Holy Names Hawks (also HNU Hawks) are the athletic teams that represent

Holy Names University Holy Names University is a private Roman Catholic university in Oakland, California. It was founded by and remains affiliated with the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary. It was founded in 1868 and plans to close in 2023. History The ...

, located in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the Division II level of the

National Collegiate Athletic Association 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 ...

(NCAA), primarily competing in the

Pacific West Conference The Pacific West Conference (also known as the PacWest) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Member institutions are located in California and Hawaii. Th ...

(PacWest) since the 2012–13 academic year. The Hawks previously competed in the

California Pacific Conference The California Pacific Conference (Cal Pac) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The conference commissioner is Don Ott. Conference leadership is shared among the member ins ...

(Cal Pac) of the

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic scholarships to its stu ...

(NAIA) from 1996–97 to 2011–12. HNU Athletics completed the NCAA membership process in July 2016 and is now a member of NCAA Division II since.

History

In 1994 Holy Names University, then Holy Names College, elevated its club sports to intercollegiate athletics by joining the

(NAIA). HNU began its NAIA affiliation in the fall of 1994 as part of the Pacific Coastal Conference, competing in basketball, volleyball, and cross-country. During 1995, Holy Names University competed as an independent before becoming a founding member of the California Pacific Conference (CAL PAC) in 1996. As a member of the CAL PAC, HNU Athletics earned: 7 California Pacific Conference All-Sports Awards, 54 conference championships, 36 NAIA national tournament appearances, 26 regional tournament appearances, 3 regional championships, 25 conference MVPs, 35 NAIA All-Americans, 69 Academic All-Americans, and 26 conference coach of the year awards. In May 2011, HNU Athletics was accepted for membership (transitional) in the

, effective fall 2012, and in June 2012, HNU Athletics was accepted for candidacy membership in Division II of the

(NCAA). The university is in the third year of the membership process. In July 2016, HNU Athletics became an active member in the NCAA DII PacWest Conference. In November 2016, the Men's Cross Country team became the first team in the school's history to compete in a post-season event as an active NCAA D-II member.

Varsity teams

HNU competes in 13 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, soccer and tennis; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, tennis and volleyball. Men's volleyball is offered as a club sport. Former sports included men's & women's track & field.

References

External links

* {{Pacific West Conference navbox