The Kansas City Roos, known before July 1, 2019, as the UMKC Kangaroos and also sometimes called the Kansas City Kangaroos, are the intercollegiate teams representing the University of Missouri–Kansas City that compete in 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 ...

's Division I. The Roos formerly competed in the

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington (state), Washington, and Texa ...

(WAC) but, as of July 1, 2020 the Kansas City Roos became members of the Summit League in all 14 varsity sports.

Sports

As a member of the Summit League the University of Missouri–Kansas City sponsors seven men's and nine women's teams 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 ...

-sanctioned sports.

Soccer

Among the notable Roos soccer players have been goalkeepers Kevin Corby ( Major Arena Soccer League and USL Championship (USL)) and

Connor Sparrow Connor Sparrow (born May 10, 1994) is an American soccer player who currently plays for Tampa Bay Rowdies in the USL Championship. Career College and Amateur Sparrow began his college soccer career at the University of Missouri–Kansas City i ...

(

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

and USL), defenders Coady Andrews ( Major Indoor Soccer League, USL) and Roberto Albuquerque (USL), forwards

Levi Coleman Levi Coleman (born December 14, 1986 in Tulsa, Oklahoma) is an American soccer player who currently is the head coach of Tulsa Athletic and an assistant at Oral Roberts University. Career Youth and college Coleman attended Broken Arrow High Scho ...

(USL,

National Premier Soccer League The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is an American men's association football, soccer league. The NPSL is a semi-professional league, comprising some teams that have paid players and some that are entirely amateur. The league is officially ...

(NPSL)),

Eric McWoods Eric McWoods (born October 21, 1995) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a forward for Swedish Ettan-Norra club Sandvikens IF. Early years A St. Louis native, McWoods began playing soccer at the age of eight after his paren ...

(

League of Ireland Premier Division The League of Ireland Premier Division ( ga, Príomhroinn Sraith na hÉireann), also known as the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division for sponsorship reasons, is the top level division in both the League of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland f ...

), and

Jordan Rideout Jordan Rideout (born 26 February 1993) is an English footballer. He is the son of former Everton legend Paul Rideout who scored the winning goal in the 1995 FA Cup Final vs. Manchester United. Jordan Rideout's professional career was cut short ...

(USL), and midfielders

Manny Catano Manuel “Manny” Catano is a retired American soccer midfielder who played professionally in the USISL. He is a firefighter and coaches girls soccer. Career Catano graduated from Blue Springs High School in Blue Springs, Missouri where he was ...

(

USISL United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues currently organized are the ...

Eastern Indoor Soccer League The Eastern Indoor Soccer League (EISL) was an American professional regional indoor soccer league. The league featured teams from the Southeastern United States. The regular seasons were played from May to August with post-season play in Septem ...

, and the NPSL),

Jony Muñoz Jony Muñoz (born November 8, 2001) is an American college soccer player who is the 2020 recipient of the Gatorade Boys' Soccer Player of the Year Award, a national honor recognizing the best high school soccer player in the United States. After ...

(2020 Gatorade Boys' Soccer Player of the Year) and Bryan Pérez (

United States Soccer Federation The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, the federation is ...

and USL). Former professional soccer player

Ryan Pore Ryan Pore (born September 23, 1983 in Mansfield, Ohio) is an American former professional soccer player and the current head men's soccer coach of he Kansas City Roos men's soccer team at the University of Missouri–Kansas City. Career Youth a ...

has been the head coach of the Roos men's soccer team since January 2020. The team was a member of the NCAA Division I Summit League from 1994 to 2013, and won the league men's soccer championships in 1996, 1999, 2001, 2003, and 2010. It then played seven seasons in the NCAA Division I

, returning to the Summit League in 2020. The team set an NCAA record on October 12, 2001, with the fastest trio of goals scored in Division I soccer during the MLS era, by scoring three times in 1:46 against Valparaiso University.

Conference affiliations

* 1969–70 to 1985–86 – NAIA Independent * 1986–87 to 1993–94 – NCAA Division I Independent * 1994–95 to 2012–13 – Summit League * 2013–14 to 2019–20 –

* 2020–21 to present – Summit League

Name

The nickname was chosen in the 1930s for the school's debate team, following the acquisition of two baby kangaroos by the

Kansas City Zoo The Kansas City Zoo is a zoo founded in 1909. It is located in Swope Park at 6800 Zoo Drive Kansas City, Missouri, in the United States. The zoo has a Friends of the Zoo program. It is home to more than 1,300 animals and is an accredited memb ...

. The school has long branded itself for athletic purposes as "UMKC", but in June 2019, shortly before it announced its return to the Summit League, it unveiled a new logo and branding strategy emphasizing "Kansas City", and officially unveiled its full rebranding as the Kansas City Roos on July 1 of that year. While its previous conference, the WAC, used "UMKC", its current conference, the Summit League, uses "Kansas City". As part of the 2019 rebranding, the program is now known as Kansas City Athletics. Teams will be known as the Kansas City Roos, with "Roos" having long been used as a short form for the historic nickname of Kangaroos. The national media had been inconsistent in usage prior to the 2019 rebranding.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Umkc Kangaroos