The Hillsdale Chargers are the athletic teams that represent
Hillsdale College
Hillsdale College is a Private university, private Conservatism in the United States, conservative Christian liberal arts college in Hillsdale, Michigan. It was founded in 1844 by Abolitionism, abolitionists known as Free Will Baptists.
Its missio ...
, located in
Hillsdale, Michigan
Hillsdale is the largest city and county seat of Hillsdale County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 8,036 at the 2020 census.
The city is the home of Hillsdale College, a private liberal arts college noted for its academics ...
, in
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 II intercollegiate sporting competitions. The Chargers are currently members of the
Great Midwest Athletic Conference
The Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. It was named the 24th (at the time) NCAA Division II conference and oper ...
as of 2017. The Chargers had been members of the GLIAC since 1975.
The college also has club teams and intramural sports that vary from year to year.
Varsity teams
List of teams
Individual sports
Football
![HC Chargers Spring Game](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/HC_Chargers_Spring_Game.JPG)
The
Hillsdale College
Hillsdale College is a Private university, private Conservatism in the United States, conservative Christian liberal arts college in Hillsdale, Michigan. It was founded in 1844 by Abolitionism, abolitionists known as Free Will Baptists.
Its missio ...
Chargers
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 ...
teams play their home games at
Frank "Muddy" Waters Stadium. The stadium has an official seating capacity of 8,500 spectators. Football coach
Muddy Waters
McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913 April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer and musician who was an important figure in the post-war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago b ...
was the head coach at Hillsdale from 1954 to 1973. The football stadium is named in his honor.
Basketball
The men's and women's basketball programs of Hillsdale College play their home games in the newly renovated Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena. The arena is located within the Roche Sports Complex and is adjacent to
Frank "Muddy" Waters Stadium. It has a maximum seating capacity of 2,200 spectators.
However, additional standing room is available.
Volleyball
The women's volleyball team of Hillsdale College play their home games in the newly renovated Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena, formerly known as the Jesse Phillips Arena.
Baseball
The Chargers baseball team plays their home games at Simpson Field, located near
Frank "Muddy" Waters Stadium. The Chargers made their first appearance 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 ...
tournament in 2016 where they fell to the
Grand Valley State Lakers
The Grand Valley State Lakers are the intercollegiate athletic teams of Grand Valley State University, located in Allendale, Michigan, United States. The GVSU Lakers compete at the NCAA Division II level and are members of the Great Lakes Inter ...
and the
Indianapolis Greyhounds
The Indianapolis Greyhounds, also UIndy Greyhounds and formerly the Indiana Central Greyhounds, are the athletic teams that represent the University of Indianapolis, located in Indianapolis, Indiana, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. T ...
. After the Chargers move to the
Great Midwest Athletic Conference
The Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. It was named the 24th (at the time) NCAA Division II conference and oper ...
, the Chargers secured their first conference championship since 1960 with a 15–2 over the
Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers
The Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers are the athletic teams that represent Kentucky Wesleyan College, located in Owensboro, Kentucky, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCA ...
.
Softball
At Hillsdale, the varsity softball team competes at their home Johnny Williams Field. The Charger softball team won the Great Midwest Athletic Conference championship in 2018, the school's softball team's first conference championship at the NCAA Division II level. This win earned them a berth in the NCAA regional tournament where the Chargers went on to beat the nationally ranked, and first place in the region, Grand Valley State University Lakers before falling to that year’s national champions: the Eagles of the University of Southern Indiana. The Charger softball team has recently acquired a new coach, Kyle Gross, after previous head coach Joe Abraham took the position at University of Toledo. Gross, who took over in the 2019 season, led the Chargers to yet another G-MAC conference championship and a 13–11 conference record.
National championships 1960–2015
![Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena-Home Side](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/Dawn_Tibbetts_Potter_Arena-Home_Side.JPG)
* 1960: Baseball – NAIA
* 1985: Football –
NAIA Division I
* 1993 and 1994: NAIA Men's Indoor Track & Field, High Jump Champion: Jim McHugh
* 2010
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 II Men's Indoor Track & Field, 35# Weight Throw Champion: Jason Stomps
* 2012:
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 II Women's Indoor Track & Field, 800 Meter and 1 Mile Champion: Amanda Putt
* 2012: ACUI Collegiate Clay Target Division III Champions Combined High Overall Team in American Skeet, American Trap, International Skeet, International Trap, Five Stand, Sporting Clays
* 2015: NCAA Division II Women's Indoor Track & Field, Distance Medley Relay (DMR) Champions: Kate Royer, Corinne Zehner, Amy Kerst, Emily Oren; 3000 Meter Champion: Emily Oren
* 2015: NCAA Division II Women's Outdoor Track & Field, 3000 Meter Steeplechase and 5000 Meter Champion: Emily Oren
* 2015: NCAA Division II Men's Outdoor Track & Field, 400 Meter Hurdles Champion: Maurice Jones
National Runners-up
* 1957:
Football – NAIA
* 1992: Men's Cross Country – NAIA
* 1994: Men's Cross Country – NAIA
* 1992: NAIA Men's Outdoor Track & Field, High Jump : Jim McHugh
* 1994: NCAA DII Indoor Track & Field, High Jump : Jim McHugh
* 2014: NCAA DII Women's Cross Country,
* 2015: NCAA DII Women's Indoor Track & Field
* 2015: NCAA DII Women's Indoor Track & Field, 3000 Meter and 5000 Meter: Kristina Galat
* 2015: NCAA DII Men's Indoor Track & Field, Pole Vault: Jared Schipper
Basketball Final Four
* 1981: Men's Basketball – NAIA Division I
Alumni
Chargers athletes have enjoyed numerous accolades in their respective sports, and many have moved on to the professional level:
*Football –
Chester Marcol
Czesław Bolesław "Chester" Marcol (born October 24, 1949) is a former professional American football player. A placekicker for the Green Bay Packers from 1972 to 1980, he was inducted into the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame in 1987.
Early yea ...
(Green Bay Packers, Houston Oilers),
Jared Veldheer
Jared Veldheer (born June 14, 1987) is a former American football offensive tackle. He was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He played college football at Hillsdale.
Early life and college
Veldheer was bor ...
(Arizona Cardinals, Green Bay Packers),
Andre Holmes
Andre Holmes (born June 16, 1988) is a former American football wide receiver. Originally signed by the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2011, Holmes also played for the Oakland Raiders, Buffalo Bills, and Denver Broncos.
Holmes pl ...
(Oakland Raiders)
*Basketball – Cory Coe (United States, Portugal and Germany), Tim Deselski (Luxembourg), Tony Gugino (Bulgaria, Switzerland), Brad Guinane (United Kingdom), Michael Lake (Germany), Tim Martin (Canada), Nick Washburn (Spain).
References
External links
*
{{Great Midwest Athletic Conference navbox