Adelphi University Athletics: A Legacy of Excellence
Adelphi University Athletics boasts a rich history, marked by academic achievement, athletic prowess, and a commitment to developing well-rounded student-athletes. From its humble beginnings as Adelphi Academy to its current status as a competitive NCAA Division II institution, Adelphi has consistently strived for excellence both on and off the field.
Academic Excellence
Winning isn’t everything at Adelphi University, and the approach to athletics reflects this philosophy. Adelphi University Athletics has one of the best academic records in its conference, the Northeast-10. Despite grueling schedules, scholar-athletes continue to lead academically among all Northeast-10 institutions.
In Fall 2020, Adelphi led the NE10 academically, with 89 percent of its 390 student-athletes named to the Academic Honor Roll. Fifty of Adelphi’s student-athletes earned perfect 4.0 GPAs, and the average GPA for Adelphi’s student-athletes for the semester was an impressive 3.5.
Adelphi doesn’t have tutors or academic programs specifically for student-athletes. Instead, the athletics department works to help students manage their classwork with their sports. To help them communicate their needs to their professors, the athletics department asks each student-athlete to complete a form detailing their travel schedule at the beginning of the semester and give it to their professors. Coaching staffs may also set up group study times for members of their team, where the members of an athletics team all get together in a single space on campus and hit the books together.
Jackie Brown ’21, of the women’s field hockey team, said she kept going to the team study sessions throughout her undergrad career, even when they were no longer mandatory. Brown graduated with a 3.75 GPA after spending many semesters on the NE10 Academic Honor Roll.
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Notable Student-Athletes
Adelphi has produced many outstanding student-athletes. There’s soccer player Paolo Marciano, a junior majoring in management who was second runner-up for the prestigious 2021 Arthur Ashe Jr. Male Athlete of the Year award, an honor given to athletes who excel in the classroom and on the field. Star lacrosse player Alison Johnson ’20, MA ’21, is this year’s NE10 Woman of the Year as well as a three-time CoSIDA Academic All-American. Johnson is the third Panther to be named Woman of the Year in the last four years. Softball player Brenna Martini ’18, MS ’20 won it in her graduation year, and Chelsea Abreu ’19, MBA ’21, won it in 2019. Soccer star Paolo Marciano was was second runner-up for the 2021 Arthur Ashe Jr.
A Supportive Atmosphere
“Everyone gets to know who you are here,” Brown said. “You’re not just a number or a name. They become very involved in your academic and your athletic career. There’s a very good atmosphere at Adelphi, and there’s focus on helping you balance academics and athletics.
From Academy to University
Adelphi University’s roots reach back to 1863 and the founding of the Adelphi Academy, a private preparatory school in Brooklyn, New York. The Academy was incorporated in 1869 and its Board of Trustees was charged with establishing a first class institution for the broadest and most thorough training, and to make its advantages as accessible as possible to the largest numbers of our population.
The appointment of Charles H. Levermore, PhD, as the head of the Academy in 1893 was an important moment in Adelphi’s history. Realizing the city of Brooklyn was without a liberal arts college, Levermore seized the opportunity to establish Adelphi College. Through the efforts of Timothy Woodruff, former lieutenant governor of New York State and future president of Adelphi’s Board of Trustees, Adelphi College, with 57 students and 16 instructors, was granted a charter-one of the earliest charters granted to a coeducational college by the Board of Regents of the State of New York-on June 24, 1896. Henceforth, degrees issued bore the seals of Adelphi College and of the University of the State of New York and were signed by the officers of the College and by the chancellor and the secretary of the University.
Over the course of the next 100 years Adelphi grew and changed significantly. Today, Adelphi is thriving. Our colleges and schools include the College of Arts and Sciences; the Gordon F. Derner School of Psychology; the Honors College; the Robert B. Willumstad School of Business; the Ruth S. Ammon College of Education and Health Sciences (comprised of the School of Education and the School of Health Sciences); the College of Nursing and Public Health; the School of Social Work; and the College of Professional and Continuing Studies.
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The university has reinvigorated its academic community and invested in its future. Adelphi has hired more than 280 new professors since 2001. Current full- and part-time faculty total 956, with a student/faculty ratio of 10:1. To ensure that scholars have the resources needed to reach their goals, millions of dollars have been invested in infrastructure. The facilities have been renovated; technology has been upgraded and smart classrooms created; libraries-both facilities and collections-have been dramatically improved; and investments have been made in new equipment. An ambitious campus expansion project has, over the last decade, resulted in the completion and opening of the Adele and Herbert J.
Scholars throughout the University are making significant contributions to their disciplines. In recent years, Adelphi faculty members have been recognized as Fulbright and Hartford Scholars, and have received funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. The School of Social Work is accredited for the maximum time that the accrediting agency grants. Currently, more than 8,100 students are thriving in our classrooms, in our programs, on our sports fields at the main Garden City campus and at centers in the NYC area, Hauppauge, and Poughkeepsie.
Key Historical Moments
- 1893: Charles H. Levermore becomes the Principal of Adelphi Academy.
- 1896: The Charter for Adelphi College is granted on June 24.
- 1929: The committee selects 68 acres in Garden City, Long Island for a new site for the college.
- 1938: Paul Dawson Eddy redesigns the curriculum to include practical and vocational skills.
- 1963: Adelphi’s Gordon F. Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies became the nation’s first university-based professional school of psychology.
- 2008: The visual arts at Adelphi are given a new home, with the construction of a new state-of-the-art Fine Arts and Facilities Building, later named the Adele and Herbert J.
- 2015: Christine M. Riordan, PhD, became Adelphi University’s 10th president-the first woman to hold the role.
- 2020: Adelphi wins the 2020 John L.
Athletic Programs
Adelphi fields 23 varsity sports programs, and the Panthers compete as members of the Northeast-10 Conference in 22 of their 23 sports. The women's bowling team competes within the East Coast Conference as an affiliate.
Facilities
Opened in 2008, the 76,000-square-foot Center for Recreation and Sports (CRS) features a three-court gymnasium, a suspended running track and significantly upgraded athletic training and rehabilitation rooms. Complementing CRS is Adelphi’s fully renovated Woodruff Hall, which houses a fitness center, pool and additional playing courts. Adelphi also has invested in its fields and outdoor competition spaces, including its all-weather Motamed Field, Janet L. Ficke Field for softball and William J.
National Championships
The Panthers have won 18 NCAA Division II national championships in three different sports, with 17 of 18 coming in the sport of lacrosse. The men's lacrosse team has won eight national crowns with the last coming in 2024.
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Northeast-10 Conference Success
Since transitioning to the Northeast-10, the Adelphi Panthers have become a powerhouse in the East Region. In 2013, just their fourth year in the conference, the Panthers were awarded the 2013 Northeast-10 Presidents' Cup. The Presidents' Cup is presented annually to signify overall athletic excellence in the Northeast-10.
Baseball
The baseball team has participated in the NCAA Tournament 16 times in its history, and has advanced to the Division II College World Series four times. The team has seen several of their players selected in the MLB first year player draft, including Bobby Lanigan who was selected in the 3rd round (92nd overall) by the Minnesota Twins in 2008 and Keith Couch who was selected 413th overall by the Boston Red Sox in 2010. The baseball team is currently led by Bill Ianciello, who succeeded former Yankees bullpen coach Dom Scala (2004 - 2021), who was named head coach in 2021. Their home games are played at William J.
Soccer
Adelphi fields both a men's and women's soccer team. The men's team won the 1974 Division II National Championship, and have won three ASC championships: in 2006, 2008, and 2009. In addition, they were also declared tournament champions in 2006 and 2009. The team has produced former professional soccer players and United States national team members Dave Cayemitte and Chris Armas, the first was called to training camps in November 1984 by then USMNT manager Alketas Panagoulias. Cayemitte would earn his sole cap for the USMNT appearing in a friendly match against Ecuador on December 2, 1984. The latter, who was a USISL All-Star for the Long Island Rough Riders and in 1996 was selected in the first round of the MLS Supplemental Draft by the Los Angeles Galaxy. He also went on to play for Puerto Rican and United States national teams. The women's soccer team has won 7 ECC championships (1996, 1997, 2001-04, 2007). In 2012, the Panthers advanced to the Northeast-10 Conference Championship game as the No. 8 seed, the first No.
Volleyball
Under the direction of head coach Danielle MacKnight, the volleyball team has become one of the leading programs in the NCAA Division II East Region. In 2009, MacKnight received the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Thirty Under 30 Award as one of the top thirty coaches under the age of 30 in the nation at all levels. Under her direction, the Panthers have recorded six consecutive season of 20 wins or more and have appeared in six consecutive NCAA Tournaments. Over that span, the Panthers have had 13 All-Region selections, one ESPN: The Magazine All-American and, in 2013, one AVCA Division II All-American, the first in the 20-year history of the program.
Women's Basketball
After a series of lean years following strong results in the early 2000s, the women's basketball team claimed the program's first NE-10 Tournament crown in 2014 after hosting three playoff games and defeating American International College in the championship.
Softball
Adelphi's softball team appeared in three Women's College World Series in 1984, 1985 and 1988 as a Division I program. In 2015, the Panthers advanced to their first WCWS as a Division II program, and repeated the feat in the 2016 season.
Brand Identity
The University Athletics wordmark is the essential asset to be used in order to bring “Adelphi” front and center on all assets and materials produced for and within the Athletics department. The Adelphi University Athletics wordmark can be reproduced in the provided colorways-three variations for each background of gold, black and white. The reproduction of this logo in color should always be limited to these provided options. The University Athletics Panther logo can be reproduced in the provided colorways-three variations for each background of gold, black and white. The reproduction of this logo in color should always be limited to the options provided. The University athletics wordmark and Panther logo were created to be utilized as strong individual elements. The following two versions of the Panther wordmark are preferred for use on merchandise that is developed and distributed to parties outside of the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. The University lettermark was created for use where placing the entire wordmark is not possible, such as the small space allotted for social media profile photos. The University Athletics team lockups are available for apparel produced for members of the Athletics Department. Alternatively, the athletics wordmark team lockup can be reproduced in the available colorways of the wordmark as long as the team name is reproduced in the same color as the exterior outline of the wordmark. Athletics numbers are available in the same colorways as the Adelphi Athletics wordmark as well as in a one-color option. Logos and school lockups are available for download. .PNG is the best format to upload to the web or mobile apps; basically anything with a digital display. It has a transparent background, so it will lay nicely on top of any background you put it on. CMYK should be used for full-color print projects. RGB should be used on any digital display.
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