Located in Los Angeles,

Occidental College Occidental College (informally Oxy) is a private liberal arts college in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1887 as a coeducational college by clergy and members of the Presbyterian Church, it became non-sectarian in 1910. It is one of the oldes ...

competes in the

Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference The Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) is a college athletic conference that operates in the NCAA's Division III. The conference was founded in 1915 and it consists of twelve small private schools that are located in ...

(SCIAC) at the

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 ...

Division III In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

level. Approximately 25 percent of all students play a varsity sport, and nearly half of all students participate in all athletics activities combined (including a host of club sports and intramural leagues).

History

In 1889–90 Professor James Parkhill (Occidental College’s fourth president, from 1896–97) organized intramural games for interested College men and Academy boys. His enthusiastic leadership laid the groundwork for establishing the nickname (Tigers) and school colors (orange and black) after his undergraduate alma mater, Princeton.

Traditions

Every year Occidental played two football games for rivalry trophies. One game was against Pomona-Pitzer and the winner awarded "The Drum." The Drum rivalry is the oldest rivalry game in Southern California, having been contested since 1895. Oxy leads Pomona-Pitzer all time in the series 65–54–3. The other game was against

Whittier College Whittier College (Whittier Academy (1887–1901)) is a private liberal arts college in Whittier, California. It is a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and, as of fall 2022, had approximately 1,300 (undergraduate and graduate) students. It was ...

and the winner awarded " The Shoes," which are a pair of bronzed cleats from a 1940 graduate from Whittier named Myron Claxton. The school dropped football in 2020.

Teams

The Tigers have 10 varsity men's teams and 11 varsity women's teams. They also have six club sport teams.

Men's

* Baseball * Basketball * Cross Country * Golf * Soccer * Swimming and Diving * Tennis * Track and Field * Water Polo

Women's

* Basketball * Cross Country * Golf * Lacrosse * Soccer * Softball * Swimming and Diving * Tennis * Track and Field * Volleyball * Water Polo

Club sports

* Dance team * Men's lacrosse * Men's and women's rugby * Men's and women's ultimate frisbee

National championships

Team

Conference championships

Here are a few of the SCIAC titles that Oxy has won: * Football (2008, 2006, 2005, 2004) * Men's Cross Country (2006) * Men's Basketball (2006–07, 2007–08) * Women's Basketball (2007–08) * Baseball (2016) * Track and Field (1938, 1943, 1948, 1954, 1956-1966, 1968-1977, 1980-1981, 1983-1986, 1988-1990) * SCIAC All Sports Champions (1984, 1983, 1978)

Men's basketball

For the last decade, under alumnus and winningest coach in school history Brian Newhall, the Tigers have found great success on the court. In that time span the program has compiled a 146–59 (.712) record and have won a pair of SCIAC conference championships (2006–07, 2007–08). Furthermore under Newhall, the Tigers have earned regional and national rankings, produced the only perfect 14–0 record in SCIAC history and triumphed in two NCAA playoff games to reach the NCAA III Elite 8 in 2003. Some Oxy players have pursued professional careers overseas, including four players from Oxy's 25–3 Elite 8 team, have gone overseas. One example is Oxy alumnus Blair Slattery, the all-time career scoring and rebounding leader who signed on with the Munster Basketball Club in Germany in 1993.Occidental Alumni in the Pros
Occidental Alumni in the Pros The program plays its games in Frank Neill Rush Gymnasium with a seating capacity of 1,800.

References

External links

* {{Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference navbox