The Manhattan Jaspers are composed of 19 teams representing

Manhattan College Manhattan College is a private, Catholic, liberal arts university in the Bronx, New York City. Originally established in 1853 by the Brothers of the Christian Schools (De La Salle Christian Brothers) as an academy for day students, it was ...

in intercollegiate athletics. The Jaspers compete in the

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athleti ...

and are members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. Manhattan College fields 19 Division–I athletic teams for men and women, including

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

, soccer,

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

, rugby,

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 ...

and

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

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 ...

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensi ...

and

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 ...

. The school's men's sports teams are called the Jaspers; women are known as Lady Jaspers. Historically

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 eve ...

has been the school's strongest sport. The Jaspers nickname comes from Brother Jasper of Mary,

F.S.C. french: Frères des Écoles Chrétiennes , image = Signum Fidei.jpg , image_size = 175px , caption = , abbreviation = FSC , nickname = Lasallians , named_after = , formation ...

, who was a memorable figure at the college. He was head of resident students, athletic director, and baseball coach during the late 1800s."What is a Jasper?"
GoJaspers.com. Retrieved February 16, 2016.

Teams and History

Baseball

The college annually played the

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 ...

(who moved to San Francisco in the 1950's) in the late 1880s and into the 1890s at the Polo Grounds and Manhattan is credited by the

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball ...

with the practice of the " seventh inning stretch" spreading from there into major league baseball. It is written in the

that "During one particularly warm and humid day when Manhattan College was playing a semi-pro baseball team called the Metropolitans at a park near 107th street, Brother Jasper noticed the Manhattan students were becoming restless and edgy as Manhattan came to bat in the seventh inning of a close game. To relieve the tension, Brother Jasper called time-out and told the students to stand up and stretch for a few minutes until the game resumed." In 1982, The New York Times reported that almost 800 alumni stood in unison at a dinner to honor the 100th anniversary of Brother Jasper Brennan's seventh inning stretch. Luis Castro, a Manhattan College alumnus, was the first Latin American born player to play in Major League Baseball in the United States, and the first Latin American since

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

n player

Esteban Bellán Esteban () is a Spanish male given name, derived from Greek Στέφανος (Stéphanos) and related to the English names Steven and Stephen. Although in its original pronunciation the accent is on the penultimate syllable, English-speakers tend t ...

in 1873 to play professional baseball. On July 15, 2014, it was announced that

's baseball team will use Dutchess Stadium as their home field. The field used at Van Cortland Park through 2014 was not meeting NCAA standards. The college looked into building their own field in The Bronx, but the land costs alone did not make such a project feasible. In 2020, the school's baseball team moved back to the refurbished ball field at Van Cortland Park. Since the move was announced, there have been proposals to name Van Cortland Park's "field of dreams" after 1975 Manhattan graduate Joe Coppo. On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, Coppo was trapped in the north tower of the World Trade Center when the first plane struck, and he never made it out.

Basketball

Manhattan College has been playing basketball since 1904. College basketball has always been a popular sport in the New York metropolitan area and interest in the sport expanded with the start of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) in 1938. The NIT is considered the first national college basketball championship tournament and for years it was always played at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsyl ...

. In 1940, Manhattan was one of five New York City colleges and universities that took over administration of the tournament. This arrangement was in place until 2005 when the

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) purchased the rights to the NIT. Before the college's current home court, Draddy Gymnasium, was built in 1978, Manhattan hosted the majority of its home games at Madison Square Garden. Probably the team's greatest victory came at the end of the 1957–58 season when Manhattan upset the top seed West Virginia Mountaineers, led by

Jerry West Jerome Alan West (born May 28, 1938) is an American basketball executive and former player. He played professionally for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). His nicknames included "Mr. Clutch", for his ability ...

, in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Today the team's coach is

Steve Masiello Stephen John Masiello Jr. (born September 2, 1977) is an American college basketball coach and a former player. He most recently served as men's head coach at Manhattan College. Masiello is a native of White Plains, New York. He graduated from I ...

. Masiello was an assistant coach at Manhattan in the early 2000s and came back to the school as head coach in 2011. During the 2013–2014 season, the Jaspers beat Iona in the MAAC Conference final and went on to play the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of ...

in the first round of the NCAA tournament in a highly publicized game where Masiello coached against one of his mentors, Rick Pitino. During the 2014–15 season, the Jaspers again defeated Iona in the MAAC Conference final to earn their second straight trip to the NCAA tournament, where they lost to

Hampton University Hampton University is a private, historically black, research university in Hampton, Virginia. Founded in 1868 as Hampton Agricultural and Industrial School, it was established by Black and White leaders of the American Missionary Association a ...

in the play-in game for the round of 64. With a record of 300–205, coach Ken Norton has the most wins in school history. When he was hired in 1946, Norton succeeded basketball coach Honey Russell. Norton also coached baseball and golf, and was the school’s athletic director when he retired in 1979. In 1977, he led the Jaspers to the Metropolitan Golf Association (MGA) Intercollegiate Championship. The Lady Jaspers' first campaign was the 1978–79 season under head coach Michelle Blatt. The Lady Jaspers current head coach is Heather Vulin. An assistant coach at Virginia Tech, Vulin came to Manhattan in 2016.

Football

Manhattan College had a football program from 1924–1942. The college team posted an all-time record of 194 wins, 198 losses and 22 ties. The final coach for the school's football team was

Herbert M. Kopf Herbert M. Kopf (June 25, 1901 – March 22, 1996) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Manhattan College from 1938 to 1942 and as the head coach for the Boston Yanks of the National Football Leagu ...

. After the 1942 season, the school suspended intercollegiate football competition for World War II and then did not reactivate the program after completion of the war. The team was invited to the first ever Miami Palm Festival Game, predecessor to the

Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game in ...

, played on January 2, 1933,

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, ...

defeated Manhattan College, 7–0. The team was revived in 1965 in the form of a club team, and existed until 1987.

Lacrosse

The school participated in the first intercollegiate

game in the United States, playing

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, ...

on November 22, 1877. Manhattan's lacrosse program became Division I in 1996 playing in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). They have qualified for the MAAC tournament 7 times (2000, 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2008–2010). In 2002 the Jaspers went undefeated in the MAAC (9–0), and won the MAAC Championship. They finished with an 11–6 record. The Jaspers earned a bid to the NCAA Playoffs in 2002, playing Georgetown. They fell to Georgetown 12–7 in the first round of the NCAAs. The program has produced a number of ALL-MAAC players. The Lady Jaspers have won three MAAC Lacrosse Championships (2000, 2004, 2005). The Jaspers and Lady Jaspers home field is the historic Gaelic Park.

Rowing

Manhattan College's rowing program holds much history, as well. The school is one of the original eight founding members of the

Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta The Dad Vail Regatta is the largest regular intercollegiate rowing event in the United States, drawing over a hundred colleges and universities from North America. The regatta has been held annually on the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia, Penns ...

, the largest collegiate regatta in the United States. The race attracts over one hundred colleges and universities from the U.S. and Canada and thousands of student-athletes on the second Saturday of May. The team's coach, Allen Walz, along with the school's football coach at the time,

, served as stewards to the regatta. In 1936 and 1938, Manhattan was one of two teams competing in the regatta, the other being Rutgers, on the Harlem River, where the team trains today. Both the men's and women's teams still compete in the Dad Vail Regatta today, as well as in the MAAC Championships, N.Y. State Championships, Knecht Cup and the C.R.A.S.H. B's World Indoor Rowing Championships.

Track and Field

The Manhattan College Track and Field program has the richest athletic tradition in the school, amassing a total of 31 out of a possible 32 MAAC Indoor/Outdoor Track titles. In 1973, Manhattan College won the Indoor NCAA Championship along with setting a world record in the distance medley relay. Manhattan was also home to former American Record holder in the 5,000m Matthew Centrowitz Sr. The program was run by legendary coach/runner Fred Dwyer, who ran a 4:00.3 mile while at Manhattan. Manhattan still remains a powerhouse on the east coast as one of the top programs around, under the direction of Dan Mecca. Van Cortlandt Park, which is located near the college, is a prominent site for cross-country running. The park's trails are some of the most utilized cross-country courses in the country and is the venue for the annual IC4A or Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America ( ICAAAA) cross country championships. The

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 ...

and 1969 NCAA Men's Division I Cross Country Championships were hosted by Manhattan at Van Cortlandt.

1973 NCAA title

Manhattan won the

1973 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships The 1973 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships were contested March 9−10, 1973 at Cobo Arena in Detroit, Michigan at the ninth annual NCAA-sanctioned track meet to determine the individual and team national champions of men's collegiat ...

becoming the smallest school to win a Division I track title. Led by 1972 Olympians

Anthony Colon Anthony or Antony is a masculine given name, derived from the '' Antonii'', a ''gens'' ( Roman family name) to which Mark Antony (''Marcus Antonius'') belonged. According to Plutarch, the Antonii gens were Heracleidae, being descendants of Ant ...

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

and Michael Keogh of Ireland, the Jaspers won the title with 18 points and a 6-point margin.

Rivalries

Manhattan has long maintained rivalries with several local, and MAAC Conference opponents. The Jaspers' most notable rivals are the

Fordham University Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...

Rams In engineering, RAMS (reliability, availability, maintainability and safety)Iona Iona (; gd, Ì Chaluim Chille (IPA: �iːˈxaɫ̪ɯimˈçiʎə, sometimes simply ''Ì''; sco, Iona) is a small island in the Inner Hebrides, off the Ross of Mull on the western coast of Scotland. It is mainly known for Iona Abbey, though the ...

Gaels The Gaels ( ; ga, Na Gaeil ; gd, Na Gàidheil ; gv, Ny Gaeil ) are an ethnolinguistic group native to Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man in the British Isles. They are associated with the Gaelic languages: a branch of the Celtic lan ...

. The Jaspers also maintain a very strong rivalry with the Siena Saints.

References

External links

* {{NewYorksports