NCAA Division II Location Wheeling, WV | Athletic director Kevin Forde Varsity teams 21 | |
 | ||
University Wheeling Jesuit University Conference Mountain East Conference | ||
The Wheeling Jesuit Cardinals are the athletic teams that represent the Wheeling Jesuit University, located in Wheeling, West Virginia, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. The Cardinals compete as members of the Mountain East Conference for all 21 varsity sports. Wheeling Jesuit was an early member of the Mountain East following the 2013 demise of the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, of which WJU had been a member since 1957.
Contents
History
Wheeling Jesuit University competes in NCAA Division II as part of the MEC. It had been a member of the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC) from 1957 to 2013, but in June 2012, the nine football-playing schools in the WVIAC announced their intention to break away and form a new conference, which eventually became the MEC. Although WJU was initially left out of the split, it would soon receive an invitation to become a charter member of the new conference, which was officially unveiled on August 20, 2012 with competition to begin in the 2013–14 school year. WJU is the only non-football school in the MEC.
WJU amassed 47 WVIAC titles during its tenure in that conference, and also boasts 40 Academic All-Americans. On Feb 28, 2009, WJU was televised nationally on CBS Sports against West Liberty University in a conference basketball match.
Rugby
Rugby, formerly offered as a club sport from 1967 to 1994, was restarted after an 18-year hiatus in December 2011. The university restarted its rugby program in part because the increasing popularity of rugby in Jesuit high schools meant that offering college rugby would be one way to attract more students. The rugby team is a full varsity men's sport and provides scholarships for athletes. The team is coached by Eric Jerpe, who has previously held various leadership positions, including with the Pittsburgh Harlequins, as manager of the US U-17 national team, and as a member of the USA Rugby board of directors.
Wheeling played its first rugby sevens tournament in September 2012, where Wheeling finished fourth in the MAC Sevens despite fielding a team composed entirely of freshmen. Wheeling notched its first win in fifteens on September 8, 2012, when Wheeling defeated the West Virginia Mountaineers 10–6 at home in front of a large crowd at James Larosa Stadium.
Hockey
The university also has an ACHA hockey team, which was restarted during the 2010–2011 school year. The team plays home games at WesBanco Arena.
Wrestling
In January 2013, athletic director Danny Sancomb announced that Wheeling Jesuit would be adding wrestling at the school's 20th intercollegiate sport. Wheeling native and Cornell graduate, Sean Doyle was hired to build the program to compete in the fall of 2013. All-American wrestler JD Ramsey was hired as a Graduate Assistant, while Matt Littleton and BJ Hedger were hired to serve as volunteer assistants in the first year. The first recruiting class of 29, includes wrestlers from 7 different states and the team will compete as an NCAA Division II program immediately.
The university has designed a new wrestling facility, which will be ready for use in the fall of 2013. With athletic aid available, the program is positioned to become competitive in a short period of time.
Volleyball
The lady Cardinals captured the school's very first NCAA Division II National Championship on Dec. 12, 2015. The teams record for the 2015 season was 39-4.