Northern Arizona Lumberjacks

Collegiate sports club of NAU, Flagstaff, AZ

Athletic teams representing Northern Arizona University

NAU Lumberjacks

University| Northern Arizona University
Conference| Big Sky Conference (primary)
Western Athletic Conference (women's swimming and diving)
NCAA| Division I (FCS)
Athletic director| Uri Farkas (interim)
Location| Flagstaff, Arizona
Varsity teams| 15
Football stadium| Walkup Skydome
Basketball arena| Walkup Skydome
Soccer stadium| Lumberjack Stadium
Other venues| J.C. Rolle Activity Center
Douglas J. Wall Aquatic Center
Mascot| Louie
Nickname| Lumberjacks
Website| nauathletics.com

The NAU Lumberjacks are the varsity athletic teams representing Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona in intercollegiate athletics. The school's mascot was adopted in 1946. The Lumberjacks compete in NCAA Division I and are full members of the Big Sky Conference[1] with the exception of the women's swimming and diving team which is an affiliate member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).[2]

## Sports sponsored

[edit]

### Individual teams

[edit]

Men's  | Women's

|

Basketball | Basketball
Cross country | Cross country
Football | Golf
Tennis  | Soccer
Track & Field (indoor)  | Swimming & Diving
Track & Field (outdoor)  | Tennis
| Track & Field (indoor)
| Track & Field (outdoor)
| Volleyball

### Men's Basketball

[edit]

Main article: Northern Arizona Lumberjacks men's basketball

The school's team has competed in the Big Sky Conference since 1970. The team's most recent appearance in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament was in 2000. The Lumberjacks are currently led by interim head coach Shane Burcar who replaced Jack Murphy.

### Women's Basketball

[edit]

Main article: Northern Arizona Lumberjacks women's basketball

The team has been coached by Loree Payne since 2017 and last won the Big Sky championship in 2006.

### Cross Country

[edit]

Big Sky Conference logo in Northern Arizona's colors

Main article: Northern Arizona Lumberjacks cross country

The team is head coached by Michael Smith. Since 2016, the Northern Arizona men's team is widely considered as the nation's leading program in the NCAA Division I. The team has been constantly ranked in the top 2 nationally of the USTFCCCA coach's poll since the start of the 2017 season.[3] The team has dominated the Big Sky championship, winning 20 of the last 25 Big Sky team championships and 17 of the last 25 Big Sky individual titles as of 2017.[4] The Lumberjacks won the NCAA Men's Division I Cross Country Championship in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2020.[5] The 2017 repeat title closed out a perfect season with a 53-point victory, placing five athletes in the top 40. The victory was the lowest score (74) at the NCAA Championships since 2014, and the Lumberjacks became the first repeat champions since 2013–14.[6] Director of Cross Country and Track and Field Michael Smith earned the Bill Dellinger Award as National Men's Coach of the Year and also picked up both the Big Sky's Men's and Women's Coach of the Year awards. In track and field, Smith was named the US Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Mountain Region Women's Indoor Coach of the Year in 2017 and 2018.

### Football

[edit]

Main article: Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football

Walkup Skydome, home to the football team

The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). The school's first football team was fielded in 1915. The team plays its home games at the 17,500 seat Walkup Skydome. They are head coached by Chris Ball.

### Swimming and Diving

[edit]

Northern Arizona competes as an affiliate member of the Western Athletic Conference.

* 8× WAC Champions: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021

## National championships

[edit]

### NCAA team championships

[edit]

Northern Arizona has won six NCAA D1 team national championships.

* Men's (6)
* Cross country (6): 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022
* See also
* List of NCAA schools with the most NCAA Division I championships
* List of Big Sky Conference National Titles

#### Other national team championships

[edit]

Below are 2 national team titles won by club sports teams at the highest collegiate levels in other non-NCAA competition:

* Men's (2)
* Archery (recurve) (1): 2015
* Archery (compound) (1): 2016

### Individual national champions

[edit]

#### Men

[edit]

Athlete | Event | Year

|
|

Geordie Beamish | Mile | 2019
Lopez Lomong | 3,000 m, 1,500 m | 2007, 2007
David McNeill | 5,000 m (i), 5,000 m (o) | 2010, 2010
Andy Trouard | 3,000 m | 2019
Abdihamid Nur | 3,000 m, 5,000 m | 2022, 2022

#### Women

[edit]

Athlete | Event | Year

|
|

Angela Chalmers | Cross Country | 1986
Ida Nilsson | Steeplechase, 5,000 m (i) | 2004, 2005
Johanna Nilsson | Mile, 3,000 m, Cross Country | 2003 & 2006, 2006, 2005
Anna Söderberg | Discus | 1996

(i)=indoor track and field event
(o)=outdoor track and field event

## Club sports

[edit]

### Ice Hockey

[edit]

Main article: Northern Arizona Lumberjacks men's ice hockey

The club hockey team competes in the American Collegiate Hockey Association at the Division II and III levels. The team was formerly in the NCAA Division I from 1981 to 1986.[7][8]

* 1× Conference Champion: 2013

### Team Tennis

[edit]

The club tennis team competes in the USTA Tennis on Campus league and won the 2017 Spring Invitational national tournament.[9]

### Quidditch

[edit]

The university also fields a club quidditch team, known as the NAU Narwhals, who compete in US Quidditch.[10] The Narwhals advanced to the Elite 8 at IQA World Cup VI in 2013.[11]

## Olympians

[edit]

Athlete | Event | Year | Team

|
|
|

Brooke Andersen | Hammer | 2020 |  United States
Maya Benzora | Long Jump | 1984 |  Israel
Víctor Castillo | Long Jump | 2004 |  Venezuela
Angela Chalmers | 3,000 m | 1988, 1992, 1996 |  Canada
Jordan Chipangama | Marathon | 2016 |  Zambia
Diego Estrada | 10,000 m | 2012 |  Mexico
Samantha George | 4 × 400 m | 2000 |  Canada
Luis Grijalva | 5,000 m | 2020 |  Guatemala
Lopez Lomong | 1,500 m, 5,000 m | 2008, 2012 |  United States
Andrew Mavis | Basketball | 2000 |  Canada
David McNeill | 5,000 m | 2012, 2016, 2020 |  Australia
Amin Nikfar | Shot Put | 2008, 2012 |  Iran
Abdihamid Nur | 5,000 m  | 2024  |  United States
Kristian Pettersson | Throws | 2000 |  Sweden
Anna Söderberg | Discus | 2000, 2004, 2008 |  Sweden
Georgina Toth | Hammer | 2008 |  Cameroon
Anthony Wilson | 200 m, 4 × 400 m | 1992 |  Canada
Nico Young | 10,000 m  | 2024  |  United States

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Big Sky Conference – Member Institutions". Bigskyconf.com. Retrieved 2015-12-02.
2. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-03-05. Retrieved 2013-03-07.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
3. ^ "Rankings History List Progression". www.ustfccca.org. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
4. ^ "How Northern Arizona became a distance running powerhouse | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
5. ^ "DI Men's XC: Northern Arizona takes home school's first national title". NCAA.com. November 19, 2016. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
6. ^ "Men's Cross Country Repeats as NCAA National Champions in Dominating Fashion". Northern Arizona University.
7. ^ "Northern Arizona University hockey team statistics and history at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
8. ^ "Team History". HomeTeamsONLINE. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
9. ^ "Northern Arizona crafting its own club tennis legacy". www.tennisoncampus.com. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
10. ^ "Teams". US Quidditch. USQ, Inc. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
11. ^ W., Mary (March 30, 2015). "Meet the underdogs of the Quidditch World Cup — the NAU Narwhals". The Daily Prophet. MuggleNet.com. Retrieved May 25, 2022.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to NAU Lumberjacks.

* Official website

* v
* t
* e

Northern Arizona University

Located in: Flagstaff, Arizona

Academics|

* W.A. Franke College of Business

Athletics|

* NAU Lumberjacks
* Football
* Men's basketball
* Women's basketball
* Cross country
* Ice hockey

Facilities|

* Ashurst Auditorium
* Lumberjack Stadium
* Walkup Skydome

History and media|

* 2015 Northern Arizona University shooting
* KLJX-LP
* KNAU
* KPUB

People|

* Alumni

* Founded: 1899
* Students: 28,090
* Endowment: $225.9 million

* v
* t
* e

Big Sky Conference

Full members|

* Eastern Washington Eagles
* Idaho Vandals
* Idaho State Bengals
* Montana Grizzlies
* Montana State Bobcats
* Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
* Northern Colorado Bears
* Portland State Vikings
* Sacramento State Hornets4
* Weber State Wildcats

Future full members|

* Southern Utah Thunderbirds3
* Utah Tech Trailblazers3

Associate members|

* Cal Poly Mustangs1
* UC Davis Aggies1
* Francis Marion Patriots2

Tournaments|

* Basketball (men's)
* Basketball (women's)
* Soccer (women's)

* 1football
* 2men's golf
* 3joining in 2026–27
* 4leaving in 2026–27

* v
* t
* e

Western Athletic Conference

Full members|

* Abilene Christian Wildcats
* California Baptist Lancers1
* Southern Utah Thunderbirds1
* Tarleton State Texans
* UT Arlington Mavericks
* Utah Tech Trailblazers1
* Utah Valley Wolverines1

Associate members|

* Air Force Falcons3 4
* Grand Canyon Antelopes3
* Idaho Vandals5
* New Mexico State Aggies5
* Northern Arizona Lumberjacks5
* Northern Colorado Bears5
* Sacramento State Hornets2
* San Diego State Aztecs3
* San Jose State Spartans3
* UNLV Rebels3 4
* UTRGV Vaqueros3 5
* Wyoming Cowboys4

Related topics|

* United Athletic Conference6

* 1leaving in 2026
* 2baseball
* 3soccer (men's)
* 4swimming (men's)
* 5swimming (women's)
* 6football-playing members

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template