William & Mary Tribe | |
---|---|
University | The College of William & Mary |
Conference |
Colonial Athletic Association Eastern Intercollegiate Gymnastics League |
NCAA | Division I |
Athletic director | Terry Driscoll |
Location | Williamsburg, Virginia |
Varsity teams | 23 |
Football stadium | Zable Stadium |
Basketball arena | Kaplan Arena |
Baseball stadium | Plumeri Park |
Soccer stadium | Albert–Daly Field |
Lacrosse stadium | Busch Field |
Other arenas | McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center |
Mascot | Griffin |
Nickname | Tribe |
Fight song | Tribe Fight Song |
Colors | Green, Gold, and Silver |
Website | www |
The William & Mary Tribe are the athletic teams for the College of William & Mary. The name Tribe now refers to the unity and camaraderie that William & Mary student-athletes share when competing in the classroom and on the field. William & Mary has transitioned through several official nicknames since its athletic program began in 1893. From 1893 to 1909, William & Mary football players were known as the Orange and White because those were the old official school colors. From 1910 to 1916, the team colors changed to orange and black, leading to a change in nickname to "The Orange and Black." From 1916 to the mid-1980s, William & Mary athletic teams were referred to as the Indians. And, most recently, from 1978 to the present day they have been known as the Tribe.
During the 2006-07 school year, then–College President Gene Nichol chose to remove the two tribal feathers from William & Mary's logo due to NCAA regulations. On April 6, 2010, it was revealed that a griffin would become the new mascot.
William & Mary has won two team national championships (both in men's tennis), the AIAW championships in women's golf, the NAIA championships in women's gymnastics, thirteen USA Gymnastics Collegiate Championships, and many individual national championships. The College has more conference championships than any other school in the Colonial Athletic Association. As of the end of the 2010-11 academic year, the Tribe had won 101 conference championships. Dating back to the athletic program's beginning, there have been over 159 conference titles in all.
In the 1960s Joe Plumeri, future Chairman & CEO of Willis Group Holdings and owner of the Trenton Thunder, who later donated $2 million to build the team's Plumeri Park, played on the baseball team as a second baseman and outfielder. Plumeri also funded the Joseph J. Plumeri Endowment Fund for baseball scholarships for the school. The baseball team has qualified for the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship in 1983, 2001, 2013 and 2016, with the most recent appearance including an upset of the Tribe's rival (and defending College World Series champion) Virginia Cavaliers.