The Kansas City Roos, known before July 1, 2019, as the UMKC Kangaroos and also sometimes called the Kansas City Kangaroos, are the intercollegiate teams representing the

University of Missouri–Kansas City The University of Missouri–Kansas City (UMKC or Kansas City) is a Public university, public research university in Kansas City, Missouri, United States. UMKC is part of the University of Missouri System and has a UMKC School of Medicine, medic ...

that compete in the

National Collegiate Athletic Association 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. ...

's Division I. The Roos formerly competed in the

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the Western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, Texas, Utah and Washington (state), Washington. Due to ...

(WAC) but, as of July 1, 2020 the Kansas City Roos became members of the

Summit League The Summit League, or The Summit, is an NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletic conference with its membership mostly located in the Midwestern United States, from Minnesota in the east, to the Dakotas, Nebraska and Colorado to the West, and Mis ...

in all 14 varsity sports.

Sports

As a member of the

the University of Missouri–Kansas City sponsors six men's and eight women's teams 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. ...

-sanctioned sports.

Soccer

Men's soccer was a member of the NCAA Division I

from 1994 to 2013, and won the league men's soccer championships in 1996, 1999, 2001, 2003, and 2010. The team then played seven seasons in the NCAA Division I

, returning to the Summit League in 2020. The team set an NCAA record on October 12, 2001, with the fastest trio of goals scored in Division I soccer during the MLS era, by scoring three times in 1:46 against

Valparaiso University Valparaiso University (Valpo) is a private university in Valparaiso, Indiana, United States. It is an independent Lutheran university with five colleges. It enrolls nearly 2,300 students and has a campus. The university is known for its Luthe ...

Conference affiliations

* 1969–70 to 1985–86 – NAIA Independent * 1986–87 to 1993–94 – NCAA Division I Independent * 1994–95 to 2012–13 –

* 2013–14 to 2019–20 –

* 2020–21 to present – Summit League

Name

The nickname was chosen in the 1930s for the school's

debate Debate is a process that involves formal discourse, discussion, and oral addresses on a particular topic or collection of topics, often with a moderator and an audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for opposing viewpoints. Historica ...

team, following the acquisition of two baby kangaroos by the

Kansas City Zoo The Kansas City Zoo & Aquarium is a zoo founded in 1909 and is located in Swope Park at 6800 Zoo Drive, Kansas City, Missouri, in the United States. The zoo has a Friends of the Zoo program to help promote the work of the zoo which sees over o ...

. The school has long branded itself for athletic purposes as "UMKC", but in June 2019, shortly before it announced its return to the Summit League, it unveiled a new logo and branding strategy emphasizing "Kansas City", and officially unveiled its full rebranding as the Kansas City Roos on July 1 of that year. While its previous conference, the WAC, used "UMKC", its current conference, the Summit League, uses "Kansas City". As part of the 2019 rebranding, the program is now known as Kansas City Athletics. Teams will be known as the Kansas City Roos, with "Roos" having long been used as a short form for the historic nickname of Kangaroos. The national media had been inconsistent in usage prior to the 2019 rebranding.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Umkc Kangaroos

Roos Roos is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated east from Kingston upon Hull city centre and north-west from Withernsea, and on the B1242 road. History The de Ros family originated from the vill ...