Fairfield Stags
| Fairfield Stags | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| University | Fairfield University |
| Conference | MAAC |
| NCAA | Division I |
| Athletic director | Gene Doris |
| Location | Fairfield, Connecticut |
| Varsity teams | 20 |
| Basketball arena | Webster Bank Arena |
| Baseball stadium | Alumni Baseball Diamond |
| Soccer stadium | Lessing Field |
| Lacrosse stadium | Rafferty Stadium |
| Other arenas | Alumni Hall |
| Nickname | Stags |
| Fight song | Fight for Fairfield U! |
| Colors | Red |
| Website | www |
The Fairfield Stags are the athletic programs representing Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut. Most of the programs are members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) and classified as Division I-AAA in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Fairfield sponsors 20 varsity sports - baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's crew, men's and women's cross country, field hockey, men's and women's golf, men's and women's lacrosse, men's and women's soccer, softball, men's and women's swimming and diving, men's and women's tennis, and women's volleyball.
Fairfield annually boasts among the best student-athlete graduation rates in the nation and has been honored by the NCAA with numerous Public Recognition Awards for the academic performance of sports teams among the top ten percent of squads in their respective sports nationwide. The men's and women's golf programs are both ranked among the best in the nation for academics, according to Golf Digest.
With the dawn of the first athletic team (cross country) in the fall of 1947, it became apparent that a nickname would be needed. For the 1947-48 season, Fairfield University adopted the "Men In Red" as its nickname.
The following year, the University introduced men's basketball as its next team and its first varsity sport. With the start of varsity sports, the school put it to the students for input in naming of a school mascot. Two recommendations were made to the Board of Trustees for an official decision and vote. As the late Fr. Charles F. Duffy S.J. recounted: "As a member of the Board of Trustees, I remember voting at a board meeting late in 1948 on the naming for our athletic teams. We voted for Stags over Chanticleers!"
What made the decision for the Board a bit easier and logical was the fact that the school was part of the Dioceses of Hartford and the word Hartford means stags (hart) and stream (ford). According to Webster's New World Dictionary the word "hart" means "A male of the European red deer; stag." As for the world "ford" Webster describes it as "A shallow place in a stream, river, etc."
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