The Ravens is the name used for all of the men's intercollegiate athletic teams that play for Anderson University in

Anderson, Indiana Anderson, named after Chief William Anderson, is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Indiana, United States. It is the principal city of the Anderson, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses Madison County. Anderson is ...

. The female intercollegiate teams are known as the Lady Ravens. Men's sports offered at Anderson University include football, basketball, baseball, lacrosse, tennis, golf, soccer, cross country, and track & field. Women's sports offered at Anderson University include basketball, softball, lacrosse, tennis, volleyball, soccer, golf, cross country, and track & field.

Conference affiliation

The Ravens compete in athletics in the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Division III In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

and the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference.

Organization

Athletics at Anderson University are administered by the Anderson University Athletic Department.

Current facilities

Most athletic teams have on-campus facilities for competition, including

Macholtz Stadium Macholtz Stadium is a 4,300-seat multi-purpose stadium in Anderson, Indiana. The facility is located on the campus of Anderson University and is named in honor of Dr. James Macholtz who served as coach of the Anderson University football, Track a ...

for

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

, and

O. C. Lewis Gymnasium The O.C. Lewis Gymnasium is a 3000-seat multi-purpose arena in Anderson, Indiana, USA on the Anderson University campus. It hosts local sporting events and gymkhana. It was home to the Indiana Alley Cats, in 2005, and the Anderson University Ra ...

for

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

and women’s

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

Team colors

The official

school colors School colors (also known as university colors or college colors) are the colors chosen by a school as part of its brand identity, used on building signage, web pages, branded apparel, and the uniforms of sports teams. They can promote connectio ...

for Anderson University are Orange and

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

is often used as a secondary color and for

alternate jersey A third jersey, alternative jersey, third kit, third sweater or alternative uniform is a jersey or uniform that a sports team can wear instead of its home outfit or its away outfit during games, often when the colors of two competing teams' o ...

Mascot

Formerly the Tigers, AU's nickname was changed to the Ravens in 1937. The current mascot is Rodney the Raven.

Athletic team success and post season appearances

Football

In 1970 the Ravens played in the NAIA Division II National Football Championship and lost to Westminster (Pa.), 21–16. The Anderson Ravens football team won the HCAC conference title in 2001 season. Two former AU players currently playing professional football are

Hyman Smith Surname Hyman is the surname of: * Alan Hyman (1910–1999), author and screenwriter * Alexander C. Hyman (Born 1993), American Businessman * Albert Hyman (1893–1972), co-inventor of the artificial pacemaker * Anthony Hyman (disambiguation), se ...

and

Joel Steele Joel or Yoel is a name meaning "Yahweh Is God" and may refer to: * Joel (given name), origin of the name including a list of people with the first name. * Joel (surname), a surname * Joel (footballer, born 1904), Joel de Oliveira Monteiro, Brazili ...

. In 2008, a new all-weather synthetic field turf and outdoor game lights were installed at

The Kevin Donley era

Kevin Donley William Kevin Donley (born July 4, 1951) is an American football coach and former player. In the spring of 2021 (a delayed start to their 2020 season due to the COVID pandemic), Donley began his 42nd championship season as a head coach in addition ...

has been one of the most successful coaches in NAIA football. After graduating from Anderson College in 1973, Donley returned to his alma mater in 1976 to serve two seasons as

offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator is a member of the coaching staff of an American football or Canadian football team who is in charge of the team's offense. Generally, along with the defensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator, this coach re ...

. In 1978, at the age of 26, Donley was named the youngest

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

in the country. Over the next four years, Donley’s teams would compile an overall record of 28–9 (.757), winning the conference title in 1980 and 1981. Through 2017 and 71 years of Anderson football history, Donley’s overall winning percentage stands as the best among all Anderson football coaches.

1978

(5–4 overall, 4–4 conference)

1979

(7–2 overall, 6–2 conference)

1980

(8–1 overall, 7–1 conference)

1981

(8–2 overall, 8–0 conference)

Baseball

The baseball teams has qualified for postseason tournaments 30 of the last 32 years and 99 percent of the four-year players have graduated. Some notable accomplishments are: * Eight World Series appearances * 19 years in the final Top 20 Coaches Poll * 16 conference championships * 32 players signed professional contracts * NAIA Indiana champions 12 times, 8 of last 9 years in NAIA * 6 NCAA Div. III Regional appearances since 1993 * 3 NCAA Div. III World Series appearances.

Women's basketball

In more recent history, the women's basketball team made their first appearance in the Division III NCAA Tournament in 2000-2001.

Softball

The Softball team has posted a record of 214–195 over the past decade, reaching the NCAA regionals three times. In total, they have had 7 conference MVP's and 71 All-Conference players. The 1999 team was the most successful in school history. They finished with a total of 35 wins, including a 14–0 performance in conference play.

Men's soccer

The Men's Soccer team also became the first NCAA team, regardless of division, to be named Academic All-Americans 12 straight years. The Women's team achieved 11 straight seasons. Major team accomplishments include, two HCAC tournament titles, two HCAC regular season titles, 38 All-Conference players, 28 NSCAA Academic All-American selections, three HCAC Players of the Year and two HCAC Freshmen of the Year.

Cross country teams

The men's cross country team has won 14 conference titles since 1988, having perfect scored twice, 16 most valuable runner awards, and 5 freshmen of the year awards (since 2000). In addition, they have won 11 coach of the year awards. The women's cross country team has also won conference awards since 1993 including, 11 conference titles, 11 most valuable runner awards, 4 freshmen of the year awards (since 2000), and 10 coach of the year awards.

References

External links

* {{Anderson University (Indiana), Athletics