Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs
| Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs | |
|---|---|
| Logo | |
| University | Gardner–Webb University |
| Conference | Big South Conference |
| NCAA | Division I FCS |
| Athletic director | Chuck Burch |
| Location | Boiling Springs, North Carolina |
| Varsity teams | 23 |
| Football stadium | Ernest W. Spangler Stadium |
| Basketball arena | Paul Porter Arena |
| Baseball stadium | John Henry Moss Stadium |
| Soccer stadium | Greene–Harbison Stadium |
| Mascot | Mac the Bulldog |
| Nickname | Runnin' Bulldogs |
| Colors | Red and black[1] |
| Website | www |
 | |
The Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs are the athletic teams that represent Gardner–Webb University, located in Boiling Springs, North Carolina. Gardner–Webb participates in 21 varsity sports at the NCAA Division I level. The school's programs are a part of the Big South Conference.
Gardner–Webb has also produced many notable athletes and coaches, including: Artis Gilmore, Gerry Vaillancourt, John Drew, Eddie Lee Wilkins, Jim Washburn, Blake Lalli, Jim Maxwell, Gabe Wilkins, Cara Saunders, and Brian Johnston.
Teams
A member of the Big South Conference, Gardner-Webb sponsors teams in eleven men's and eleven women's NCAA sanctioned sports:[2]
| Men's Intercollegiate Sports | Team Article | Head Coach | Women's Intercollegiate Sports | Team Article | Head Coach | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baseball | Jim Chester | Basketball | Team article | Alex Simmons | ||
| Basketball | Team article | Tim Craft | Cross Country | Brian Baker | ||
| Cross Country | Brian Baker | Golf | Tee Burton | |||
| Football | Team article | Carroll McCray | Lacrosse | Jessie Agugila | ||
| Golf | Tee Burton | Soccer | Mike Varga | |||
| Soccer | Tony Setzer | Softball | Tom Cole | |||
| Swimming & Diving [v 1] | Scott Teeters | Swimming & Diving [v 1] | Scott Teeters | |||
| Tennis | Mike Griffith | Tennis | Jim Corn | |||
| Track & Field (Indoor & Outdoor) | Brian Baker | Track & Field (Indoor & Outdoor) | Brian Baker | |||
| Wrestling [v 2] | Team article | Daniel Elliott | Volleyball | Leo Sayles |
- Notes
- ^ a b The men's and women's swimming teams compete as members of the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association.
- ^ The wrestling team competes as an Associate member of the Southern Conference.
Baseball
Head Coach: Rusty Stroupe was the coach of the Runnin' Bulldogs for 17 years. He graduated from Appalachian State University in 1986. Stroupe accumulated over 800 wins as a college coach and is the all-time winningest baseball coach in Gardner–Webb history. Stroupe was awarded the prestigious Jerry Kindall Character in Coaching Award for 2012 by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He received the award at the FCA Breakfast at the ABCA Convention in January, 2013.
Notable players to come from the Diamond Dawgs
- Sam Bradford was a 22nd round draft pick Seattle Mariners in 2003.
- Jeff Long was a 10th round draft pick for the Atlanta Braves in 2004.
- Joey Siak signed as a Free Agent with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2004.
- Zach Ward was a 3rd round draft pick for the Cincinnati Reds in 2005.
- Blake Lalli was a fifth year Senior signee for the Chicago Cubs in 2006 and reached the major leagues in May, 2012.
- Adam Bullard was the 43rd draft pick for the Atlanta Braves in 2008.
- Andrew Barnett was signed by the Texas Rangers in 2014.
- Jeremy Walker was a 5th round draft pick for the Atlanta Braves in 2016.
- Brad Haymes was a 17th round draft pick for the Chicago White Sox in 2016.
- Ryan Boelter was a 33rd round draft pick for the Chicago White Sox in 2016.
Men's basketball
Head Coach: Tim Craft
Assistant Coaches: Jeremy Luther, Paul Hemrick, and DeAntoine Beasley
The Gardner–Webb men's basketball team has had notable success against some of the best teams in college basketball. Gardner-Webb has been featured on ESPN because of their games against teams such as Duke, UNC, Virginia Tech, and Oklahoma. They defeated Kentucky in their 2007–2008 campaign in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic, considered by many, one of the greatest regular season upsets ever, and gaining them recognition from Dick Vitale.
In their 2014–2015 season, the Runnin' Bulldogs set history, beating both Clemson and Purdue on their way to a 20 win season. Their 12-2 home record was the best in the state of North Carolina, beating out perennial powerhouses Duke, NC State, and UNC.
2019 was one of the most successful seasons in school history where the team boasted an undefeated 13-0 home record as well as a 23-11 overall record that included wins against Georgia Tech and Wake Forest. Gardner-Webb topped off the season by winning the Big South Tournament and earning its first Division I tournament berth.
Women's basketball
Head coach: Alex Simmons
Assistant Coaches: Garner Small, Chynna Turner, and Danielle Bell
Rick Reeves served as head coach for nine seasons. During this time he turned the program around from only five wins in the year previous to his arrival to two championship appearances in the Big South Tournament including their first year in the Big South Conference. Reeves, who had previously coached at Liberty and Southern Mississippi, faced Liberty in the championship losing by one point to the defending champions in 2008–2009 and losing by two in 2009–2010 before finally defeating them by one in 2010–2011, earning a bid to the NCAA tournament. The program also had their first ever winning season since moving to Division I, finishing 17–15 in 2008–2009. Gardner–Webb was also able to post a nine-game home winning streak in 2008–2009.[3]
In 2009–2010, the program set school records in wins (28) and also tied a Big South Conference Record in wins. The team won its first conference title in the 35-year history of the program and made its first postseason appearance ever in the WNIT.[4] The team also picked up a huge non-conference win at Purdue in 2009–2010.[5]
Reeves coached with both his daughters at Gardner–Webb, Kim Clark and Krystal Reeves-Evans before the start of the 2010–2011 season, when Clark left to be an assistant at Middle Tennessee State.
Reeves left the program at the end of the 2017-2018 season and was replaced by Alex Simmons, an assistant coach from Ole Miss.
Cross country and track and field
Head Coach: Brian Baker
Assistant Coaches: Robert Golabek, Evan Brusich
The Track and Field team won the A-Sun conference championship in their 2005–2006 season.
Football
Head Coach: Carroll McCray
Assistant Coaches: Kenny Ray (Assistant Head Coach/OL), Brett Nichols (OC/QB), Chris Grimes (Co-DC/Secondary), Dennis Thomas (Co-DC/DL), Taylor Anderson (ILB), Marco Butler (OLB), Arketa Banks (RB/TE), Bennett Houston (WR)
Golf
Head Coach: Tee Burton
Assistant Coach:
Women's Lacrosse
Head Coach: Jessie Aguglia
Assistant Coach: Racquel Prager, and Riley Hill
Men's soccer
Head Coach: Tony Setzer
Assistant Coaches: Tyler Kettering
Women's soccer
Head Coach: Mike Varga
Assistant Coaches: Samantha Huecker
In the fall of 2006, the Gardner–Webb soccer team won its conference and made it to the NCAA second round.
In 2001 the Runnin' Bulldogs were the National Christian College Athletic Association Champions, following that tournament Mounce was named NCCAA National Women's Soccer Coach of the Year. In 2002 the Runnin' Bulldogs became a Division I program participating in the Atlantic Sun Conference. At the conclusion of their season, the team was ranked second in the nation for first-year division I programs by Soccer Buzz. In 2003 the Runnin' Bulldogs saw their first ever appearance in the Atlantic Sun Championship, finishing 5th in the league. For this accomplishment, former head coach Kevin Mounce was named A-Sun coach of the year. In 2004, GWU had a forward, Leeanna Woodworth who led the nation in scoring. She became A-Sun player of the year and broke many school records. In 2008 the team transferred to the Big South Conference. In their first year competing in the Big South they finished 4-12-2.[6]
Softball
Head Coach: Tom Cole
Assistant Coaches: Angel Bunner
Swimming
Head Coach: Scott Teeters
Assistant Coaches: Drew Ellwanger
Gardner–Webb's swimming team competes in the CCSA since the Big South does not sponsor swimming.
The Men's Swim Team placed second at the Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association conference meet. Placing first was Davidson, second place went to Gardner–Webb, and in third was College of Charleston.
The Women's Team Placed Third overall, after Florida Gulf Coast and Davidson respectively, and earned six NCAA "B" cuts. The Women earned these NCAA qualifying standards in the 100 and 200 Breaststroke, 50 Free, 100 Backstroke, and the 200 and 400 Medley Relays.
In 2016, Nathan Lile became the first men's swimmer in program history to qualify for the NCAA Men's Division I Swimming and Diving Championships, earning a spot in the 50 Free and 100 Free.
Program history was made again in the summer of 2016. Gardner-Webb men, Nathan Lile and Connor Bos, made history by being the first GWU male swimmers to make the United States Olympic Time Trials in Omaha, NE. Both Connor and Nathan qualified in the 100M Backstroke, as Nathan also had qualifying cuts in the 50M Freestyle and 100M Butterfly.
The Gardner Webb Men's Swim Team took home a runner-up trophy at the 2017 CCSA Conference meet. The Women's Swim Team placed third at the 2017 CCSA conference meet, narrowly missing the runner-up finish.
Tennis
Head Coaches: Mike Griffith (M) and Jim Corn (W)
Volleyball
Head Coach: Leo Sayles
Assistant Coaches:
Wrestling
Head Coach: Daniel Elliott
Assistant Coaches: Cody Walters, Brendan Couture, Mack McGuire
Gardner–Webb's wrestling team competes in the Southern Conference since the Big South is a non-wrestling Conference.
References
- ^ "Gardner-Webb Colors". April 28, 2022. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
- ^ "Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs". Gardner-Webb University. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved July 17, 2009.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved March 27, 2010.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved March 27, 2010.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved March 24, 2009.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "Baseball." GWUsports.com. Gardner–Webb,2009.Web. 24 March 2009.
