The Rhode Island Rams are the athletic programs of the University of Rhode Island, based in Kingston, Rhode Island, USA. The Rams compete in the NCAA's Division I as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference. The football team, however, competes in the Colonial Athletic Association of the NCAA's Football Championship Subdivision, as the A-10 does not sponsor football. The program's athletic director is Thorr Bjorn.
The school's colors are light blue (officially referred to as "Keaney blue"), white, and navy blue. The school's mascot is Rhody the Ram. It was chosen in 1923 as tribute to the school's agricultural history, making its first appearance in 1929. The school has not used a live ram since the introduction of "Rhody," a student in an anthropomorphic ram costume, in 1974.
Teams
The University of Rhode Island sponsors teams in eight men's and ten women's NCAA sanctioned sports:
- * = The football team competes in the Colonial Athletic Association.
Men's basketball
URI Basketball has not reached the NCAA tournament since 1999, but in the 1990s the Rams made the Big Dance in 1997, 1998, and 1999. In 1998, the Rams went on a surprise run to the Elite 8.
Football
Baseball
The Rams baseball program played its first season in 1898. It plays at Bill Beck Field on campus. In 2005, under head coach Frank Leoni, the program reached its first NCAA Tournament.
Facilities
Source:
Similarities to the North Carolina Tar Heels
There are several similarities between the Rhode Island Rams and the North Carolina Tar Heels. The schools share nearly identical colors, though Carolina Blue is slightly lighter than Keaney Blue. Both have rams as mascots, though for different reasons: URI chose the mascot as a homage to URI's agricultural heritage, while Rameses was chosen as a homage to Jack Merritt, the "Battering Ram." Finally, the songs "I'm A Tar Heel Born" and "Rhode Island Born" are nearly identical, with "A Tar Heel" replacing "Rhode Island" in the first half of the song, and "Car'lina-lina" replacing "Go Rhode Island" in the second half."
Media Coverage
Television
University of Rhode Island sports are televised regionally on the Ocean State Network, a joint venture of Cox Communications and WJAR. OSN provides television and streaming coverage of all regular season men's basketball games not broadcast on a national carrier, and select football, baseball, soccer and women's basketball games. Select men's basketball games are also covered by ESPN, and A-10 tournament games are televised by contract with ESPN, CBS and NBC. The University's ACHA men's ice hockey and women's basketball home games have live streaming video available on their respective websites.
Radio
Commercial coverage of men's basketball and football is provided by flagship station WHJJ and broadcast on stations in the Beltone Hearing Aid Centers Rams Radio Network. The longtime announcer for both sports is Steve McDonald, who in 2011 was awarded the inaugural Ben Mondor Award for "extraordinary contributions in...sports in Rhode Island".
Non-commercial coverage of home games for football, baseball, men's (and select women's) basketball, as well as the school's ACHA men's ice hockey team can be heard on the University's student radio station WRIU. Other sports, including men's and women's soccer, softball, women's ice hockey and select women's basketball games are carried on WRIU's online station RIU2.
Club sports
The University of Rhode Island Club Sports program consists of 15 competitive, collegiate club teams. Each team is organized and managed by students with guidance from the Coordinator of Club Sports. They include Field Hockey, Lacrosse, Roller Hockey, Rowing, Sailing, Rugby, Swimming, Volleyball, Gymnastics, Ultimate and Equestrian. The Ice Hockey team competes in Division I of the American Collegiate Hockey Association.
Mascot
Rhody the Ram is the official mascot of the University of Rhode Island. His mascot status was given on March 8, 1923, and he made his first appearance on November 21, 1929. At one time a real ram was housed at a dairy barn across from the campus, but that stopped in the 1960s, and was picked up for one year in 1974. Unlike other popular universities, the Rhody the Ram mascot program is run by the URI Student Alumni Association, a student run organization that serves the university by organizing many popular events on campus.
Controversial incidents
February 3, 1998 - Rhody the Ram tried to prevent the St. Joe's Hawk from his eternal flapping by putting an inner tube over its head, temporarily immobilizing his arms. While trying to remove the tube, the Hawk's head (costume) fell off. The incident was televised and repeated on ESPN.
December 2, 2006 - Rhody the Ram was assaulted by a fan at the Dunkin Donuts Center during halftime of the annual URI-Providence College game, a fierce in-state rivalry. The assailant was never found, but Comedy Central talk show host Stephen Colbert has claimed responsibility for the attack. The Ram was taken to the hospital for minor injuries, making this another incident in the long and sometimes ugly rivalry between the two teams.
See also
- 2006รข€"07 NCRHA Division I season
References
External links
- Official website
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