American International Yellow Jackets

American International Yellow Jackets
University American International College
Association Division II
Conference Northeast-10 Conference, Atlantic Hockey
Athletic director Matt Johnson[1]
Location Springfield, Massachusetts
Varsity teams 21
Football stadium Ronald J. Abdow Field[2]
Basketball arena Henry A. Butova Gymnasium[3]
Baseball stadium Richard F. Bedard Field[4]
Softball stadium Judy Groff Field[5]
Other arenas MassMutual Center
Mascot Rex
Nickname Yellow Jackets
Colors Black, White, and Gold[6]
              
Website www.aicyellowjackets.com

The American International Yellow Jackets is composed of 21 teams representing American International College in intercollegiate athletics, including men and women's basketball, cross country, golf, lacrosse, soccer, and track and field. Men's sports include baseball, football, ice hockey, and wrestling. Women's sports include field hockey, rugby, softball, tennis, and volleyball. The Yellow Jackets compete in NCAA Division II and are members of the Northeast-10 Conference for all sports except ice hockey and women's rugby, which compete in NCAA Division I, and wrestling, which is NCAA Division II Independent. The men's ice hockey team is a member of Atlantic Hockey.[7]

The Yellow Jackets started competing in the 1933-34 academic season in football, men’s basketball and baseball. Men’s soccer was added just one year later. The athletic department grew to five teams in the winter of 1948 when the Yellow Jackets started their ice hockey team.

Twenty years later, AIC introduced its first women’s sport, softball. Judy Groff was introduced as the first softball coach, a position she held for 42 seasons. Volleyball, which was invented down the road in Holyoke, Massachusetts, started in the fall of 1974 with Groff also taking the reins.

In the 1977-78 school year, AIC began competing in women’s basketball and men’s golf. It would be seven years before the athletic department grew again when they added women’s soccer for the 1985 school year.

With the emergence of lacrosse in the Northeast, the Yellow Jackets added men’s lacrosse in the spring of 1992. In 1996-97, field hockey and women’s lacrosse were added to the department to bring the women’s teams total to six.

Ten years later, the Yellow Jackets added six teams to their already extensive department in men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s indoor track, and men’s and women’s outdoor track.

The newest addition to the athletic department will be the women’s golf team in the spring of 2018.

NCAA sports

Men's Women's
Baseball Basketball
Basketball Cross Country
Cross Country Field Hockey
Football Golf
Golf Lacrosse
Ice Hockey Rugby
Lacrosse Soccer
Soccer Softball
Track and Field Tennis
Wrestling Track and Field
Volleyball

NCAA appearances

  • Baseball: 1991
  • Men's Basketball: 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1994, 2000, 2010, 2015
    • Elite Eight: 1968, 1969, 1970, 1985
  • Men's Cross Country: 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017
  • Football: 2008, 2013
  • Men's Golf: 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015
  • Women's Basketball: 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2016
    • Elite Eight: 2002, 2006
    • National Finalist: 2006
  • Field Hockey: 2010
  • Women's Soccer: 1998, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2016
    • Final Four: 2013
  • Softball: 1985, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003
    • World Series: 1996, 1997
  • Volleyball: 2010, 2016, 2017
    • Elite Eight: 2016

Club sports

AIC also has a college rugby program that was founded in 2009 and began play in 2010.[8] The rugby program is part of the school's athletic department, has varsity status, with rugby scholarships available for students.[9] AIC plays in Division I in the East Coast Rugby Conference. AIC rugby is led by head coach Rob Guiry.

Logos & Mascots

Notable alumni

Facilities

Panorma of part of the athleic complex
Facilities panorama

References

  1. ↑ "American International College Yellow Jackets - Matt Johnson - Staff Directory - American International College". aicyellowjackets.com. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
  2. ↑ "Ronald J. Abdow Field". aicyellowjackets.com. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
  3. ↑ "Henry A. Butova Gymnasium". aicyellowjackets.com. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
  4. ↑ "Richard F. Bedard Field". aicyellowjackets.com. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
  5. ↑ "Judy Groff Field". aicyellowjackets.com. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
  6. ↑ Logo Usage & Brand Standards Manual (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 28, 2014. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
  7. ↑ "American International College Yellow Jackets". aicyellowjackets.com. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
  8. ↑ AIC Rugby, Fast Facts, http://aicrugby.com/about-us/fast-facts/
  9. ↑ USA Rugby, American International College, http://usarugby.org/college-directory/item/american-international-college
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