The TCNJ Lions are the athletic teams representing
The College of New Jersey (TCNJ). They are a member of the
New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) and compete within
Division III of the
National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
Overview
The school fields 11 varsity sports teams for men and women each and has captured 44 team national championships, as well as more than 40 individual and relay national championships, across multiple programs. The school's two most successful are the Women's Lacrosse team with 12
NCAA Division III Championships and the Women's Field Hockey team with 11
Division III NCAA Championships, the most of any team in D-III for either sport.
The
wrestling team hosts has placed in the top 20 nationally for 30 consecutive years, including 5
national championships
A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best team, indi ...
(1979, 1981, 1984, 1985, 1987), 5 runner-up finishes, and numerous finishes in the top 5.
TCNJ's varsity teams are the top combined first- and second-place finishers of all 424 Division III schools in the nation over more than 25 years.
In 1957, TCNJ, then known as Trenton State College, was a founding member of the NJAC (then called the New Jersey State Athletic Conference) along with five other state institutions. Since then, and after the conference allowed women's sports in 1985, the school has been a powerhouse winning the most titles in men's cross country, women's cross country, field hockey, women's tennis, women's soccer.
The
track and field teams have especially dominated the NJAC since the title was first contested in 1997, winning each year in both indoor and outdoor.
In 2017–18, TCNJ captured its first NJAC cup, after claiming titles in women’s cross country, field hockey, women’s tennis, women’s indoor track & field, and women’s lacrosse, and NJAC regular season titles in softball and baseball.
Outside of varsity athletics the school also hosts 15 club sports including a men's ice hockey team that competes within 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 ...
(ACHA) at Division I. The team is a member of the
Northeast Collegiate Hockey League
The Northeast Collegiate Hockey League is an ACHA Division I Hockey League consisting of seven teams in the Northeastern United States. A majority of members are located in New York with additional teams coming from New Jersey.
History
The leagu ...
. Prior to 2022, the team competed in ACHA Division II and won championships in various conferences such as the
Great Northeast Collegiate Hockey Conference
The Great Northeast Collegiate Hockey Conference (GNCHC) was an ACHA Division II ice hockey league based in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The league was disbanded in 2017.
Past teams
Past seasons
See also
* List of ice hoc ...
(2012, 2014) and the
Colonial States College Hockey Conference (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020).
Men's athletics
*
Baseball
*
Basketball
*
Cross Country
*
Football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
*
Soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
*
Swimming &
Diving
*
Tennis
*Indoor and Outdoor
Track & Field – considered two separate sports by the NCAA
*
Wrestling
Women's athletics
*
Basketball
*
Cross Country
*
Field Hockey
*
Lacrosse
*
Soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
*
Softball
*
Swimming &
Diving
*
Tennis
*Indoor and Outdoor
Track & Field – considered two separate sports by the NCAA
Club sports
*
Baseball
*
Basketball (women)
*
Bowling
*
Crew''
*
Cheerleading
*
Ice hockey''
*
Lacrosse (men and women)
*
Rugby
Rugby may refer to:
Sport
* Rugby football in many forms:
** Rugby league: 13 players per side
*** Masters Rugby League
*** Mod league
*** Rugby league nines
*** Rugby league sevens
*** Touch (sport)
*** Wheelchair rugby league
** Rugby union: 1 ...
(men and women)
*
Soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
(men and women)
*
Softball
*
Swimming
*
Tennis
*
Ultimate frisbee
*Unified sports (Special Olympics and TCNJ students)
*
Volleyball (men and women)
Championships
*The NCAA vacated the 1992 Women's Lacrosse title due to use of an ineligible player during the tournament
''Source''
List of individual TCNJ national champions'
''Source''
References
{{NewYorksports
Sports teams in the New York metropolitan area