Ithaca Bombers

Intercollegiate sports teams of Ithaca College

Athletic teams representing Ithaca College

Ithaca Bombers

University| Ithaca College
Conference| Liberty League, Eastern College Athletic Conference
NCAA| Division III
Athletic director| Susan Bassett
Location| Ithaca, New York
Varsity teams| 25
Football stadium| Butterfield Stadium
Basketball arena| Ben Light Gymnasium
Baseball stadium| Freeman Field
Soccer field| Carp Wood Field
Other venues| Higgins Stadium, Glazer Arena, Bird Natatorium
Mascot| Bombers
Colors| Blue, gray, and gold[1]

Website| athletics.ithaca.edu
Team NCAA championships
14[2]

The Ithaca Bombers are composed of 25 teams representing Ithaca College in intercollegiate athletics, including men and women's basketball, soccer, cross country, lacrosse, soccer, swimming & diving, rowing, tennis, track and field, and wrestling. Men's sports include football, baseball, crew, and wrestling. Women's sports include field hockey, golf, gymnastics, volleyball, crew & sculling, and softball. The Ithaca Bombers compete in the NCAA Division III, and are members of the Liberty League and the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC). Ithaca has one of Division III's strongest athletic programs, with the Bombers winning a total of 14 national titles in seven team sports and five individual sports.[3] The Ithaca Bombers were previously a member of the Empire 8.[4]

## Overview

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The Ithaca athletics nickname "Bombers" is unique in NCAA athletics, and the origins of the nickname are obscure. Ithaca College's sports teams were originally named the Cayugas, but the name was changed to the Bombers sometime in the 1930s. Some other names that have been used for Ithaca College's teams include: Blue Team, Blues, Blue and Gold, Collegians, and the Seneca Streeters.[5] Several possibilities for the change to the "Bombers" have been posited. The most common explanation is that the school's baseball uniforms—white with navy blue pinstripes and an interlocking "IC" on the left chest—bear a striking resemblance to the distinctive home uniforms of the New York Yankees, who are known as the Bronx Bombers. It may also have referred to the Ithaca basketball team of that era and its propensity for half-court "bombs". Grumman Aircraft also manufactured airplanes including bombers in Ithaca for many years. The first "Bombers" reference on record was in the December 17, 1938 issue of the Rochester Times-Union in a men's basketball article.[6]

The name has at times sparked controversy for its perceived violent connotations. It is an occasional source of umbrage from Ithaca's prominent pacifist community, but the athletics department has consistently stated it has no interest in changing the name. The athletics logo has in the past incorporated World War II era fighter planes, but currently does not, and the school does not currently have a physical mascot to personify the name. In 2010 the school launched a contest to choose one. It received over 250 suggestions and narrowed the field down to three: a phoenix, a flying squirrel, and a Lake Beast. In June 2011, President Rochon announced that the school would discontinue the search due to opposition in the alumni community.[7]

Ithaca College remodeled the Hill Center in 2013. The building features hardwood floors (Ben Light Gymnasium) as well as coaches offices. The building is home to Ithaca's men's and women's basketball teams, women's volleyball team, wrestling, and gymnastics. Ithaca also opened the Athletics & Events Center in 2011, a $65.5 million facility funded by donors. The facility is mainly used by the school's varsity athletes. It has a 47,000 square foot, 9-lane 50 meter Olympic-size pool. The building also has Glazer Arena, a 130,000 square foot event space. It is a track and field center that doubles as a practice facility for lacrosse, field hockey, soccer, baseball, tennis, and football. The facility was designed by the architectural firm Moody Nolan and began construction in June 2009.[8]

## Sponsored sports

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Athletics and Events Center

A women's lacrosse game between the Ithaca Bombers and Army Black Knights in 2011

Men's sports  | Women's sports

|

Baseball  | Basketball
Basketball  | Sculling
Cross Country  | Cross Country
Football | Field Hockey
Lacrosse  | Golf
Soccer  | Gymnastics
Swimming & Diving  | Lacrosse
Tennis  | Soccer
Track & Field  | Softball
Rowing  | Swimming & Diving
Wrestling  | Rowing
Tennis  | Track and Field
| Volleyball
| Wrestling

### Baseball

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Ithaca College has had 3 Major League Baseball draft selections since the draft began in 1965.[9]

Year  | Player  | Round  | Team

|
|
|

1985 | Chris Rauth | 17  | Mets
2012 | Tucker Healy | 23  | Athletics
2013 | Locastro TimTim Locastro | 13  | Blue Jays

### Field hockey

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Women's field hockey won the 1982 NCAA Division III Field Hockey Championship.

### Football

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Main article: Ithaca Bombers football

Coached by Jim Butterfield[10] for 27 years, the football team has won three NCAA Division III Football Championships in 1979, 1988 and 1991 (a total surpassed only by Augustana College, Mount Union and the Wisconsin–Whitewater). Bomber football teams made a record seven appearances in the Division III national championship game, the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl, which has since been surpassed by Mount Union in 2003. The Bombers play the SUNY Cortland Red Dragons for the Cortaca Jug, which was added in 1959 to an already competitive rivalry. The match-up is one of the most prominent in Division III college football.[11]

### Gymnastics

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Gymnastics won the NCAA Division III national championships in 1998.[12][13]

### Crew

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The men's and women's crew programs are housed in the Robert B. Tallman Rowing Center, a $2.6 million boathouse dedicated in 2012.[14] The new boathouse replaced the Haskell Davidson Boathouse, which was constructed in 1974 on Cayuga Inlet. The old boathouse was razed to make room for the new facility. At 8,500 square feet, the Tallman boathouse is almost twice the size of the previous structure.[14]

## References

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1. ^ "Color". Retrieved December 7, 2018.
2. ^ "CHAMPIONSHIPS SUMMARY" (PDF). NCAA.org. NCAA. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
3. ^ "Ithaca College Athletics". athletics.ithaca.edu. Archived from the original on 2017-03-03. Retrieved 2017-03-03.
4. ^ "Intercom - Ithaca Officially Joins Liberty League for 2017-18 Academic Year". www.ithaca.edu. Archived from the original on 2018-10-17. Retrieved 2017-07-19.
5. ^ "Ithaca College Library". Archived from the original on 2015-09-10. Retrieved 2016-02-29.
6. ^ The Ithacan. "The Ithacan". Archived from the original on 2004-11-10. Retrieved 2013-05-27.
7. ^ "IC Mascot Search". Archived from the original on 2013-10-06. Retrieved 2013-05-27.
8. ^ "Athletics and Events Center". Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2016-02-29.
9. ^ "MLB Amateur Draft Picks who came from Ithaca College". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
10. ^ "Ithaca College Quarterly, 2003/No. 1". Archived from the original on 2005-11-28. Retrieved 2006-08-13.
11. ^ "Media gear up for Cortaca Jug Archived 2009-03-27 at the Wayback Machine", The Ithacan Online, 8 November 2007
12. ^ "Gymnastics History". Ithaca College Athletics. Archived from the original on 2022-08-05. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
13. ^ "In Their Own Words: The Ithaca Women's Gymnastics Team". Ithaca College Athletics. 7 April 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-06-18. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
14. ^ a b "Building the Robert B. Tallman Rowing Center". Ithaca College. Archived from the original on 11 July 2017. Retrieved 6 February 2020.

## External links

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ithaca College athletics.

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Ithaca College

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Ithaca Bombers football

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National championship seasons in bold

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Liberty League

Current full members|

* Bard Raptors
* Clarkson Golden Knights
* Hobart and William Smith Statesmen and Herons
* Ithaca Bombers
* RPI Engineers
* RIT Tigers
* Rochester Yellowjackets
* St. Lawrence Saints
* Skidmore Thoroughbreds
* Union Garnet Chargers
* Vassar Brewers

Current associate members|

* Buffalo State Bengals1
* NYU Violets5
* St. John Fisher Cardinals4
* Wellesley Blue3

Former full member|

* Hamilton Continentals

Former associate members|

* Coast Guard Bears1
* Merchant Marine Mariners2
* Mount Holyoke Lyons3
* Springfield Pride1
* Susquehanna River Hawks1
* WPI Engineers1

* 1football
* 2football and men's golf
* 3women's golf
* 4men's and women's rowing
* 5men's and women's golf

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