University Howard University Athletic director Kerry davis Varsity teams 19 | NCAA Division I FCS Location Washington, DC | |
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Conference MEAC
ASUN (women's lacrosse)
Sun Belt (men's soccer)
SWAC (women's soccer)
CCSA (m&w swimming) | ||
The Howard Bison are the intercollegiate athletic teams representing Howard University in Washington, DC. The Bison compete in the NCAA's Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and are members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference for most sports. On July 16, 2015, the Athletics Department unveiled new logos.
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Varsity teams
A member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC), Howard University sponsors teams in eight men's and eleven women's NCAA sanctioned sports:
Basketball
The Howard Bison have won 4 regular season conference championships, 3 conference tournament championships, and have appeared in 2 NCAA tournaments (1981 & 1992).
Soccer
As the only team in the MEAC playing men's soccer, the Bison's men's soccer team competed as an independent for many years, but the Bison became an affiliate member of the Sun Belt Conference when the conference resumed men's soccer after a 20-year absence in 2014. Over they years, Howard has had an up and down history, with NCAA championship seasons and other years seeing little success; the 2013 team had only one win in eighteen games.
Bison teams qualified for the NCAA tournament in 1962, 1963, 1970†, 1971†, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1980, 1988, 1989, and 1997. In six College Cup appearances, they were NCAA Champions in 1974, runners-up in 1988, third in 1972, and fourth in 1975; additional first (1971) and third (1971) place finishes were vacated by the NCAA.
The women's soccer team joined the Southwestern Athletic Conference in 2014 and won the regular season & tournament titles in its first year. As a first-year member of the conference, Howard was not allowed to accept the SWAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament (runner up Prairie View A&M went instead).
Facilities
William H. Greene Stadium is a 7,086-seat multi-purpose stadium in Washington, D.C., in the United States, which opened in 1926. It is home to the Howard University Bison football, soccer, track & field, and Women's lacrosse teams. Originally called Howard Stadium, it was renamed William H. Greene Stadium in 1986 in honor of William H. Greene, M.D., a Washington, D.C., physician.
Marching band
Howard's marching band is known as the "Showtime" Marching Band and its featured auxiliary is the "Ooh La La!" dance team. The band has performed at several NFL games, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, the Honda Battle of the Bands, and the 56th Inaugural Parade for President Barack Obama. The marching band's mission is to serve as a university ambassador and Bison athletics supporter.
Division I National Championships
Men's Soccer – 1971 (Vacated) See Note
Men's Soccer – 1974
Rivals
Howard's top rival is Hampton University. The two schools call their intense rivalry The Real HU.
Howard also has a strong rivalry with Morgan State University.
Another of Howard's historic rivals is Morehouse College, more popularly known as the Howard/ "Spel-House" rivalry due to Morehouse's close association with the all-women's HBCU Spelman College. This rivalry is not often played because Morehouse is a NCAA Division II athletic program, while Howard is NCAA Division I.