Conference Horizon League Varsity teams 17 | Athletic director Ken Bothof | |
University Northern Kentucky University NCAA Division I full member (2016) Location Highland Heights, Kentucky | ||
The Northern Kentucky Norse are the athletic teams of Northern Kentucky University, located in Highland Heights, Kentucky, United States. NKU is a NCAA Division I school competing in the Horizon League, which it joined on July 1, 2015 after leaving the Atlantic Sun Conference. The university's teams for both men and women are nicknamed "Norse."
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Nomenclature
Norse has been a common term for Norsemen in the early medieval period, especially in connection with raids and monastic plundering by Norsemen in the British Isles (i.e. Norse Vikings or Norwegians) (Gall Goidel, lit.: foreign Gaelic), was used concerning the people of Norse descent in Ireland and Scotland, who assimilated into the Gaelic culture. The Norse, or Northmen, were also known as Ascomanni, ashmen, by the Germans, Lochlanach (Norse) by the Irish and Dene (Danes) by the Anglo-Saxons.
Division I transition
NKU began preparing to reclassify as a NCAA Division I institution in the fall of 2008, and officially started the process in the fall of 2012. During the four-year reclassification, NKU was not eligible for Division I championships. The university ended its membership in the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) at the conclusion of the 2011–12 academic year and began playing a full Atlantic Sun Conference schedule in fall 2012. Following the four years, NKU became a full Division I member. Prior to completing its transition to Division I, NKU changed its membership from the Atlantic Sun Conference to the Horizon League.
Sports teams
A member of the Horizon League, NKU sponsors teams in eight men's and nine women's NCAA sanctioned sports:
Men's basketball
The men's basketball team was the NCAA Division II national runner-up during the 1995–96 and 1996–97 seasons. The Norse won the Horizon League Tournament following the 2016-17 season, making them eligible for their first NCAA tournament appearance.
Women's basketball
In 2000, the NKU women's basketball team became NKU's first national championship team by winning the NCAA Women's Division II Basketball Championship in overtime 71–62 over North Dakota State, ending their season with a 32–2 record. The 2002–03 team was the NCAA Women's Division II national runner-up.
The team won their second national championship in 2008 by a score of 63–58 over South Dakota, becoming one of only five schools to win more than one NCAA Women's Division II Basketball Championship, as well as the only two-time NCAA national champions in the state of Kentucky. One of the top coaches in NCAA Division II women's basketball, Nancy Winstel, was head coach of the team from 1983 until her retirement at the end of the 2011–12 season. Dawn Plitzuweit, an assistant at Michigan, was named the new NKU Women's Basketball coach on May 10, 2012. On May 6, 2016, Camryn Whitaker was named as the new head coach.
Men's soccer
In 2010, the NKU men's soccer team won the NCAA Division II national championship by defeating Rollins 3-2 in a driving snowstorm in Louisville. The team was led by senior Steven Beattie, who was named Ron Lenz National Player of the Year in both 2008 and 2010.
Women's soccer
The women's soccer team was the NCAA Division II runner-up in 2000 and advanced to the NCAA Division II Final Four in 1999 and 2001.
Softball
The Norse softball began in 1985 and is currently coached by Kathryn Gleasont, the fifth coach in program history. NKU made their first ever NCAA Women's College World Series Tournament in 2002 before falling in the opening game. The following season, in 2003, the Norse won the program's first NCAA Tournament win. The Norse hold the NCAA record for most consecutive wins in a season with 55, set in the 2005 season. The Norse concluded the season going 55-2. In the program history the team holds an overall record of 621-445-1 (.583).
Spirit squad
In 2006, the Norse cheerleading squad won the Universal Cheerleading Association's national title in the small unit coed category of competition, and also won the national title again in 2007 and 2009.
In 2011, The Norse Dance Team placed in the Universal Dance Association's national competition in the open hip hop category.
Championships
Over the forty years Northern Kentucky has sponsored intercollegiate athletics the university has won three NCAA DII national championships, 33 GLVC championships, and seven GLVC All-Sport Awards
Great Lakes Valley Conference Championships
NKU claimed the GLVC All-Sports Trophy seven times in its final 11 seasons in the conference: 1999–2000, 2000–02, 2004–06, 2008–10.
Club sports
Students have also organized club teams in ice hockey, taekwondo, fencing, boxing, lacrosse, rugby, kickball, skeet & trap, ultimate frisbee, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu. These clubs are primarily organized through the Sport Club program.