In the beginning, there were athletics
From its early years, organized sports have been an important and growing facet of campus life at Alfred University. A large number — some 500 students currently — of the student body is currently involved in inter-collegiate sports programs. Compare that to the 60 athletes listed in 1921, or the 341 on the rosters in the 1984-85 academic year. There are 23 men’s, women’s, and co-educational intercollegiate teams.
The teamwork, camaraderie and focus provided through sports have been contributing factors in successful careers and community lives for many AU graduates (see related story).
In this, the 175th anniversary year of the University, the historical athletics timeline provides some interesting AU factoids.
In 1874, students raised money to build a 50-by-24-foot wooden “gym,” only to be abandoned four years later.
In 1886, Alfred University sported one of its first organized teams with the debut of the baseball team, which played its first game against the Canacadea Baseball Club, losing 17-14.
The first sign of what would become inter-collegiate athletics on the Alfred University Campus occurred in 1895 when the first football team embarked on a short schedule with opponents comprised of local area high school teams including those from Wellsville, Leroy, Olean, and Addison. The team’s first true college opponent was Genesee Normal, soon followed by Rochester, Hobart, and Buffalo. But, despite football’s popularity, it was cross country and track and field teams that were most popular at AU during the 1920s and early ’30s.
In 1898, when Babcock Hall of Physics was completed, the south basement room was used as a gym, and organized basketball at AU began. From 1915-26, basketball was played in the “assembly” room of what had been Alfred Academy, now Alumni Hall. The opening of Davis Gym in 1926 allowed for growth of the basketball program.
The long and storied history of intercollegiate athletics at Merrill Field brings two names to mind: Alex Yunevich and Doris Harrington, former chair of the DIvision of Physical Education. From 1937 to 1976, the AU football team had one of the greatest coaches in the history of Division III football. Yunevich put football on the map at Alfred University. Reaching his 100th victory in 1962, his career was highlighted by six undefeated seasons with a career record of 177-85-12, ranking him fourth in the nation among Division III coaches.
Yunevich, in addition to guiding the Saxon football program to national prominence over an era that spanned five decades, also coached wrestling and golf at AU.
Harrington is regarded as one of the people most responsible for helping expand women’s intercollegiate athletics at the University.
The biggest modern-day advancement in Alfred sports came in the 1970s with the completion of the James A. McLane Education Center. The sporting complex, named after the former coach and athletic director centralized all of the sports on campus, grouping the weight room, the swimming pool, and the basketball and tennis courts all into one convenient location.
The equestrian team unveiled its new Bromeley-Daggett Equestrian Center at Maris Cuneo Equine Park in 2005. Complete with both indoor and outdoor riding arenas the facility broadened the ever-growing horse community on the Alfred University campus.
If you, a friend, or family member participated in intercollegiate sports at AU, here is a timeline to assist you in reminiscing about when various sports came on board:
Men’s Baseball: 1886 – 1888, 1894-1922
Men’s Football: 1895
Men’s Track and Field: 1900
Men’s Basketball: 1907
Men’s Cross Country: 1922
Men’s Wrestling: 1925 – 1966
Men’s Golf: late 1930s – mid 1970s
Men’s Tennis: 1947
Men’s Soccer: 1965
Men’s Lacrosse: 1966
Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving: 1972
Men’s and Women’s Alpine Skiing: 1974
Women’s Track and Field: 1976
Women’s Volleyball: 1976
Women’s Tennis: 1977
Women’s Basketball: 1977
Women’s Soccer: 1980
Co-Ed English Equestrian: 1984
Men’s JV football: 1985
Women’s Cross Country: 1986
Women’s Softball: 1993
Women’s Lacrosse: 1994
Men’s JV Football: 2005
Men’s JV Basketball: 2006
Co-ed Western Equestrian: 2006
Co-ed JV Equestrian: 2007
Women’s JV Softball: 2007
Women’s JV Basketball: 2008
Jan 13, 2012 at 1:14 PM Women's Softball was introduced earlier than 1993. I left Alfred in December 1991 but I played on the club team that I'm told, evolved into the JV team. In fact, I still have my purple tie-dyed t-shirt "uniform."