Occidental Tigers

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Occidental Tigers
University Occidental College
Conference Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
NCAA Division III
Athletic director Jaime Hoffman
Location Los Angeles, CA
Varsity teams 21
Football stadium D.W. Patterson Field
Basketball arena Rush Gymnasium
Baseball stadium Anderson Field
Mascot Oswald the Tiger
Nickname Tigers
Fight song Io Triumphe
Colors
     Black       Orange
Website www.oxyathletics.com

The Occidental Tigers is the nickname for athletics at the Occidental College. Oxy is also a nickname for the college. The team has been using the nickname Tigers since the 1920s; prior to that, they were referred to as the "Presbyterians" or (when in Highland Park) the "Highlanders". The Tigers compete in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) at the NCAA's Division III level.

Traditions

Every year Occidental plays two football games for rivalry trophies. One game is against Pomona-Pitzer and the winner is awarded "The Drum." The Drum rivalry is the oldest rivalry game in Southern California, having been contested since 1895. The two teams have met 119 times, with Oxy holding a 63-48-0 edge.[1] The other game is against Whittier College and the winner is awarded "The Shoes," which are a pair of bronzed cleats from a 1940 graduate from Whittier named Myron Claxton.[2]

Teams

The Tigers have 10 varsity men's teams and 11 varsity women's teams. They also have 7 club sport teams.

Men's

  • Baseball
  • Basketball
  • Cross Country
  • Football
  • Golf
  • Soccer
  • Swimming and Diving
  • Tennis
  • Track and Field
  • Water Polo

Women's

  • Basketball
  • Cross Country
  • Golf
  • Lacrosse
  • Soccer
  • Softball
  • Swimming and Diving
  • Tennis
  • Track and Field
  • Volleyball
  • Water Polo

Club

  • Cheerleading
  • Dance Team
  • Men's Lacrosse
  • Men's and Women's Rugby
  • Men's and Women's Ultimate Frisbee
  • Coed Football

Conference championships

Here are a few of the SCIAC titles that Oxy has won:

  • Football (2008, 2006)
  • Men's Cross Country (2006)
  • Men's Basketball (2006–07, 2007–08)
  • Women's Basketball (2007–08)
  • SCIAC All Sports Champions (1984, 1983, 1978)

Men's basketball

For the last decade, under alumni and the winningest coach in school history, Brian Newhall, the Tigers have found great success on the court. In that time span the program has compiled a 146-59 .712 record and have won a pair of SCIAC conference championships (2006–07, 2007–08). Furthermore under Newhall, the Tigers have earned regional and national rankings, produced the only perfect 14-0 record in SCIAC history and triumphed in two NCAA playoff games to reach the NCAA III Elite 8 in 2003.[3] Newhall, For the past decade, has even paved the way for Oxy players to pursue professional careers overseas and several Tiger players, most recently four players from Oxy's 25-3 Elite 8 team, have gone overseas. A great example is Oxy great Blair Slattery, all-time career scoring and rebounding leader who signed on with the Munster Basketball Club in Germany in 1993.[4]

The program as also produced a SCIAC player of the year in Brian Newhall. He also captained the Tigers to a SCIAC championship his senior year.

The program plays its games in The Frank Neill Rush Gymnasium with a seating capacity of 1,800.

References

  1. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. Oxy Traditions Explanations of Oxy athletic traditions
  3. Men's Basketball coaches Bio of Oxy Men's Basketball coaches
  4. Occidental Alumni in the Pros Occidental Alumni in the Pros

External links