NJIT Highlanders
NJIT Highlanders | |
---|---|
University | New Jersey Institute of Technology |
Conference | America East (primary) Southland (men's & women's tennis) EIVA (men's volleyball) |
NCAA | Division I |
Athletic director | Lenny Kaplan |
Location | Newark, New Jersey |
Varsity teams | 19 |
Basketball arena | Wellness and Events Center |
Baseball stadium | Yogi Berra Stadium |
Soccer stadium | J. Malcolm Simon Stadium |
Other venues | Prudential Center |
Mascot | The Highlander |
Nickname | Highlanders |
Colors | Red and white[1] |
Website | www |
The NJIT Highlanders, formerly the New Jersey Tech Highlanders, are the varsity sport members of the Division I NCAA-affiliated sports teams of New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT). There are ten men's teams, seven women's teams, and three club teams along with a variety of intramural teams. The school's primary conference is the America East Conference. In November 2017 NJIT opened the Wellness and Events Center (WEC) which incorporates upgraded facilities for most Division 1 sports including a 3,500-seat arena for basketball and volleyball.[2]
Behind the Highlander name and logo
NJIT is located in an area of Newark presently known as University Heights, and formerly known as the Newark Highlands. In addition, NJIT's mailing address used to be High Street until the street was renamed in memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. These various references to 'High' are, in large measure, what led the school's students to choose The Highlander as its mascot. Upon moving up to NCAA Division I in 2006 -07, NJIT athletics updated its graphics. This included a new logo which depicts a stylized Scottish Highlander warrior in traditional garb.
Sports sponsored
Men's sports | Women's sports |
---|---|
Baseball | Basketball |
Basketball | Cross country |
Cross country | Soccer |
Lacrosse | Tennis |
Soccer | Track and field† |
Swimming and diving | Volleyball |
Tennis | |
Track and field† | |
Volleyball | |
Co-ed sports | |
Fencing | |
† – Track and field includes both indoor and outdoor |
A member of the
Move to Division I
NJIT athletics moved to NCAA Division I, the top level of college athletics, in 2006.
Prior to the reclassification of the athletic program, all teams competed at the Division II level. In the process of reclassification, both men's and women's
NJIT athletics officially gained across-the-board active membership in NCAA Division I, beginning September 1, 2009.[3]
Men's lacrosse, which was elevated from club to full varsity status for the 2015 season (2014–15 school year), competed as an independent through the 2019 season, after which the team joined the Northeast Conference.[4]
Facilities
Branch Brook Park, located approximately a 1/2 mile away from campus is the home for NJIT cross country teams.
The
Conference history
NJIT competed independently until 2009, when the Highlanders became a part of the Great West Conference in the summer of 2008 as one of six programs to form a Division I all-sports league that began full conference scheduling and championships in 2009–10. The Great West Conference was formerly a football-only league. Chicago State University joined the conference in October 2008, increasing the total full-sports members to 7.[5]
The newly expanded conference was not eligible for automatic Division I championship postseason qualification, men's basketball tournament champion was granted an automatic bid to the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT).[6]
During the 2012–13 basketball season, the NCAA underwent major changes in
Some teams began competing as associate members in various conferences. The men's volleyball team joined the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA). In 2013–14, the NJIT men's swimming and diving team began competing in the Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association (CCSA). In 2014, NJIT women's tennis became an associate member of the America East Conference and in 2014–15, soccer began play in the Sun Belt Conference.
After two years as an independent, NJIT announced on June 12, 2015, that it would become a full member of the Atlantic Sun Conference, now known as the
Club sports
- Ice Hockey (affiliated conference : Colonial States College Hockey Conference (ACHA Division II club hockey))
- Bowling (reinstated in 2008–2009)
Recognitions
Men's soccer
In 1960, NJIT was NAIA men's soccer co-champions with Elizabethtown College. The title game went into four overtimes and ended in a 2–2 draw.
NCAA Division I men's basketball recognitions for futility
NJIT's men's basketball program set the record of the most winless team in D-I history in the
NJIT currently holds three NCAA Division I men's basketball reclassifying records:[13]
- Defeats in a winless season: 29 games)
- Consecutive defeats in a season: 29 games
- Consecutive defeats: 51 games
NCAA Division III men's basketball recognitions for best performances
Despite performing way below Division I standards during its reclassifying seasons from Division II, the Highlanders till this day still hold several Division III men's basketball records more than a decade after elevation from Division III. These records[14] include:
- All-time best 3-point field-goal percentage in one season (67% by Reggie James in 1989).
- All-time second best 3-point field-goal percentage in one season (63.1% by Chris Miles in 1987).
- All-time third best 3-point field-goal percentage in one season (61.3% by Chris Miles in 1989).
- All-time highest number of blocked shots in one season (198 by Tory Black in 1997).
- All-time highest number of blocked shots per game in one season (7.62 by Tory Black in 1997).
- All-time highest 3-point field-goal percentage (minimum 100 made) by a team in one season (62% on 124 of 200 shootings in 1989).
Noteworthy accomplishments in Division I
- Senior captain Sabrina Baby led the nation in women's volleyball digs per set in 2009.College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).[16]
- The women's volleyball team led the nation in digs per set in 2009.
- Christian Baumbach won the 101st annual IC4A Cross Country University Event race in 2009.[17]
- The NJIT (club level) ice hockey team captured its first Great Northeast Collegiate Hockey Conference Division II championship title in 2011, by defeating Muhlenberg College 3–2 in overtime.[18]
- The NJIT women's tennis team captured its first Great West Conference title beating North Dakota by a score of 4–2.[19]
- The NJIT men's basketball team defeated the 17th ranked Michigan Wolverines, 72–70, on the road in its first game against a ranked opponent.[20]
- Mamadou Guirassy won the NCAA Division I Golden Boots Award (soccer) in 2017.
- The NJIT men's soccer team captured its first ASUN tournament title in 2020.[21]
- The men's baseball team earned NJIT's first victory in any sport in NCAA tournament play defeating Northeastern University, 3–2, in June 2021.[22]
- The NJIT men and women's fencing teams finished fourth at the 2021 National Collegiate Men's and Women's Fencing Championships.[1][2]
Notable Highlanders
See also
List of NCAA Division I schools that have never sponsored football
References
- ^ NJIT Branding Guidelines (PDF). January 1, 2015. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
- ^ "Education NJIT cuts ribbon on WEC, an athletic facility and more (slideshow)". ROI. 10 November 2017. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
- ^ 'NJIT: NJIT Officially Gains Active NCAA Division I Membership'
- ^ "NEC Welcomes NJIT as Men's Lacrosse Associate Member" (Press release). Northeast Conference. October 19, 2018. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
- ^ "'Great West Conference: About Great West Conference'". Archived from the original on 2010-04-18. Retrieved 2009-10-03.
- ^ "'Great West Conference: Great West Granted Automatic Bid Into CIT Field'". Archived from the original on 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2009-10-03.
- ^ "Conference Realignment". CollegeSportsInfo.com. 2016-03-11. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
- ^ "NJIT Athletics Finds Its Home in the Sun," New Jersey Institute of Technology Athletics, Friday, June 12, 2015. Retrieved February 4, 2021
- ^ "NJIT to Join America East Conference as 10th Member Institution - NJIT Highlanders". NJIT Highlanders. 2020-06-12. Retrieved 2020-06-13.
- ^ "NJIT Men's and Women's Tennis Joins Southland Conference" (Press release). NJIT Highlanders. June 22, 2021. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
- ^ 'NJIT Men's Basketball Team Media Guide'
- ^ 'NJIT Highlanders: 2009-10 Men's Basketball Schedule'
- ^ 'NCAA Division 1 Men's Basketball Records (2009 Edition)'
- ^ 'NCAA Division 3 Men's Basketball Records (2009 Edition)'
- ^ 'NJIT: Sabrina Baby and NJIT Claim NCAA Division I Statistical Championships'
- ^ 'NJIT: Sabrina Baby Named to ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Team'
- ^ 'NJIT's Christian Baumbach Wins Prestigious IC4A Championship Race'
- ^ NJIT Highlanders : WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS! - Co-Captain Colin McArdle scores late in OT for the Highlanders' first-ever championship
- ^ Women's Tennis Captures Great West Conference Title
- ^ "NJIT stuns No. 17 Michigan with critical 3-pointer"
- ^ "Men's Soccer Honored with ASUN Conference Championship Rings". New Jersey Institute of Technology Athletics. Retrieved 2021-06-08.
- ^ "NJIT first victory in NCAA Tournament"
- ^ 'NJIT : Hall of Fame Induction Class of 1996'
- ^ "'NSCAA: All-America Awards (1980)'". Archived from the original on 2011-06-15. Retrieved 2010-08-11.