![Big Sky logo in Northern Arizona colors](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5a/Big_Sky_logo_in_Northern_Arizona_colors.svg)
The Northern Arizona Lumberjacks are the varsity athletic teams representing
Northern Arizona University
Northern Arizona University (NAU) is a public research university based in Flagstaff, Arizona. It was founded in 1899 as the final public university established in the Arizona Territory, 13 years before Arizona was admitted as the 48th state.
...
in
Flagstaff, Arizona
Flagstaff ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Coconino County, Arizona, Coconino County in northern Arizona, in the southwestern United States. In 2019, the city's estimated population was 75,038. Flagstaff's combined metropolitan area has ...
in intercollegiate athletics. The school's mascot was adopted in 1946. The Lumberjacks compete in
NCAA Division I
NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...
and are full members of the
Big Sky Conference
The Big Sky Conference (BSC) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I with football competing in the Football Championship Subdivision. Member institutions are located in the western United States in the eigh ...
with the exception of the women's swimming and diving team which is an affiliate member of 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).
Sports sponsored
Individual teams
Men's Basketball
The school's team has competed in the Big Sky Conference since 1970. The team's most recent appearance in the
NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as NCAA March Madness and commonly called March Madness, is a single-elimination tournament played each spring in the United States, currently featuring 68 college basketball teams from ...
was in
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
. The Lumberjacks are currently led by interim head coach Shane Burcar who replaced
Jack Murphy.
Women's Basketball
The team has been coached by Loree Payne since 2017 and last won the Big Sky championship in 2006.
Cross Country
The team is head coached by Michael Smith. Since 2016, the Northern Arizona men's team is widely considered as the nation's leading program in the
NCAA Division I
NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...
. The team has been constantly ranked in the top 2 nationally of the
USTFCCCA The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) is a New Orleans, Louisiana-based professional association representing men's and women's cross country and track & field coaches in the United States. The organization has abo ...
coach's poll since the start of the 2017 season. The team has dominated the Big Sky championship, winning 20 of the last 25 Big Sky team championships and 17 of the last 25 Big Sky individual titles as of 2017. The Lumberjacks won the
NCAA Men's Division I Cross Country Championship
The NCAA Division I Men's Cross Country Championship is the cross country championship held by the National Collegiate Athletic Association each autumn for individual men's runners and cross country teams from universities in Division I. Teams a ...
in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2020. The 2017 repeat title closed out a perfect season with a 53-point victory, placing five athletes in the top 40. The victory was the lowest score (74) at the NCAA Championships since 2014, and the Lumberjacks became the first repeat champions since 2013–14. Director of Cross Country and Track and Field Michael Smith earned the Bill Dellinger Award as National Men's Coach of the Year and also picked up both the Big Sky's Men's and Women's Coach of the Year awards. In track and field, Smith was named the US Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Mountain Region Women's Indoor Coach of the Year in 2017 and 2018.
Football
![Walkup Skydome](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/Walkup_Skydome.jpg)
The team competes in the
NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision
The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the Football Bowl Subdivision. Sponsored by the National Collegiate Athletic ...
(FCS). The school's first football team was fielded in 1915. The team plays its home games at the 17,500 seat
Walkup Skydome
The J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome is an indoor multipurpose stadium in the southwestern United States, located on the campus of Northern Arizona University (NAU) in Flagstaff, Arizona. It is primarily used as the home of the NAU Lumberjacks foot ...
. They are head coached by
Chris Ball.
Swimming and Diving
Northern Arizona competes as an affiliate member of 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 ...
.
* 8× WAC Champions: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021
National championships
NCAA team championships
Northern Arizona has won six NCAA D1 team national championships.
* Men's (6)
**
Cross country (6): 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022
* See also
**
**
List of Big Sky Conference National Titles
Other national team championships
Below are 2 national team titles won by club sports teams at the highest collegiate levels in other non-NCAA competition:
* Men's (2)
** Archery ''(recurve)'' (1): 2015
** Archery ''(compound)'' (1)'':'' 2016
Individual national champions
Men
Women
(i)=indoor track and field event
(o)=outdoor track and field event
Club sports
Ice Hockey
The club hockey team competes in the
American Collegiate Hockey Association
The American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) is a college ice hockey association. The ACHA's purpose is to be an organization of collegiate affiliated non-varsity programs, which provides structure, regulates operations, and promotes qualit ...
at the Division II and III levels. The team was formerly in the
NCAA Division I
NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...
from 1981-1986.
* 1× Conference Champion: 2013
Team Tennis
The club tennis team competes in the
USTA Tennis on Campus
Tennis on Campus (TOC) is the national collegiate club tennis league operated by the United States Tennis Association (USTA). The league is played on hard courts in World TeamTennis format. 370 colleges throughout the 15 USTA geographical sectio ...
league and won the 2017
Spring Invitational national tournament.
Quidditch
The university also fields a club
quidditch
Quidditch is a fictional sport invented by author J.K. Rowling for her fantasy book series ''Harry Potter''. It first appeared in the novel ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'' (1997). It is a dangerous but popular sport played by witc ...
team, known as the NAU Narwhals, who compete in
US Quidditch
US Quadball, previously known as US Quidditch, is a non-profit organization that governs the sport of quadball in the United States of America. Quadball is a sport that combines elements of lacrosse, dodgeball, and rugby. The sport is played at ...
. The Narwhals advanced to the Elite 8 at
IQA World Cup VI
The IQA World Cup VI was the 2013 edition of the IQA World Cup (now the US Quidditch Cup), a quidditch club tournament then organized by the International Quidditch Association.
The tournament was hosted in Kissimmee, Florida from April 13–14, 2 ...
in 2013.
Olympians
References
External links
*
{{Western Athletic Conference navbox