Trinity Tigers
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Trinity Tigers | |
 |
|
| University | Trinity University (Texas) |
|---|---|
| Conference | SCAC |
| NCAA | Division III |
| Athletics director | Bob King |
| Location | San Antonio, TX |
| Varsity teams | 18 |
| Football stadium | E.M. Stevens Football Stadium |
| Basketball arena | William H. Bell Athletic Center |
| Baseball stadium | E.M. Stevens Baseball Field |
| Mascot | LeeRoy |
| Nickname | Tigers |
| Fight song | N/A |
| Colors | Maroon and White
|
| Homepage | trinity.edu/departments/athletics |
The Trinity Tigers is the nickname for the sports teams of Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. They participate in the NCAA's Division III and the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference.[1] The school mascot is LeeRoy, a Bengal Tiger. In the 1950's, LeeRoy was an actual tiger who was brought to sporting events,[2] but today LeeRoy is portrayed by a student wearing a tiger suit.
Trinity has historically had a strong tennis program, with both the men's and women's programs winning national championships in 2000. The men's program also won the national championship in 2003.[3] In recent years, Trinity has reached the national Division III playoffs in several sports, including football, women's basketball (2003 national champions), volleyball, women's cross country, men's and women's track and field and men's and women's soccer (men's team won the national title in 2003 and placed second in 2007). In the past, Trinity was a Division I tennis power, under tennis coach Clarency Mabry, winning the men's NCAA championship in 1972, as well as being runners up in 1970, 1971, 1977 and 1979. The women's team captured the first USLTA women's collegiate championship in 1968 and won several more titles. In the early 1960s the program was home to arguably some of the best tennis players in the world, and bypassed the NCAA tournament to enter Wimbledon. In 1963, Chuck McKinley of Trinity won the Wimbledon men's single title. He was also the runner up in 1961. Other than McKinley, famous tennis players to attend Trinity included Butch Newman, Bob McKinley, Frank Froehling, Dick Stockton, Bill Scanlon and Gretchen Magers.
The Trinity sports program is celebrated for having won the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference "Bell Trophy," awarded to the school in the conference that has the best overall sports record for the year, eleven out of the last thirteen years.
Club sports include men's and women's Lacrosse, Water Polo, and Trap and Skeet.[1]
In the 2007 Trinity vs. Millsaps football game on October 27, 2007, trailing by two points with two seconds left, the Tigers called a play for a short pass across the middle. The receiver pitched the ball backward, followed by a sequence of additional backward passes, also known as laterals, as players were in danger of being tackled. The "Mississippi Miracle" ultimately included 15 backward passes as it covered 60 yards for a touchdown giving Trinity the win. [4][5][6][7][8] The unlikely play was named the top sports moment of the year by Time Magazine [1] as well as the "Game Changing Performance of the Year" by Pontiac [2] [3].
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Athletics", Trinity.edu, Trinity University. Retrieved on 2007-10-30.
- ^ "Lee Roy the Tiger", Trinity Digital Collection, Trinity University. Retrieved on 2007-10-30.
- ^ "TRINITY WINS 10TH CONSECUTIVE TEAM TITLE; DOMINATES ALL-TOURNAMENT SELECTIONS" (PDF), May 2, 2003. Retrieved on 2007-10-30.
- ^ Briggs, Jerry. "Football: Trinity wins on miracle play", San Antonio Express News, October 27, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-10-28.
- ^ "Video of the play", ESPN.com, The Disney Company. Retrieved on 2007-10-30.
- ^ "Lateralapalooza", SI.com, Time Warner. Retrieved on 2007-10-30.
- ^ Christensen, Mike. "Wild finish - think Cal-Stanford, '82 - beats Majors", ClarionLedger.com, Gannett Company, October 28, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-10-30.
- ^ Briggs, Jerry. "Football: Trinity wins on miracle play", MySanAntonio.com, San Antonio Express News.
