The Hillsdale Chargers are the athletic teams that represent

Hillsdale College Hillsdale College is a Private university, private, Conservatism in the United States, conservative, Christian liberal arts college in Hillsdale, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1844 by members of the Free Will Baptists. Women were admi ...

, located in

Hillsdale, Michigan Hillsdale is the largest city, and county seat, of Hillsdale County, in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 8,036, at the 2020 census. The city is the home of Hillsdale College, a private liberal arts college. History This a ...

, in

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

Division II intercollegiate sporting competitions. The Chargers (The Dales until a 1968 mascot name change) are currently members of the

Great Midwest Athletic Conference The Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. It was named the 24th (at the time) NCAA Division II conference and op ...

as of 2017. The Chargers had been members of the GLIAC since 1975. The college also has club teams and intramural sports that vary from year to year.

Conference history

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

(?–2017) * Great Midwest (2017–present)

Varsity teams

Baseball

The Chargers baseball team plays their home games at Simpson Field, located near Frank "Muddy" Waters Stadium. The Chargers made their first appearance in the

tournament in 2016 where they fell to the

Grand Valley State Lakers The Grand Valley State Lakers are the intercollegiate athletic teams of Grand Valley State University, located in Allendale, Michigan, United States. The GVSU Lakers compete at the NCAA Division II level and are members of the Great Lakes Interc ...

and the

Indianapolis Greyhounds The Indianapolis Greyhounds, also the UIndy Greyhounds, are the athletic teams that represent the University of Indianapolis (UIndy), located in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Greyhounds compete in NCAA Division II as members of the Great Lakes Va ...

. After the Chargers move to the

, the Chargers secured their first conference championship since 1960 with a 15–2 over the Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers.

Basketball

The men's and women's basketball programs of Hillsdale College play their home games in the newly renovated Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena. The arena is located within the Roche Sports Complex and is adjacent to Frank "Muddy" Waters Stadium. It has a maximum seating capacity of 2,200 spectators. However, additional standing room is available.

Football

The

Chargers

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

teams play their home games at Frank "Muddy" Waters Stadium. The stadium has an official seating capacity of 8,500 spectators. Football coach

Muddy Waters McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913April 30, 1983), better known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer-songwriter and musician who was an important figure in the post-World War II blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of moder ...

was the head coach at Hillsdale from 1954 to 1973. The football stadium is named in his honor.

Softball

At Hillsdale, the varsity softball team competes at their home Johnny Williams Field. The Charger softball team won the Great Midwest Athletic Conference championship in 2018, the school's softball team's first conference championship at the NCAA Division II level. This win earned them a berth in the NCAA regional tournament where the Chargers went on to beat the nationally ranked, and first place in the region, Grand Valley State University Lakers before falling to that year’s national champions: the Eagles of the University of Southern Indiana. The Charger softball team has recently acquired a new coach, Kyle Gross, after previous head coach Joe Abraham took the position at University of Toledo. Gross, who took over in the 2019 season, led the Chargers to yet another G-MAC conference championship and a 13–11 conference record.

Volleyball

The women's volleyball team of Hillsdale College play their home games in the newly renovated Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena, formerly known as the Jesse Phillips Arena.

Facilities

Former facilities

National championships

(1960–2015): * 1960: Baseball – NAIA * 1985: Football – NAIA Division I * 1993 and 1994: NAIA Men's Indoor Track & Field, High Jump Champion: Jim McHugh * 2010

Division II Men's Indoor Track & Field, 35# Weight Throw Champion: Jason Stomps * 2012:

Division II Women's Indoor Track & Field, 800 Meter and 1 Mile Champion: Amanda Putt * 2012: ACUI Collegiate Clay Target Division III Champions Combined High Overall Team in American Skeet, American Trap, International Skeet, International Trap, Five Stand, Sporting Clays * 2015: NCAA Division II Women's Indoor Track & Field, Distance Medley Relay (DMR) Champions: Kate Royer, Corinne Zehner, Amy Kerst, Emily Oren; 3000 Meter Champion: Emily Oren * 2015: NCAA Division II Women's Outdoor Track & Field, 3000 Meter Steeplechase and 5000 Meter Champion: Emily Oren * 2015: NCAA Division II Men's Outdoor Track & Field, 400 Meter Hurdles Champion: Maurice Jones

National Runners-up

* 1957: Football – NAIA * 1992: Men's Cross Country – NAIA * 1994: Men's Cross Country – NAIA * 1992: NAIA Men's Outdoor Track & Field, High Jump : Jim McHugh * 1994: NCAA DII Indoor Track & Field, High Jump : Jim McHugh * 2014: NCAA DII Women's Cross Country, * 2015: NCAA DII Women's Indoor Track & Field * 2015: NCAA DII Women's Indoor Track & Field, 3000 Meter and 5000 Meter: Kristina Galat * 2015: NCAA DII Men's Indoor Track & Field, Pole Vault: Jared Schipper

Basketball Final Four

* 1981: Men's Basketball – NAIA Division I

Alumni

Chargers athletes have enjoyed numerous accolades in their respective sports, and many have moved on to the professional level: *Football –

Howard Mudd Howard Edward Mudd (February 10, 1942 – August 12, 2020) was an American professional football offensive lineman and coach. He retired in 1971 due to a knee injury, and began his coaching career at California the following year. From 1998 to 2 ...

(San Francisco 49ers, Chicago Bears),

Isaac TeSlaa Isaac TeSlaa (born February 20, 2002) is an American professional football wide receiver for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Hillsdale Chargers and Arkansas Razorbacks. He was selected b ...

(Detroit Lions) ,

Chester Marcol Czesław Bolesław "Chester" Marcol (born October 24, 1949) is a Polish American former professional football player who was a placekicker in the National Football League (NFL), primarily for the Green Bay Packers from 1972 to 1980. He played co ...

(Green Bay Packers, Houston Oilers),

Jared Veldheer Jared Veldheer (born June 14, 1987) is an American former professional football offensive tackle. He was selected by the Oakland Raiders in the third round of the 2010 NFL draft. He played college football at Hillsdale. Early life and college V ...

(Arizona Cardinals, Green Bay Packers),

Andre Holmes Andre Holmes (born June 16, 1988) is a former American football wide receiver. Originally signed by the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2011, Holmes also played for the Oakland Raiders, Buffalo Bills, and Denver Broncos. Holmes pla ...

(Oakland Raiders),

Nate Johnson (wide receiver) Nathaniel Johnson (born May 12, 1957) is an American former professional football wide receiver who played for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the Hillsdale College Hillsdale College is ...

(Winnipeg Blue Bombers) *Basketball – Cory Coe (United States, Portugal and Germany), Tim Deselski (Luxembourg), Tony Gugino (Bulgaria, Switzerland), Brad Guinane (United Kingdom), Michael Lake (Germany), Tim Martin (Canada), Nick Washburn (Spain), Jack Gohlke (Oakland).

References

External links

* {{Great Midwest Athletic Conference navbox