The Brown Bears are the sports teams that represent Brown University, an American university located in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

. The Bears are part of the

Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising eight private research universities in the Northeastern United States. The term ''Ivy League'' is typically used beyond the sports context to refer to the eight schoo ...

conference. Brown's mascot is Bruno. Both the men's and women's teams share the name, competing in 28

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

(NCAA) Division I sports. In football, the Bears, along with all other the Ivy League teams, compete in the

Football Championship Subdivision The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the Football Bowl Subdivision. Sponsored by the National Collegiate Athleti ...

(FCS).

Varsity athletics

The Bears participate in 28 NCAA sports. The Bears first fielded a football team in 1878, playing Amherst College in their inaugural game. The Bears participate in the following varsity sports:

Additions and subtractions

In 2011, a Special Committee recommended that Brown cut four varsity sports due to Brown's budget cut backs—men's fencing, women's fencing, men's wrestling, and women's skiing—and recommended elevating at least one women's sport to varsity status to ensure Title IX compliance. These proposed changes would have reduced the number of varsity sports at Brown from 37 to 34. None of the four varsity programs were cut. In May 2020, Brown announced they would transition eleven varsity programs—men's and women's fencing, men's and women's golf, women's skiing, men's and women's squash, women's equestrian, men's indoor track and field, men's outdoor track and field and men's cross country—to club status. Women's sailing and coed sailing would become varsity programs. Brown had 38 varsity sports before the announced cuts (only Harvard and Stanford had more), but was the least successful Ivy League school, winning 2.8% of league titles from 2008 to 2018. In December 2020, the women's fencing and equestrian teams were restored to varsity status.

Teams

Football

The Brown Bears football team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and are members of the Ivy League. Brown's first football team was fielded in 1878. The team plays its home games at the 20,000 seat Brown Stadium in Providence.

Men's basketball

The Brown Bears men's basketball team competes in the Ivy League. The Brown Bears have appeared in the NCAA Tournament two times, including the inaugural tournament in 1939. Their combined record is 0–2. The Brown Bears have appeared in the

National Invitation Tournament The National Invitational Tournament (NIT) is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Played at regional sites and traditionally at Madison Square Garden (Final Four) in New York City ...

(NIT) one time. Their record is 0–1.

Women's basketball

The Brown Bears women's basketball team competes in the Ivy League. The Brown Bears have appeared in the NCAA Tournament once in 1994, where their record was 0–1.

Men's soccer

The Brown Bears men's soccer team compete in the NCAA Division I in the Ivy League. The Bears have been semifinalists in the NCAA tournament in

1968 The year was highlighted by Protests of 1968, protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechos ...

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...

, and

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

. They also finished in fourth place in

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrati ...

Rugby

Women's rugby at Brown was originally founded as a club team, Brown Women's RFC, in 1977. Brown added rugby as a varsity sport for women beginning in the 2014-15 academic year, due in part to the growth of rugby across communities and at the high school level."Women's rugby is Brown's 38th varsity sport"
News from Brown, April 14, 2014. Brown women's rugby is led by Head Coach Kathy Flores. Brown has offered men's rugby at Brown as a club sport since 1960."University Rugby Recognition—Success at Brown"
Rugby Today, Allyn Freeman, February 27, 2015. Brown plays in the Ivy Rugby Conference against its traditional Ivy League rivals. Brown men's rugby is led by Head Coach David Laflamme. Despite its club status, Brown men's rugby is supported by an endowment raised by Brown rugby alumni that exceeds $1.5 million; this endowment funds the full-time professional head coaching position and other expenses.

Championships

NCAA team championships

Brown has 7 NCAA team national championships. *Women's (7) ** Rowing (7): 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2011 *see also: ** Ivy League NCAA team championships **

List of NCAA schools with the most NCAA Division I championships Listed below are the colleges or universities with the most NCAA Division I-sanctioned team championships, individual championships, and combined team and individual championships, as documented by information published on official NCAA websites. ...

Non-NCAA team championships

*Coed Sailing (2) **Coed Dinghy National Champions (2): 1942, 1948 *Women's Sailing (5) **Women's Dinghy National Champions (5): 1985, 1988, 1989, 1998, 2019 *Men's Ultimate Frisbee (3) ** USA Ultimate College Champions (3): 2000, 2005, 2019

Mascot

Bruno skates in Meehan Auditorium (cropped)

Brown's first mascot was a

burro The domestic donkey is a hoofed mammal in the family Equidae, the same family as the horse. It derives from the African wild ass, ''Equus africanus'', and may be classified either as a subspecies thereof, ''Equus africanus asinus'', or as a ...

, first introduced in 1902 in a game against Harvard. The burro mascot was not retained after it seemed frightened by the noise of the game, and due to the laughter it provoked. The University originally settled on the Bruin, but later changed it to a bear after the head of a bear was placed at an archway above the student union in 1904. In 1905 The Bears introduced Helen, the university's first live bear mascot, at a game against

Dartmouth Dartmouth may refer to: Places * Dartmouth, Devon, England ** Dartmouth Harbour * Dartmouth, Massachusetts, United States * Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada * Dartmouth, Victoria, Australia Institutions * Dartmouth College, Ivy League university i ...

. Bruno, Brown's current mascot, was introduced in 1921, originally also as a live bear. A number of bears represented Bruno over the years, later being represented by a person in costume by the late 60's.

Notable athletes

The Bears have produced many athletes. One of Brown's most famous athletes is

John Heisman John William Heisman (October 23, 1869 – October 3, 1936) was a player and coach of American football, baseball, and basketball, as well as a sportswriter and actor. He served as the head football coach at Oberlin College, Buchtel College ...

, namesake of the Heisman Trophy. Before finishing college at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universit ...

, Heisman played college football at Brown as a lineman.

Football

Thomas A. Barry Thomas Austin Barry ( – December 27, 1947) was an American college football coach and player, lawyer, and industrial adviser. He served as the head football coach at Tulane University, the University of Notre Dame, the University of Wisconsin, ...

(Class of 1902): All American running back, head coach of The University of Notre Dame and University of Tulane football programs * Don Colo (Class of 1950): professional

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

player, All-Pro who played for the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

* Zak DeOssie (Class of 2007): professional

player, Pro Bowl longsnapper for the

Super Bowl XLII Super Bowl XLII was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 2007 New York Giants season, New York Giants and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 2007 New England Patriots season, New England ...

and XLVI champion

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...

: college American football player and coach; namesake of the Heisman Trophy *

Steve Jordan Steve, Stephen, or Steven Jordan may refer to: Music * Steve Jordan (guitarist) (1919–1993), American jazz guitarist * Steve Jordan (drummer) (born 1957), American drummer, studio musician * Steve Jordan (accordionist) (born Esteban Jordan) (1939 ...

(Class of 1981): professional American football player, 6-time All-Pro

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense (sports), offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide ...

who played for the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansio ...

* Ed Lawrence (Class of 1928): American football player, member of the 1926 "Iron Men" football team * Sean Morey:

Special Teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

Captain of 2005 Super Bowl XL Champion

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Stee ...

* Joe Paterno (Class of 1950):

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

and

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create turnove ...

for the Bears, head coach of the

Penn State Nittany Lions The Penn State Nittany Lions are the athletic teams of Pennsylvania State University, except for the women's basketball team, known as the Lady Lions. The school colors are navy blue and white. The school mascot is the Nittany Lion. The interc ...

from 1966 to 2011. *

Fritz Pollard Frederick Douglass "Fritz" Pollard (January 27, 1894 – May 11, 1986) was an American football player and coach. In 1921, he became the first African-American head coach in the National Football League (NFL). Pollard and Bobby Marshall were th ...

: First African-American NFL coach and one of the first two African American players. *

Earl Sprackling William Earl Sprackling (September 6, 1890 – May 27, 1980) was an American football quarterback. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1964. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Sprackling was the quarterback for the Brown University ...

, Brown quarterback, 1909–11; named the deserving retrospective recipient of the Heisman Trophy for 1910 by "ESPN College Football Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Game". *

Thurston Towle Edward Thurston Towle (January 1, 1905 – October 19, 1960) was an American football player. Towle was born in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, in 1905 and attended the Moses Brown School in Providence. He then attended Brown University. He playe ...

(Class of 1928): American football player, member of the 1926 "Iron Men" football team * Wallace Wade (Class of 1917): American football coach at the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and largest of the publi ...

and Duke University, namesake of Duke's football stadium

Baseball

* Bill Almon: professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding ...

player, #1 pick in the 1974

Major League Baseball draft The first-year player draft is the primary mechanism of Major League Baseball (MLB) for assigning amateur baseball players from high schools, colleges, and other amateur baseball clubs to its teams. The draft order is determined based on a lo ...

* Mark Attanasio (Class of 1979): financier and owner of the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. The Brewers are named for the city's association wi ...

* Tommy Dowd: professional baseball player * Dave Fultz (Class of 1898): professional baseball player * Irving "Bump" Hadley (Class of 1928): professional baseball player,

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, who attempts to e ...

for the Washington Senators and

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one o ...

* Lee Richmond: professional baseball player, first major league player to throw a perfect game

Rowing

Jamie Koven James W. Koven (born April 18, 1973 in Morristown, New Jersey) is an American rower. Koven began rowing as a boarding student at St. Paul's School. He continued rowing as a college student at Brown University where he studied mechanic ...

(Class of 1995): US national rower, World Champion in single scull 1997 France * Xeno Muller (Class of 1993): Swiss rower, Olympic gold medalist in single scull

1996 Atlanta The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Denis Žvegelj Denis Žvegelj (born 24 June 1972) is an ex Slovenian rower and Olympic medallist. He was born in Jesenice, SR Slovenia. Rowing Achievements Olympic Games *1992: Barcelona (SPA) – 3rd place (coxless pair with Iztok Čop) *1996: At ...

(Class of 1997): Slovenian Rower, Brown Crew Varsity Eight 1994, 1995,

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engines ...

bronze medalist in Men's Coxless Pairs *

Tessa Gobbo Tessa Gobbo (born December 8, 1990) is an American rower. She attended Northfield Mount Hermon School in Massachusetts and Brown University. She won the gold medal in the eight at the 2015 World Rowing Championships and the 2016 Rio Olympics repr ...

(Class of 2013): US national rower, Olympic Gold Medalist in women's eight, 2016

Ice hockey

Katie King-Crowley Kathryn Karen King (born May 24, 1975) is an American ice hockey player. Raised in Salem, New Hampshire, she won a gold medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics, silver medal at the 2002 Winter Olympics and a bronze medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics. S ...

(Class of 1997): Olympic gold ('98), silver ('02), and bronze ('06) medal-winning hockey player * Curt Bennett (Class of 1970): professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two o ...

player, St. Louis Blues and

Atlanta Flames The Atlanta Flames were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta from 1972 until 1980. They played home games in the Omni Coliseum and were members of the West and later Patrick divisions of the National Hockey League (NHL). Along wi ...

* Yann Danis (Class of 2004): professional

player,

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

and

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...

* Brian Eklund: retired professional hockey player, Stanley Cup Champion

Other sports

Craig Kinsley Craig Kinsley (born January 19, 1989) is a retired American track and field athlete and 2012 Olympian who competed in the javelin throw, and is now an assistant coach of Brown University track and field. In 2010, he won the javelin at the NCA ...

(Class of 2011): professional

javelin A javelin is a light spear designed primarily to be thrown, historically as a ranged weapon, but today predominantly for sport. The javelin is almost always thrown by hand, unlike the sling, bow, and crossbow, which launch projectiles with t ...

thrower, 2010 NCAA Champion and member of the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team. Current Assistant Throws' Coach for Brown Track & Field * Daveed Diggs (Class of 2004): track and field, set the Brown Bears' record for the 110 hurdles as a sophomore with a time of 14.21 seconds. Went on to a successful career in acting. * Mark Donohue (Class of 1959): professional racing driver, 1972 Indianapolis 500 champion *

Cory Gibbs Cory Gibbs (born January 14, 1980) is an American former soccer player. He played professionally for clubs in Germany, the Netherlands and England. He also played 19 international matches for the U.S. national soccer team, including at the 200 ...

(Class of 2001): professional soccer player, Chicago Fire * Lindsay Gottlieb (Class of 1999): head coach of University of California women's basketball *

Anne Hird Anne Hird (née Sullivan, born April 19, 1959) is a retired American middle-distance and long-distance runner who was the U.S. national champion for the distances of 30 kilometers and 10 miles. She has won multiple national and international race ...

(born 1959) — pioneering female distance runner, US National Champion in the 10-mile and 30K races *

Fred Hovey Frederick Howard Hovey (October 7, 1868 – October 18, 1945) was a male tennis player from the United States. Biography Frederick Howard Hovey was born on October 7, 1868 in Newton Centre, Massachusetts. His brother was George Rice Hovey Re ...

(1890): professional

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball c ...

player, US Open Men's Doubles Champion (1893) and Men's Singles Champion (1895) * Jimmy Pedro: most decorated American

judo is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo") ...

athlete; Judo World Champion (1999), two-time Olympic bronze medalist (

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone on b ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

) * Alicia Sacramone (2007): gymnast who competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics * Norman Taber (Class of 1913): track and field athlete, member of the 1912 Olympic gold medal-winning 3,000-m relay team * Fred Tenney: professional baseball player *

Chazz Woodson Chazz Woodson (born August 9, 1982) is a Premier Lacrosse League player for Redwoods Lacrosse Club and head coach of the Hampton Pirates Men’s Lacrosse. High school career Woodson graduated from Blue Ridge School in 2001. College career Wood ...

(Class of 2005): Major League Lacrosse player currently with the Chicago Machine

References

External links

* {{Navboxes , titlestyle = {{CollegePrimaryStyle, Brown Bears, color=white , list = {{Ivy League navbox {{ECAC Hockey League {{Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association navbox {{National Intercollegiate Rugby Association {{Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges {{Rhode Island Sports