| Willamette Bearcats | |
|---|---|
 | |
| University | Willamette University |
| Conference | Northwest Conference |
| NCAA | Division III |
| Athletic director | Rob Passage |
| Location | Salem, Oregon |
| Varsity teams | 20 |
| Football stadium | McCulloch Stadium |
| Basketball arena | Cone Field House |
| Mascot | Blitz |
| Nickname | Bearcats |
| Fight song | Fight Bearcats Fight |
| Colors | Cardinal and gold[1] |
| Website | www |
The Willamette Bearcats are the athletic teams of Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, United States. Competing at the non-scholarship National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III level, the school fields twenty teams. Most teams compete in the Northwest Conference with their primary rivals being Linfield College. The main athletic venues of the school are McCulloch Stadium, Cone Field House, and Roy S. "Spec" Keene Stadium. Willamette moved to the NCAA's Division III in 1998 after previously being a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) institution.[2] The 1993, men's basketball team won the school's only team national championship, while the 1997 football team lost in the national championship game.
Willamette University was founded in 1842 in what is now Salem, Oregon.[3] A small liberal arts school, it has an enrollment of 1,997 undergraduates and 564 graduate students for a total student population of 2,561.[4] Intercollegiate teams for the university are football, men's and women's basketball, baseball, softball, men's and women's swimming, men's and women's tennis, women's volleyball, men's and women's golf, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's track & field and women's lacrosse.[5] In April 2018, the university announced the creation of the first women's varsity triathlon program in Oregon and ninth in NCAA Division III. The triathlon program will begin competition in 2021.[6]
- ^ "Bearcat Logos – Willamette University". Retrieved August 31, 2016.
- ^ Earley, Steve. "Big-time problems looming: Focus on Small Colleges", The Oregonian, November 27, 1997, p. D2.
- ^ Willamette University. Northwest Conference. Retrieved on December 4, 2008.
- ^ "About: Quick Facts". willamette.edu. Retrieved 2018-07-09.
- ^ "Willamette University". Willamette University. Retrieved 2018-07-09.
- ^ "Triathlon Announcement". willamette.edu. Retrieved 2018-07-09.