Athletics
UAlbany’s NCAA Division I athletics program is a member of the America East Conference in 16 of 18 varsity sports, while women’s golf is an associate member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), and football, a Division I Football Championship Subdivision program, is an associate member of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). UAlbany has earned the Stuart P. Haskell Jr. Commissioner’s Cup, which honors the America East’s top-performing athletics department, eight times overall, including six-straight years from 2013-2018. Click here to visit the official website of UAlbany Athletics.
UAlbany has won 124 conference championships and has made 57 NCAA Tournament appearances since moving to Division I in 1999. Proving to be a perennial power, the Great Danes won seven or more conference titles nine years in a row from 2010-2019. UAlbany claimed its 100th conference title on May 14, 2017, when softball won the America East Tournament. Entering the 2022-2023 school year, UAlbany has 115 America East Tournament titles, six Northeast Conference (NEC) season titles in football, and three MAAC titles in women’s golf.
UAlbany won four America East titles in 2021-22, and claimed their eighth overall Stuart P. Haskell Commissioner’s Cup, its first since the 2017-18 season, and seventh in the last nine years the award has been given. Women’s basketball, on the foundation of a 16-1 record in SEFCU Arena, claimed its seventh overall championship, and first since the 2016-17 season, and returned to the NCAA Tournament with a First Round matchup against Wichita Region one-seed and eventual Final Four participant Louisville. Track & field claimed the Great Danes’ remaining three titles on the year, with the women winning both indoors and outdoors, and the men claiming the outdoor title. The women won their ninth-straight indoor title and their 13th-straight outdoor title, while the men’s outdoor championship streak grew to 17. Each of the three streaks either retained or took over as the longest active conference championship winning streak in the country among Division I programs. In total, men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor track & field and cross country account for 62 of UAlbany’s 124 conference championships through the end of the 2021-22 school year.
UAlbany added two titles in the COVID-19-affected 2020-2021 season, which saw all fall sports delayed from their normal season to compete with a shortened schedule in the spring. The Great Danes track & field program swept the America East Outdoor Championship meet for the 12th-straight season, with the women winning their 12th-straight title and the men winning their 16th-straight. The men’s active streak of consecutive outdoor championships is the longest in the country among Division I program, and the women’s ranks second behind North Dakota State. Track & field’s Adrian Mitchell was named UAlbany’s second-ever America East Man of the Year, and fourth Great Dane in as many years, and sixth overall, to earn the conference’s highest honor.
In 2019-20, UAlbany added three conference championships to its total. Volleyball, and men’s and women’s indoor track & field won titles in the latest academic year. Volleyball won its first title since 2011, while track & field continued its America East dominance seeing the women win their eighth-straight title, and 10th in the last 11 years, and the men won their 14th indoor title in the last 15 years. Additionally, senior Hannah Reinhardt successfully defended her individual America East cross country title, becoming just the fourth woman to win the championship race on her home course, and later became UAlbany’s first-ever NCAA Regional champion, winning the Northeast championship in her hometown Buffalo to secure a qualifying berth to NCAA XC Championships. In the fall, football won its first-ever FCS Playoff game, defeating Central Connecticut State at home 42-14 to advance to the FCS Second Round.
On March 12, 2020 the 2019-20 athletics year was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent decision was made by the NCAA and its member conferences and institutions to cancel remaining winter and spring season events. All of UAlbany’s winter sports had completed their seasons, but baseball, softball, and men’s and women’s lacrosse saw their seasons prematurely ended. Track & field and golf, defending America East and MAAC champions, respectively, had not yet had their spring seasons begin.
Throughout its Division I history, UAlbany has had 20 players selected in the Major League Lacrosse Draft, nine players drafted by Major League Baseball, and 18 sign NFL contracts. The Division I era has also produced UAlbany’s first female Olympian, Grace Claxton, a semifinalist in the 400m-hurdles at the Rio 2016 Games competing for Puerto Rico.
UAlbany’s nearly 500 student-athletes strive every day to be Great Leaders, Great Champions, and Great Danes.
For more information, visit http://www.UAlbanySports.com or call Albany Athletics at (518) 442-DANE (3263). Follow the Great Danes on Twitter (@UAlbanySports), Facebook and Instagram (Albany Athletics).
UAlbany’s indoor and outdoor athletic facilities are among the most comprehensive in the Northeast. In 2012-2013, the University constructed a state-of-the-art 8,500 seat multi-sport complex for football and soccer now known as Bob Ford Field at Tom & Mary Casey Stadium; a brand new track and field venue; and a synthetic turf field designed for year-round recreational, intramural and club sport activities. An adjacent surface known as Alumni Turf Field is home to field hockey, in addition to serving as a multi-use recreational field for UAlbany students.
The Great Danes’ indoor facilities are also top-notch. SEFCU Arena, the Physical Education Building, and an air-supported bubble are utilized for sporting and cultural activities. In addition, there are lighted tennis courts, racquetball/squash/handball courts, a swimming pool, a dance studio, and a fitness and weight training center. The department of Athletics is located in both the SEFCU Arena and the Physical Education Building, (518-442-DANE).
