Teams sponsored Albany Great Danes

1 teams sponsored

1.1 football

1.1.1 ualbany , nfl


1.2 men s basketball

1.2.1 doc sauers era


1.3 division era

1.3.1 why not us?: 2005–06 season
1.3.2 2006–07, three-peat , shot


1.4 women s basketball
1.5 men s lacrosse

1.5.1 2000–2005
1.5.2 2007 season
1.5.3 thompson trio
1.5.4 1 of greats

teams sponsored
football

the team competes in ncaa division football championship subdivision (fcs) football-only member of colonial athletic association (caa). 2013 season great danes first in caa, following 14-year tenure in northeast conference.

albany played football club sport in 1920s, dropped program in 1924. modern era of albany football began in 1970, when school restored football club sport. team upgraded full varsity status in 1973. revival of football in 1970 through 2012, team played home games @ 10,000-seat university field in albany, new york. albany opened new 8,500-seat stadium, bob ford field, 2013 season. stadium named after bob ford, great danes head coach 1970 through 2013.

during late 1900s 1 of known coaches @ university ford. architect of university @ albany s football program, ford albany s head coach reinstatement of program after 46-year absence until retirement @ end of 2013 season. ford joined program in 1970 when club. after 3 seasons @ club level, program upgraded varsity status in 1973, , finished 7–2 record. in 1974, team finished 9–0, school s undefeated season. ford put record of 256–169 great danes. ford recorded 250th career win 38–10 victory against duquesne on october 8, 2011.

during time albany, ford led great danes 1 ecac north championships (d-iii), 1 division iii playoff appearance, 2 east football conference championships , 3 northeast conference championships (two co-championship).

the great danes have been successful in football since first season on division i-aa level. in 1999 season great danes compiled 7–2 overall record, finishing 6–1 in-conference, second in nec.

on april 17, 2012, university broke ground on new multi-sport complex available use beginning in fall 2013. along complex new home football , soccer, new track created on current football field, university field. plans build stadium revealed in summer 2011. new stadium, field named bob ford field, hold 6,000. however, stadium built future expansion can take place upwards 10,000 15,000.

it announced on august 7, 2012, beginning in 2013, football program accept increase in scholarships , move out of northeast conference , colonial athletic association. stony brook, former northeast conference rival, making move them.

on november 17, 2012, great danes played final nec conference game , final game @ university field against central connecticut state. ualbany defeated blue devils, 63–34, finishing 78–24 all-time against nec opponents , 127–65 @ university field. great danes clinched share of nec championship. however, did not win nec automatic bid due loss against wagner (one of 2 losses on 2012 season) , finishing in tie seahawks.

on august 13, 2013, bob ford announced after 2013 season (his 45th year @ ualbany), retiring. on november 16, 2013, ford coached final home game great danes.

the great danes had worst season under bob ford in 2013. team finished 1–11, time bob ford team won 1 game in season. went 0–5 @ home , 0–8 overall in first season in caa.

ford coached final home game @ ualbany on november 16 against new hampshire. on november 23, ford coached final game @ ualbany, great danes lost stony brook on long island. finished 265 career wins (256 @ ualbany), ranked 15th all-time in coaching victories @ time.

on december 9, 2013 greg gattuso, former head coach @ duquesne university , assistant head coach @ both pittsburgh , maryland, named new head coach @ ualbany.

ualbany , nfl

the ualbany football program grew under ford s leadership, leading connections between program , national football league. rudy vido, graduated in 1974 fullback , defensive end, became first player in school history sign contract nfl team. cut in preseason new england patriots, never played in nfl. vido signed several canadian football league teams, never played in cfl either.

in 2005, kurt campbell became first player in program s history drafted nfl. campbell selected in seventh round green bay packers.

in 2007 nfl draft, rashad barksdale became second player in school history drafted. selected in sixth round philadelphia eagles. barksdale cut @ end of training camp, signed kansas city chiefs, , became first player in school history placed on nfl 53-man roster.

barksdale made national football league debut on october 7, 2007 against jacksonville jaguars. marked first time ualbany player had appeared in nfl regular-season game when took field on special teams. played on punt cover , punt return units , recorded first career tackle in fourth-quarter.

barksdale cut chiefs on august 31, 2008. however, signed new york giants member of practice squad 2008 season. on december 30, 2008, barksdale became first ua stand-out make nfl playoff roster after giants signed him replace corner sam madison, went down ankle injury.

the great danes have sent multiple players try-outs , nfl training camps un-drafted free agents. in addition nfl, multiple alumni have participated in canadian football league , arena football league. many former coaching staff members have coached in nfl, including former nfl head coach dave campo. 2006 2010, tony , andy sparano key figures on great danes roster. @ same time, father, tony sparano, head coach of miami dolphins.

the strongest connection nfl university hosting new york giants summer training camp. 1996 2012, university s practice fields handed on giants, bringing fans , media around new york , united states albany. in 2007, school dedicated university s football practice field in honor of wellington mara , preston robert tisch, late co-owners of giants. mara , tisch instrumental in making university @ albany home giants summer training camp.

men s basketball

doc sauers era

richard doc sauers served great danes men s basketball coach 1955–1997. led program eleven ncaa , 4 naia post-season tournament appearances in tenure. sauers finished career 702–330 record in 41 seasons. sauers achieved 700-win mark on february 8, 1997 in 89–71 victory on university of bridgeport. retire 1 month later , inducted school s hall of fame in 2004. banner flown in rafters of sefcu arena honoring sauers accomplishment of 702 wins.

division era

the process become division program slow. 1999–2000 season, first year in division i, end of 2004–05 season, ualbany recorded 48–118 record. team finished on 10 victories in 2 seasons. however, in 2005–06 campaign, great danes compiled 21–11 season. in season, great danes take on both eventual national champion florida gators , ucla bruins, both of play each other national championship.

why not us?: 2005–06 season

on march 11, 2006, men s basketball team won america east conference tournament, earning school (and suny system) first ever berth ncaa men s division basketball tournament, defeating university of vermont 80–67 in sold out racc. great danes seeded #16 in washington, d.c. region , matched against top-seeded uconn. despite #16 seed being 0–87 before albany took floor, head coach brown believed team had chance beat uconn in tournament. that, team took motto, why not us? . fans , alumni wore shirts motto.

on march 17, 2006, danes became first #16 seed defeat #1 seed in division tournament. danes, down 1 @ half, went on 13–0 run in second half take double-digit lead on huskies. game televised on cbs, danes led 50–38 on 11 minutes left in game. however, late run huskies stifling defense stopped danes offense, , huskies averted upset, winning 72–59. play against uconn gave program instant notoriety.

2006–07, three-peat , shot

in 2006–07 season, great danes faced stronger america east. great danes accomplish 20–9 regular season, #2 seed in conference tournament. forced great danes travel vermont, #1 seed conference championship, 0–7.

the great danes, considered underdogs, not falter. on march 10, 2007, men s basketball team won second consecutive america east title, beating vermont 60–59 in conference final on last second steal carl ross , brent wilson. great danes seeded 13th in south division of 2007 ncaa division tournament, , lost 4th seed virginia cavaliers 84–57 in first round in columbus, ohio.

prior conclusion of 2006–2007 season, men s basketball program retired number 31 of player jamar wilson. wilson finished career school s all-time scorer 2,164 points, plus ranked second in assists 488. wilson became first player in school history score 500 points or more in 3 different seasons. shattered school standard 620 points in season, breaking record set jason graber in 1993–94. win 2 america east player of year awards, 3 other people in conference history had achieved. many believed commitment university part of division success of ualbany s men s basketball program. no athlete in program s history has had number retired prior.

in 2012–13, great danes go 21–10 in regular season. season highlighted games against top 10 ranked ohio state , 63–62 victory against university of washington in seattle on november 13, 2012. despite 21 wins, ualbany had lost twice regular season champions stony brook, regular season runner-up vermont , third place boston university, giving many fans limited faith in making run conference title. however, great danes knock off maine 50–49 , upset stony brook 61–59 in 2013 conference tournament, played @ sefcu arena. on march 16, 2013, great danes traveled vermont chance win ae championship. despite 10–0 run vermont start game , being out-rebounded 34–20, great danes pulled off upset 53–49 win ae championship , receive conference automatic qualifier ncaa tournament. third straight victory danes in ae championship game , third time beating vermont title. ualbany became first #4 seed win conference tournament. take on duke university in 1st round of 2013 ncaa men s division basketball tournament 15 seed in midwest bracket. on march 22, great danes lost duke 73–61 in philadelphia, pa.

the 2013–14 season had many ups , downs great danes. great danes played near .500 basketball entire season. finish 15–14 on regular season, 9–7 in conference play, ranked #4 going conference tournament. tournament being hosted on home court, ualbany cruised first round win on umbc. in semi-finals, great danes pulled off upset vs. #1 seed vermont 67–58. great danes forced travel stony brook championship game. on march 15, 2014 great danes defeat stony brook 69–60 win second straight ae title , fourth title in 9 years. on march 18, albany won first ever ncaa tournament victory, 71–64 on mount st. mary s in first 4 round of tournament. go on lose florida in 2nd round.

despite winning back-to-back championships, great danes selected fourth in preseason polls. great danes open season 2–6, finish regular season 19–2, finishing 15–1 in america east play. great danes go america east tournament #1 seed. ualbany defeat maine , squeak new hampshire. play stony brook @ sefcu arena in rematch of previous years championship. stony brook conference team beat danes during regular season.

on march 14, 2015 in front of sold out sefcu arena, great danes defeat stony brook 51–50 win third straight conference title. great danes win game on three-point shot peter hooley 1.6 seconds go. shot gained national attention because of hooley. hooley, native of australia, left team entire month mother sadly pass colon cancer. hooley state after game when ve got angels watching, can anything. because of game winning shot, hooley , great danes received national attention, hooley appeared on sports center , cbs road march madness show. on march 20, 2015, great danes fall oklahoma 69–60 in second round of 2015 ncaa basketball tournament.

while not making ncaa tournament 2006–07 season 2012–13 season, great danes did participate in postseason tournaments. in 2011–12, ualbany made cit tournament, lost manhattan in 1st round. in 2016, participated in cbi tournament, losing ohio in 1st round in overtime.

in 2009, university @ albany played host first america east men s basketball championship @ 4,538-seat sefcu arena on campus. america east brought conference tournament sefcu 2013 , 2014 conference championship.

women s basketball

ualbany women s basketball had little success on court since started play in 1964–65. greatest success took place in 1985–86 when went 26–4 , made 3rd round of ncaa division iii tournament. coach mari warner lead program division play in 1999-00, again success limited. through 2000s under new coach trina patterson, winning limited. however, things began change in 2010–11 under former head coach katie abrahamson-henderson. season ua finished on .500 first time since 1997–98. abrahamson-henderson led ualbany then-best record in division history in 2011–12, going 23–10 overall. great danes brought home first-ever america east conference title, , represented league in ncaa tournament. ualbany visited defending national champions texas a&m, fell 69–47.

the great danes dominated conference opposition in 2012–13 season 27–4 overall record, winning games against america east opponents including 16 regular season games , league championship contests. ualbany became first team go undefeated in america east , win conference since 1995–96 season. abrahamson-henderson earned america east coach of year honors efforts. ebone henry named america east co-player of year , defensive player of year. win second straight title, lose north carolina 59–54 in first round.

the 2013–14 great danes did not lose beat, earning three-peat america east champion, going 28–5 15–1 conference record. team earned 1-seed in america east tournament after winning first 15 league games. win 3rd straight , earned 15-seed in ncaas , pushed 2-seed west virginia brink before falling 76–61 in ncaa first round.

in 2014–15 ua went 24–9 overall 14–2 america east record. ualbany had number of program firsts season, including first win on power 5 program, defeating three-time reigning big ten regular season champion penn state earn berth preseason wnit semi-finals, first di all-american shereesha richards , program s highest-ever ncaa seeding @ 13, battling duke end , leading in final minute, falling blue devils 54–52.

on march 11, 2016 great danes win conference record breaking 5th straight title. defeat maine 59–58, shared co-regular season title back-to-back years. both teams split regular season match-up.

two players have numbers retired once time on @ ualbany ebone henry , julie foster. in 2012–13 henry named america east co-player of year , defensive player of year 13.8 points, 5.1 rebounds , 2.8 steals per game. win 3 straight defensive player of year awards , 3 first team all-conference.

shereesha richards critical in 5 straight titles ualbany. win 3 america east player of year awards along co-rookie of year award. finish all-time scorer in ualbany basketball history (men s , women s program) 2,440 points , became first di all-american in great danes history. finish career on 2,000 points , 1,000 rebounds.

men s lacrosse

the program began in 1970 3–7 record competing in division iii. in 1975, program reach ecac division iii tournament under coach dave armstrong. 1975 1997, great danes reach 2 more ecac division iii tournaments. in 1997 great danes reach finals of ecac division ii tournament.

2000–2005

in 2000, great danes began play in america east @ division level. in 2001, scott marr given reigns of program. though great danes finished 3–8 record in 2001, great danes compiled 8–6 regular season take regular season conference championship in america east in 2002. reach championship game lose stony brook seawolves 8–6.

led new crop of recruits, of first lacrosse players in school history on scholarship, such kevin rae , luke daquino, great danes start making mark on college lacrosse in 2003. great danes go 8–6 , seek revenge against stony brook in america east semi-finals 11–5 move on face university of hartford america east championship. on may 3, 2003, albany defeat hartford 7–5 win first ever america east championship. go on face , lose princeton university in first round on ncaa tournament.

the success great danes not stop after 2003. incoming recruits , strong core of returning players, great danes continue championship ways. in 2004, including upset against university of massachusetts amherst, great danes go on win america east championship. play syracuse university in first round , lose 21–13.

the surge continue 2005 great danes defeated stony brook 16–7 win third straight america east championship. however, first round ncaa tournament jinx continue great danes demolished university of virginia 23–9.

2007 season

in 2007 season, lacrosse team ranked in top-25 in both usila , nike/inside lacrosse polls , reached high of #2 in usila poll. notable wins against #1 ranked johns hopkins blue jays , #10 delaware. on may 13, 2007, men s lacrosse team became first team @ division level advance/win match in ncaa tournament, defeating loyola college in maryland 19–10 in front of 3,000 people @ john fallon field. 1 week later, great danes defeated undefeated cornell university 12–11 in ncaa quarterfinals @ princeton university.

the team finished ranked #4 in nike/inside lacrosse poll, highest ranking team in school history. head coach scott marr awarded usila division national lacrosse coach of year cap amazing season.

one of big stars lacrosse team in 2007 senior attackman frank resetarits. become first great dane in school history earn first-team all-american honors selected 2007 usila all-america team. resetarits named finalist tewaaraton trophy. resetarits become first lacrosse player in school history drafted major league lacrosse, selected washington bayhawks, being traded , making debut long island lizards. resetarits join national lacrosse league, drafted #5 overall san jose stealth in 2007 nll draft.

thompson trio

in 2013 great danes go 11–4 overall. ualbany go 5–0 in regular season america east play second time in program history. amazingly, great danes go 9–2 on road while 3–2 @ home. on may 4, after 5 years without title, great danes defeat umbc 19–10 win america east championship. however, great danes fall denver in first round of ncaa tournament. head coach scott marr record 100th career win @ ualbany during season.

much of great danes success in 2013 centered around 1 family. miles thompson, ty thompson , lyle thompson (also known thompson trio), vital part of great danes offense. miles , lyle brothers, while ty cousin (another brother, jeremy thompson played syracuse until 2011). 3 star recruits coming ualbany. 3 born in onondaga nation, nine-square-mile independent political entity recognized united states. each of thompson s wore traditional native hair style, long braids became trademark on field. 3 became known skills on field, involved trick passes , stick handling, behind shots, 1 handed shots , quick agility.

in 2013, ty thompson score 51 goals, miles score 42 , lyle 46 goals going ncaa tournament. fourth leading scorers great danes, fuller , john maloney, had 18 goals. lyle thompson key factor great danes. sophomore vital in leading no. 1 offense in nation 108 points through 17 games. lyle became eighth men s lacrosse player in ncaa history record 100 points in season. finished 7 points behind all-time ncaa record holder steve marahol s (umbc) 114 points (37g, 77a) set in 1992. win america east player of year award , became second great dane named tewaaraton award finalist, , first native american named tewaaraton award finalist.

in 2014, thompson s continue unbelievable play. despite shaky 9–5 regular season, great danes #1 overall seed in america east tournament. lyle become third player in conference history win back-to-back player of year awards. earning @ least 4 points in 14 games played, junior attack has earned division i-best 61 assists , 37 goals in regular season. in american east tournament, lyle became first division player ever earn 2 100-point seasons. on may 3, 2014, great danes win second straight america east championship, defeating umbc 20–11.

on may 10, 2014 great danes take on loyola in first round of ncaa tournament. loyola number 1 ranked team in nation going game. great danes, strong defensive play, defeated greyhounds 13–6 second ncaa tournament victory in school history. in game lyle become di single season record holder in points, beating out marahol s record missed in previous season. in game miles pass marahol s numbers become second on list after scoring 5 goals , 2 assists. great danes end losing 14–13 in overtime notre dame in quarterfinals following week.

as junior lyle compile top single season point total in di history, earning 128 points tying di single season assists record 77, adding 51 goals. became first player in di history have pair of 100+ point seasons after finishing 113 last year. in ualbany s 18 games in 2014 scored @ least 4 points, including 11 seven+ point contests. named division outstanding player of year , di outstanding attackman united states intercollegiate lacrosse association (usila) in 2014.

on may 29, 2014, both miles , lyle thompson named co-winners of 2014 tewaaraton trophy. first time ever 2 players shared, , native american awarded, trophy. 2 days later, miles , ty officially put on active roster of mll rochester rattlers. announced miles return program in 2015 graduate assistant.

the success of thompson trio on field led national press following in late 2014. cnn, cbs , abc did nightly news pieces on three. ny times did story on them, posted on front page of newspaper. in pieces 3 talked heritage, acceptance of heritage @ ualbany, supporting onondaga nation , promoting game of lacrosse.

one of greats

in 2015, lyle thompson cemented himself 1 of greatest collegiate lacrosse players in ncaa history. named recipient of 2015 tewaaraton trophy top player in men s lacrosse , first ever male lacrosse player earn award in 2 consecutive seasons. in 2015, thompson led ncaa in points per game third-straight year 6.37 contest , assists per game @ 3.63 contest. finished ncaa division best 121 points, second-highest single season tally in di history, , 69 assists, adding 52 goals. lead ualbany third-consecutive america east regular season , tournament title. great danes take on cornell in first round of ncaa tournament, winning 19–10. in rematch of 2014 quarterfinals, ualbany fall notre dame 14–10. thompson finished career all-time division points , assists leader, concluding 400 points off 175 goals , 225 assists 2012–15 ualbany. in career played in 70 games, scoring in 68 of them , earned multiple points in each of last 44 games, including contests in 2014 , 2015.