The Washington and Lee Generals are the athletic teams that represent

Washington and Lee University , mottoeng = "Not Unmindful of the Future" , established = , type = Private liberal arts university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.092 billion (2021) , president = William C. Dudley , provost = Lena Hill , city = Lexington ...

, located in

Lexington, Virginia Lexington is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 7,320. It is the county seat of Rockbridge County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines ...

, in

NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that choose not to offer athletic scholarships to their ...

intercollegiate sports. The Generals compete as members of the

Old Dominion Athletic Conference The Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) is an NCAA Division III athletic conference. Of its 15 member schools, all but one are located in Virginia; the other full member is in North Carolina. The conference also has an associate member in N ...

for all sports except wrestling, which competes in the

Centennial Conference The Centennial Conference is an athletic conference which competes in the NCAA's Division III. Member teams are located in Maryland and Pennsylvania. Eleven private colleges compose the Centennial Conference. Five of ten members of the Cen ...

. All together, Washington and Lee sponsors 25 sports: 13 for men and 12 for women. Washington and Lee was one of the founding members of the Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Association in 1900, as well as the Division I

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 k ...

in 1921. The Generals remained members of the SoCon until 1958. During this time, they played alongside other Virginia universities like

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 are ...

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

, VMI (also located in Lexington), and William & Mary. Generals basketball won the

twice:

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 Nepal–Bihar earthquake strikes Nepal and Bihar with a maxi ...

and

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into ...

. The football team even made an appearance in the 1951 Gator Bowl against

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to t ...

. After leaving the Southern Conference, the Generals moved into Division III and joined the College Athletic Conference in 1962. This was followed by a move to the

in 1976, also as a founding member. Washington & Lee's men's lacrosse remained the school's only Division I program until 1987.

Varsity teams

List of teams

Men's sports * 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 ...

* Golf * Indoor Track & Field * Lacrosse * Outdoor Track & Field * Riding * Soccer * Swimming * Tennis * Wrestling Women's sports * Basketball * Cross Country * Field Hockey * Golf * Indoor Track & Field * Lacrosse * Outdoor Track & Field * Riding * Soccer * Swimming * Tennis * Volleyball

Individual teams

National championships

Washington and Lee holds two NCAA National Championship titles. In 1988, the men's tennis team won the NCAA Division III National Championship title. In 2007, the women's tennis team claimed the NCAA Division III National Championship title. In 2006, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017, and 2021 the Generals football team won the Old Dominion Athletic Conference championship. In 2009, the Generals baseball team won the ODAC championship.

Men's lacrosse

Washington and Lee's first lacrosse team was fielded in 1938 and started the Dixie Lacrosse League along with Virginia, Duke, and North Carolina. The Generals soon were successful winning the Dixie League Championship in 1939 and 1940. No team was fielded from 1943 through 1946. The team resumed play in 1947. After the school downgraded to Division III in 1958, the men's lacrosse team remained at the Division I level until 1987. Washington and Lee participated in seven

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 ...

tournaments: 1972, 1973,

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

, 1976,

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd government). * January 6 ...

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – In ...

. The Generals reached the tournament's semifinals three times: 1973, 1974, and 1975. Since 1987, Washington and Lee have won eleven Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Lacrosse Championships: 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2009, 2016, and 2019. Washington and Lee have participated in thirteen NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championship tournaments: 1987, 1991, 1993, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2009, 2013, 2016, 2018 and 2019. The Generals reached the quarterfinals three times: 1998, 1999, and 2004. The Generals reached the semifinals three times: 1987, 2000, and 2002. Washington and Lee Hall of Fame Coach

Jack Emmer John S. Emmer is a former American lacrosse coach. He retired in 2005 with 326 wins, making him the lacrosse coach with the most wins in NCAA history. This mark was surpassed in 2008 by Jim Berkman of Division III Salisbury University. Emmer is ...

is known for creating The Armadillo play where five players would surround a player with the ball, facing him and locking arms showing the defense only their backs. Any attempt by the defense to retrieve the ball would result in a penalty. Washington and Lee would then be able to run a man-up offense as a result of the penalty. Washington and Lee successfully used this play during the 1982 game against

UNC UNC is a three-letter abbreviation that may refer to: Education * University of Northern California (disambiguation), which may refer to: ** University of Northern California (Santa Rosa), in Petaluma, California, United States ** University of No ...

. Following the game, The Armadillo was outlawed by the NCAA rules committee. Washington and Lee lacrosse is also known for being on the losing side of one of the greatest upsets in lacrosse history when unranked Morgan State defeated the number 1 ranked Generals in the first game of the season in 1975. W&L had a 28 game regular season winning streak and had not lost at home in three years at the time. Washington and Lee plays VMI in the Lee-Jackson Lacrosse Classic every year. VMI is W&L's next door neighbor in Lexington, VA. The Classic is named after Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. Lee served as W&L's president from 1865-1870 and Jackson was a professor at VMI from 1851-1861. The Classic was held every spring as part of the main lacrosse season until 2007 when it moved to the fall as an exhibition game. W&L holds a 31-4 lead in the all time series against VMI. The trophy is a plaque featuring crossed swords. Washington and Lee competes against

Christopher Newport Christopher Newport (1561–1617) was an English seaman and privateer. He is best known as the captain of the '' Susan Constant'', the largest of three ships which carried settlers for the Virginia Company in 1607 on the way to found the sett ...

every year for the Virginia LtN Cup and generates support for LtN. LtN or "Lacrosse the Nations" is an organization that uses lacrosse and other physical activities to teach important life skills and help improve education and health while creating opportunity and hope for children in need. W&L holds a 6-3 lead in the all time series against Christopher Newport.

References

External links

* {{Old Dominion Athletic Conference navbox