University Randolph–Macon College Athletic director Jeff Burns Varsity teams 17 | NCAA Division III Location Ashland, VA | |
Conference Old Dominion Athletic Conference | ||
The Randolph–Macon Yellow Jackets are the athletic teams that represent Randolph–Macon College, located in Ashland, Virginia, in NCAA Division III intercollegiate sports. The Yellow Jackets compete as members of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. Altogether, Randolph–Macon sponsors 17 sports: 8 for men and 9 for women.
Contents
History
The school's main rival in men's sports over the past century has been Hampden-Sydney College. The football game between Randolph–Macon and Hampden-Sydney dates to the 19th century and is billed as the "Oldest Small-College Rivalry in the South". Randolph–Macon won the first contest 12–6 in 1893.
Football
In 1969 Randolph–Macon defeated the University of Bridgeport (Connecticut) 47–28 in the inaugural Knute Rockne Bowl laying claim to a shared College Division II National Championship with Wittenberg University (Springfield, Ohio) which had defeated William Jewell College in the first Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl. The 4 teams had been chosen by the NCAA to compete in the first ever playoffs established for Division II schools. No complete playoff was set up until 1973. The 1969 football team was inducted into the college's Hall of Fame in 2004. The 1968 team with a perfect 9-0 record remains the only undefeated and untied football team in school history. The Yellow Jacket football team is currently coached by Pedro Arruza and won the ODAC championship in 2008 and 2016. As of Nov 2013 the football team had posted a record 7 seasons with a winning record under Coach Arruza. The football team plays its home games at Day Field.
Basketball
Randolph-Macon's basketball teams have had numerous successful seasons. The women's basketball team played in the NCAA Division III national championship game in the 2004–05 season, losing to Millikin University and finishing second in the nation. The men's basketball team has been ranked #1 in the country by D3hoops.com, most recently in 2011, and earned a trip to the Final Four of the NCAA Division III tournament in 2010.
Volleyball
R-MC won its fifth overall ODAC title and made its sixth NCAA appearance in 2016. In 2015 the team made an appearance in the Elite 8.
Baseball
The school's baseball team have won the ODAC championship in 2008, 2011, 2013 and 2016. In the 16' season, R-MC reached the Mideast Regional title game.