The Richmond Spiders represent the

University of Richmond The University of Richmond (UR or U of R) is a private liberal arts college in Richmond, Virginia. It is a primarily undergraduate, residential institution with approximately 4,350 undergraduate and graduate students in five schools: the School ...

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. The Spiders compete in the Division I FCS 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 ...

as a member of the

Atlantic 10 Conference The Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division I. The A-10's member schools are located in states mostly on the United States Eastern ...

for most sports.

The Spider name

From 1876 through the early 1890s, Richmond's sports teams were known as the "Colts", reportedly for their play as an "energetic group of young colts." At some point variously reported as 1892, 1893, or 1894, the school's athletic teams took on the "Spiders" name. The origins of the name are somewhat uncertain, an apocryphal version describes a baseball team composed of Richmond students and city residents that was said to have taken on the "Spiders" name after Ragland Chesterman of the ''

Richmond Times-Dispatch The ''Richmond Times-Dispatch'' (''RTD'' or ''TD'' for short) is the primary daily newspaper in Richmond, Virginia, Richmond, the capital of Virginia, and the primary newspaper of record for the state of Virginia. Circulation The ''Times-Dispatc ...

'' used the term to refer to pitcher Puss Ellyson's lanky arms and stretching kick. This story is not true, as the Richmond Times-Dispatch did not exist until 1903. And while Ragland Chesterman did write for the Richmond Times, he wrote a society column, not sports news. It is most likely the team took the nickname from the

Cleveland Spiders The Cleveland Spiders were an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. The team competed at the major league level from 1887 to 1899, first for two seasons as a member of the now-defunct American Association (AA), followed ...

who, at the time, were highly successful. To this day, Richmond is the only university in the United States with the

spider Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...

as its official nickname.

Sports sponsored

Baseball

The University of Richmond baseball team has been coached by former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

player

Tracy Woodson Tracy Michael Woodson (born October 5, 1962) is an American former professional baseball player and college coach. He played all or part of five seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1987 to 1989 and 1992 to 1993, primarily as a third base ...

since 2013. The Spiders have qualified for the NCAA Tournament eight times, including a Super Regional appearance in 2012, with the last tournament appearance coming in 2003. The Spiders play their home games at

Malcolm U. Pitt Field Malcolm U. Pitt Field is a baseball venue located on the campus of the University of Richmond in Richmond, Virginia, United States. The field is home to the Richmond Spiders baseball team of the NCAA Division I Atlantic 10 Conference.

on campus.

Men's basketball

Women's basketball

The University of Richmond women's basketball team is coached by

Aaron Roussell Aaron Roussell is an American college basketball coach, currently the women's head coach at the University of Richmond. Roussell is a 2001 graduate of the University of Iowa and he began his college coaching career as a graduate assistant at Min ...

, who was hired in 2019 after seven seasons as head coach at

Bucknell University Bucknell University is a private liberal arts college in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1846 as the University at Lewisburg, it now consists of the College of Arts and Sciences, Freeman College of Management, and the College of Engineering. ...

. Roussell succeeded

Michael Shafer Michael Shafer (born January 7, 1972) is an American college basketball coach, most recently the women's head coach at the University of Richmond. Career Shafer played at the College of William & Mary, where he walked on to the team. He was on ...

, who had served as the Spiders' head coach for 15 seasons. The Spiders have made the NCAA tournament three times (1990, 1991, 2005) and the

Women's National Invitation Tournament The Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) is a women's national college basketball tournament with a preseason and postseason version played every year. It is operated in a similar fashion to the men's college National Invitation Tournam ...

nine times (1989, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015). The women's basketball team plays its home games in the

Robins Center The Robins Center is a 7,201-seat multi-purpose arena in Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map ...

Men's cross country

The Spiders men's cross country team is coached by Steve Taylor, who has been the head coach since 2001. Lori Taylor serves as the overall director of all of Richmond's cross country and track and field teams. In 2010, the men's team won the Atlantic 10 Championship as a team for the first time ever. They went on to place fourth at the NCAA Southeast Regional meet to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA National Championship. Seeded in 28th place, the Richmond Spiders placed 24th at the NCAA National Championship, beating, among others, top-ranked Notre Dame, Texas, Louisville, Penn State, and Georgetown. Richmond previously sponsored men's indoor and outdoor track and field in addition to cross country, but the track and field programs were discontinued at the end of 2012–13 season as part of a realignment that also saw Richmond discontinue men's soccer and add men's lacrosse as varsity sports. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Richmond recruited several strong Kenyan runners, including three who qualified for Olympic teams:

Sosthenes Bitok Sosthenes Bitok (born March 23, 1957) is a retired long-distance runner from Kenya, who represented his native country in the men's 10,000 metres at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California. There he finished in sixth place, clocking 28 ...

and

Edwin Koech Edwin Koech (born 23 July 1961) is a Kenyan middle-distance runner. He competed in the men's 800 metres at the 1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) wer ...

, who both competed in the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...

, and Hillary Tuwei, who qualified for both the

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

and

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...

but was unable to compete due to boycotts.

Women's cross country and track & field

The Richmond Spiders women's cross country and track & field teams have been coached by Lori Taylor since 2001. The Spiders' cross country teams have won the Atlantic 10 conference championship six times under Taylor (2003, 2008, 2010, 2015, 2017, and 2018).

Field hockey

The University of Richmond's women's field hockey team has been coached by Jamie Montgomery since 2018. The Spiders are celebrating their 100th season of field hockey in 2019 and play their home games at Crenshaw Field, which has been upgraded for the 2019 season with a new support facility including team rooms, restrooms, a press box, filming positions, and a new entrance to the field. The Spiders have won seven Atlantic 10 regular season championships (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, and 2011) and eight Atlantic 10 tournament championships (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2011, and 2014). Each of those conference tournament championships earned the Spiders a bid to the

NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship The NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship is an American intercollegiate field hockey tournament conducted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and determines the Division I national champion. The championship is contested ...

Football

Men's golf

The University of Richmond's men's golf team has been coached by Adam Decker since 2005. The Spiders' home course is Independence Golf Club in Midlothian, Virginia, and a new training facility for the Spiders was completed at the club in 2018. The Spiders have seen five golfers win individual conference tournament titles, and have won the Atlantic 10 team title twice. As a team, the Spiders have qualified for NCAA regionals five times (1999, 2000, 2001, 2006, and 2017) and advanced to the

NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships The NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship, played in late May or early June, is the top annual competition in U.S. men's collegiate golf. The teams that win their respective Division I conference championships are given automatic spots in th ...

in 1999. In addition, Spider individual golfers have qualified for NCAA regionals three times (Daniel Walker in 2013, Danny Pizetoski in 2014, and Matthew Lowe in 2016), with Walker advancing to nationals in 2013.

Women's golf

The University of Richmond's women's golf team has been coached by Calle Nielson since 2019 and has competed as a member of the

Patriot League The Patriot League is a collegiate athletic conference comprising private institutions of higher education and two United States service academies based in the Northeastern United States. Outside the Ivy League, it is among the most selective gr ...

since the 2014-15 season. The Spiders' home course is Independence Golf Club in Midlothian, Virginia. The Spiders have won three Patriot League tournament championships (2016, 2017, and 2018), advancing to NCAA Regionals each of the three years. In addition, Sophie DiPetrillo captured the 2018 individual Patriot League title.

Men's lacrosse

The Richmond men's lacrosse team has been coached by Dan Chemotti since it began play as a varsity program in 2014, with the team playing its home games at

E. Claiborne Robins Stadium E. Claiborne Robins Stadium is an 8,217-seat multi-purpose stadium at the University of Richmond in Richmond, Virginia. It is home to the Richmond Spiders football, men's lacrosse, women's lacrosse, women's soccer, and women's track and field te ...

. The Spiders played their first season as associate members of the Atlantic Sun Conference, now known as the

ASUN Conference The ASUN Conference, formerly the Atlantic Sun Conference, is a collegiate athletic conference operating mostly in the Southeastern United States. The league participates at the NCAA Division I level, and began sponsoring football at the Divisio ...

, before a cooperative agreement between the Atlantic Sun and the

Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly ...

(SoCon) saw sponsorship of men's lacrosse shift to the SoCon following the 2014 season. UR remained in SoCon men's lacrosse until the A-10 established a men's lacrosse league, with play starting in the 2023 season. The Spiders have won at least a share of the Southern Conference title three times and have qualified for the

NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship The NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship tournament determines the annual top men's field lacrosse team in the NCAA Division I. This tournament has determined the national champion since the inaugural 1971 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse ...

three times (2014, 2018, and 2019).

Women's lacrosse

The University of Richmond's women's lacrosse team has been coached by Allison Kwolek since 2012, and the Spiders' home field is

. The Spiders have won six Atlantic 10 regular season championships (2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2018, and 2019) and five Atlantic 10 conference tournaments (2005, 2006, 2007, 2018, and 2019). Each of those five conference tournaments championships earned the Spiders a berth in the

NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship The annual NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship tournament has determined the top women's lacrosse team in the NCAA Division I since 1982. The Maryland Terrapins are the most successful team with fourteen titles. The most recent champion ...

Women's soccer

The history of the program dates to 1996, and the Spiders have won the Atlantic 10 conference regular season title once (2000) and the conference tournament title once (2002). The Spiders advanced to the

NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship The NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship, sometimes known as the Women's College Cup, is an American college soccer tournament conducted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and determines the Division I women's national ...

in 2000 and 2002, including an appearance in the Sweet Sixteen of the 2002 tournament where the Spiders fell to the

University of Portland , mottoeng = The truth will set you free , established = 1901 , type = Private university , religious_affiliation = Catholic (Congregation of Holy Cross) , endowment = $218 million , president = Robert D. Kelly , students = 3,731 (fall 20 ...

, the eventual national champion. Marty Beall was named head coach of the Spiders in 2017, and the team's home field is Presidents Field on the University of Richmond campus.

Women's swimming and diving

The University of Richmond's women's swimming and diving team has been led by Matt Barany since 2005, with Nathan Parker serving as head dive coach since 2018. Since joining the Atlantic 10 in 2001, the Spiders have captured 15 of a possible 18 Atlantic 10 championships.

Men's tennis

The Richmond men's tennis team has been coached by Houston Barrick since 2017, and the team has won four A-10 tournament titles (2002, 2004, 2005, and 2006), advancing to the

NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championship The NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championship is an annual men's college tennis national collegiate championship sponsored by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for teams in Division I. The tournament crowns a team, individual ...

in each of those four seasons.

Women's tennis

The Richmond women's tennis team has been coached by Mark Wesselink since 1991, and the Spiders have won nine Atlantic 10 championships during his tenure (2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012). The Spiders have made 11 appearances in the

NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championship The NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championship is the National Collegiate Athletic Association's tennis tournament to determine the Team Championships, Singles Championships, and Doubles Championships for women's tennis athletes from Division I ...

(1997, 1998, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012).

Facilities

, named in honor of E. Claiborne Robins, Sr. and his historic philanthropy to the school, serves as the home for Richmond's football, soccer, lacrosse, and track and field programs. Robins Stadium, which opened in 2010 with seating for 8,700 people, was built on the site of a smaller, previous stadium known at various times as the Soccer/Track Complex and First Market Stadium. * The

arena serves as home to the men's and women's basketball programs. The building originally opened in 1972, and underwent a $17 million renovation in 2013–14 to modernize the facilities. The renovation reduced seating capacity from 9,071 to 7,201, replacing seats in the upper corners with terrace hospitality areas. In addition to the basketball arena, the Robins Center includes a natatorium, home of the women's swimming and diving program, as well as offices and support facilities for most of the Spider athletic programs. The Weinstein Center for Recreation and Wellness, the university's recreational fitness facility, is attached to and integration with the Robins Center. *

is Richmond's baseball stadium with bleacher seating for 600 spectators. The stadium opened in 1975 and in 2015 was upgraded with an artificial turf field. Indoor training areas for the baseball program are located in Millhiser Gymnasium, adjacent to the Robins Center. * Crenshaw Field serves as home to the women's field hockey program. The facility includes an AstroTurf field installed in 2011, and lights were added in 2014 to allow for night practices and games. * The Westhampton Tennis Complex is home to the men's and women's tennis programs. The outdoor facility includes eight courts, an electronic scoreboard, and amphitheater-style seating for spectators. A $1 million renovation of the complex in 2017 will expand the facility to ten courts with an all-new playing surface and spectator facilities. * As of 2014, Richmond's men's and women's golf teams call Independence Golf Club in

Midlothian, Virginia Midlothian ( ) is an unincorporated area in Chesterfield County, Virginia, U.S. Settled as a coal town, Midlothian village experienced suburbanization effects and is now part of the western suburbs of Richmond, Virginia south of the James Rive ...

home. The club was fully renovated in 2014 and includes an 18-hole championship course, a nine-hole par-3 short course, two driving ranges, three putting greens, and a short game practice area.

Discontinued varsity sports

Men's soccer

The history of the program dates to 1975, and the Spiders won or shared three conference titles and advanced to three

NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship The NCAA Division I men's soccer tournament, sometimes known as the College Cup, is an American intercollegiate soccer tournament conducted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and determines the Division I men's national champi ...

tournaments (

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

, and

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

). The final permanent head coach of the Spiders was

Clint Peay Clint Peay (born September 16, 1973 in Columbia, Maryland) is an American soccer coach and former player. He was a regular on the U.S. junior national teams and U.S. Olympic team in the mid-1990s. He also spent several years with D.C. United in ...

, who led the team from 2009 to 2012, with

Leigh Cowlishaw Leigh Cowlishaw (born 16 December 1970) is an English former footballer and coach. He served as the head coach of the Richmond Kickers from 2000 until 2018. Career Coaching Cowlishaw had been manager of the Kickers since 2000, during which t ...

leading the team on an interim basis in its final season. Notable alumni of the Spider program include

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BMO ...

general manager

Tim Bezbatchenko Timothy Bezbatchenko (born October 13, 1981) is an American retired soccer player and president of Major League Soccer club Columbus Crew. Playing career As a youth player, Bezbatchenko was part of the United States National Pool in 1999–20 ...

, defender

Craig Ziadie Craig Ziadie (born 20 September 1978 in Pembroke Pines, Florida) is a Jamaican-American soccer player, who last played right back for the MetroStars of Major League Soccer. Youth and College Although he was born in Florida, Ziadie grew up ...

, who was selected 28th overall by

D.C. United D.C. United is a professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer, the top tier of American soccer. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Supp ...

in the 2001 MLS SuperDraft, and former

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

head coach

Oliver Weiss Oliver Weiss is a German-born, U.S.-based soccer coach, who worked successfully over a 14-year span (1995–2009) at the NCAA division I level. He was the head men's soccer coach at Virginia Tech from 2002 through 2009. Career Under Weiss Virgin ...

. The program played its final game on November 2, 2012, a 3–3 draw against crosstown rival VCU.

References

External links

* {{Navboxes , titlestyle = {{CollegePrimaryStyle, Richmond Spiders, color=white , list = {{Atlantic 10 Conference navbox {{Colonial Athletic Association navbox {{Patriot League navbox {{Richmond Sports {{Virginia Sports