved December 2, 2019.
  9. "Men's Baseball Record Book" (PDF). C-USA. Retrieved 2012-03-29.
  10. "Men's Cross Country History/Records" (PDF). C-USA. Retrieved 2012-03-29.
  11. "Men's Tennis History/Records" (PDF). C-USA. Retrieved 2012-03-29.
  12. "Women's Basketball History/Records" (PDF). C-USA. Retrieved 2012-03-29.
  13. "C-USA Women's Golf Championships" (PDF). C-USA. Retrieved 2014-04-23.
  14. "Tulane Wins C-USA Women's Golf Championship With Record Score". C-USA. 2014-04-23. Retrieved 2014-04-23.
  15. "Tulane Claims 2022 American Women's Golf Championship, SMU's Kennedy Pedigo Wins The Individual Conference Title". American Athletic Conference. 2022-04-19. Retrieved 2022-04-19.
  16. "Women's Swimming & Diving History/Records" (PDF). C-USA. Retrieved 2012-03-29.
  17. "Women's Tennis History/Records" (PDF). C-USA. Retrieved 2012-03-29.
  18. "Women's Volleyball History/Records" (PDF). C-USA. Retrieved 2012-03-29.
  19. "NCAA All Divisions/Collegiate Total Championships" (PDF). NCAA. July 2, 2014. Retrieved March 28, 2015.
  20. Chad Wise (April 25, 2016). "Tulane wins Division II Spring Championship in California". USA Rugby. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
  21. WDSU Digital Team (May 22, 2022). "Tulane Green Wave win sailing National Championship". WDSU. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
  22. "NCAA Champions - Singles - Men". Intercollegiate Tennis Association. Retrieved April 23, 2014.
  23. "Champions Crowned On Final Day Of 2015". Intercollegiate Tennis Association. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
  24. "NCAA Champions - Doubles - Men". Intercollegiate Tennis Association. Retrieved April 23, 2014.
  25. "NCAA Men's Golf Championship Individual Winners". About.com. Retrieved April 23, 2014.
  26. "Discontinued Championships" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved March 28, 2015.
  27. "The History of Tulane Stadium(s)". bestofneworleans.com. Retrieved 2018-02-06.
  28. "Greenie a gridiron giant". 2012-09-05. Retrieved 2012-09-13.
  29. "Tulane Athletics Branding & Style Guide".
  30. "Tulane Athletics Fund". Retrieved 2012-09-13.
  31. Hochman, Benjamin. "Tulane Chief Endures Green Wave of Criticism". Times Picayune. Retrieved June 1, 2003.
  32. Thomas, Katie (2008-10-07). "At Tulane, Sports Revival After Katrina's Wind and Water". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-10-10.
  33. Chip Patterson (2012-06-21). "Meet the BCS Presidential Oversight Committee". CBS Sports. Retrieved 2012-09-13.
  34. "Tulane Athletics and the Katrina Semester". tulanegreenwave.com. 2005-11-21. Retrieved 2012-03-06.
  35. Aaron Martin (2006-01-18). "The Torch". Tulanian. Retrieved 2012-03-06.
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