Rider Broncs | |
---|---|
University | Rider University |
Conference |
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Eastern Wrestling League |
NCAA | Division I |
Athletic director | Don Harnum |
Location | Lawrenceville, New Jersey |
Varsity teams | 18 |
Basketball arena | Alumni Gymnasium |
Baseball stadium | Sonny Pittaro Field |
Nickname | Broncs |
Colors | Cranberry, White, and Gray |
Website | www |
The Rider Broncs are the athletic teams of Rider University, a private nonsectarian university in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, United States. The school is a Division I member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and its athletes compete in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). Rider is the only member that is not a Catholic institution. For wrestling only, Rider is an associate member of the Eastern Wrestling League (EWL).
The intercollegiate sports program at Rider was started by coach Clair Bee in the 1920s. Two of the school's most famous athletic alumni are former Notre Dame basketball coach and current ESPN sportscaster Digger Phelps, who played basketball at Rider from 1959 to 1963 and Jason Thompson who played basketball at Rider from 2004 to 2008 and was drafted by the Sacramento Kings with the 12th pick of the 2008 NBA Draft.
The baseball team plays its home games at Sonny Pittaro Field on campus.
Alumnus Jason Thompson started his NBA career in 2008.
In 1997 and 1998 the Rider Men's Soccer team won the MAAC Championship and qualified for the NCAA Division 1 Men's Soccer Tournament.
Rider wrestling practices in a 3,600 square foot mat room on the top floor of the Mauer Center while home meets are held in Alumni Gym, which seats 1,650. In 2013, Rider left the CAA as an associate member shortly after the CAA announced that it would no longer sponsor wrestling and joined the Eastern Wrestling League. Rider Broncs Wrestling has gained national recognition by longtime head coach Gary Taylor, who will retire after the 2016-17 season.