The Malone Pioneers are athletic teams of

Malone University Malone University is a private Christian university in Canton, Ohio. It was founded in 1892 by Walter and Emma Malone as a small, co-educational Bible institute called Cleveland Bible College. The institution has always maintained a close relat ...

Canton, Ohio Canton () is a city in and the county seat of Stark County, Ohio. It is located approximately south of Cleveland and south of Akron in Northeast Ohio. The city lies on the edge of Ohio's extensive Amish country, particularly in Holmes and ...

, United States. The Pioneers compete in Division II 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) as 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 ...

(G-MAC). Malone joined the G-MAC after four seasons in the

Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) is a competitive List of NCAA conferences, college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the NCAA Division II, Division II level. ...

(GLIAC) from 2012–13 to 2015–16. Malone joined the GLIAC and Division II in the 2011–12 season (as an independent in its provisional status) and completed the NCAA Division II membership process in July 2013 after having previously competed in 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); mostly known for its tenure with the now-defunct

American Mideast Conference The American Mideast Conference (AMC) was an affiliate of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics that included eight member institutions in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Massachusetts. Founded in 1949, it was known as the Mid- ...

from 1965–66 to 1988–89, and from 1993–94 to 2010–11. In 2016, the Pioneers will begin play in the

, also known as the G-MAC.

Varsity teams

Men's Sports * Baseball * Basketball * Cross Country * Golf * Soccer * Swimming and Diving * Track & Field (indoor & outdoor) Women's Sports * Basketball * Cross Country * Golf * Soccer * Softball * Swimming and Diving * Track & Field (indoor & outdoor) * Volleyball

National championships

Team

Individual teams

Baseball

A winning tradition was established on the

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 tea ...

diamond at Malone by late NAIA Hall of Fame Coach Bob Starcher. Coach Starcher led the Pioneer baseball program for 23 seasons and accumulating 521 wins while at Malone. During Starcher's tenure as head coach, the program experienced 19 winning seasons and 12 conference or district titles. In 2007, the last baseball game was played on the site of long-time Bob Starcher Field at Malone College.

Football

:''See List of Malone Pioneers head football coaches'' Malone University played football continuously between 1993 and 2018. The program began under head coach Joe Palmisano with a 23–23 tie against Bethany (WV) on September 4, 1993. Malone concluded their program with an all-time record of 104 wins, 164 losses, and 2 ties. The last head football coach was Fred Thomas, who coached from 2016–2018. He took over the program from Eric Hehman, who held the position from 2009 until 2015. The school disbanded the team in February 2019.

Conference Titles

Postseason History

Track and field/cross country

There have been a total of 133 Men's NAIA

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

All-Americans The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

and 17 NAIA national champions. On the woman's side, there have been 59 NAIA All-Americans and two national champions. Both of these totals include indoor and outdoor track and field. Keith Spiva is arguably the most accomplished track and field athlete produced by Malone. He won 4 NAIA national titles and was named an All-American 6 times. He is also the only Malone track and field athlete to win back-to-back national titles in a single event (1989 and 1990

200 meter The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

dash). Christopher Sinick is the most decorated male athlete, with a total of 11 All-American awards in both cross country and track. Combination of track and field with

cross-country Cross country or cross-country may refer to: Places * Cross Country, Baltimore, a neighborhood in northwest Baltimore, Maryland * Cross County Parkway, an east–west parkway in Westchester County, NY * Cross County Shopping Center, a mall in Yo ...

accomplishments, there have been 69 additional Men's NAIA All-Americans and 28 Woman's NAIA All-Americans. Moreover, Malone has produced one Men's and one Woman's individual cross country national champions. Malone has won the following national honors: * NAIA **Men's national cross-country champions: 1972,2007,2008 and 2009 **Men's national cross-country runner-up: 1973, 1980, 1989, and 2001 **Women's national cross-country champions: 1999 **Women's national cross-country runner-up: 1998 *NCCAA **Men's national track & field champions: 1973, 1989, 1991, and 2007 **Men's national cross-country champions (Division I): 1986–1992, 1994, 1995, 1997–2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, and 2006 **Women's national track & field champions: 1987–1989, 1999–2002, 2004, and 2005 **Women's national cross-country champions (Division I): 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1997–1999, and 2004

Volleyball

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 ...

has been played at Malone since 1975 and has amassed nearly 900 all-time wins. The current coach Tanya Hockman has been head of the program since 1999 and has held the position longer than any other volleyball coach at Malone. :''The Malone volleyball program has been an extremely successful one through the years, particularly in the mid 1980s and now under Hockman, who has led the team to over 450 wins during her tenure. The 2001 team tied the school record for most wins in a season at 41 and the program also has two AMC titles (2000, 2001) under Hockman.''Malone College : Volleyball

References

External links

* {{Great Midwest Athletic Conference navbox