Keiser Seahawks
| Keiser Seahawks | |
|---|---|
 | |
| University | Keiser University |
| Association | NAIA |
| Conference | The Sun (primary) |
| Athletic director | Kris Swogger |
| Location | West Palm Beach, Florida |
| Varsity teams | 24 (11 men's, 11 women's, 2 co-ed) |
| Football stadium | Keiser Multi-Purpose Field |
| Basketball arena | Massimino Court |
| Baseball stadium | Silvester Field |
| Softball stadium | Alumni Field |
| Soccer stadium | Arrigo-Vecellio Field |
| Aquatics center | Lake Lytal Aquatic Center |
| Lacrosse stadium | Keiser Multi-Purpose Field |
| Tennis venue | Patch Reef Park |
| Nickname | Seahawks |
| Colors | Navy Blue and Sky Blue |
| Website | kuseahawks |
 | |
The Keiser Seahawks are the athletic teams that represent Keiser University, located in West Palm Beach, Florida, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA),[1] primarily competing in the Sun Conference (formerly known as the Florida Sun Conference (FSC) until after the 2007–08 school year) since the 2015–16 academic year.[2] Prior to July 2015, the Seahawks represented Northwood University's West Palm Beach campus.[3]
Varsity teams
[edit]Keiser competes in 244 intercollegiate varsity sports:
| Men's sports | Women's sports |
|---|---|
| Baseball | Basketball |
| Basketball | Cross country |
| Cross country | Flag football |
| Football | Golf |
| Golf | Lacrosse |
| Lacrosse | Soccer |
| Soccer | Softball |
| Swimming | Swimming |
| Tennis | Tennis |
| Track and field1 | Track and field1 |
| Wrestling | Volleyball |
| Co-ed sports | |
eSports
| |
Cheer and dance
| |
| 1 – includes both indoor and outdoor | |
Basketball
[edit]Basketball was started in the 2006–2007 season, after the hiring of Rollie Massimino in 2005, as Director of Basketball Operations for both men's and women's basketball.[4] Per ESPN, on December 14, 2016, Massimino, Keiser University's men's basketball coach, became the third active coach to achieve 800 career wins and the ninth coach overall. Massimino was 82 years old at the time.[5]
Football
[edit]In 2016, Keiser announced its plan to add football to its slate of varsity athletic programs, with the team beginning play in the 2018 season.[6] In 2021, the Seahawks football team advanced to the NAIA quarterfinals for the second straight year.[7] In 2023, the Seahawks football team won its first NAIA Football National Championship, defeating Northwestern College 31–21.[8]
Golf
[edit]The Seahawks Women's golf team have won four NAIA Women's Golf National Championships (2003, 2015, 2016, 2021). In 2022, the Seahawks Men's golf team won their first NAIA Men's Golf National Championship, while also having their first individual golf national champion.[9]
Soccer
[edit]Both the Seahawks Men's and Women's soccer teams have won national championships. The Women's soccer team won back-to-back national championships in 2019 and 2020. The Men's soccer team collected its first national championship in 2021.[10]
Swimming
[edit]The Keiser Men's Swim team won the NAIA Men's Swimming National Championship three consecutive years in 2018, 2019, and 2020.[11] With the 2021 championships canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they would follow up by winning their fourth straight national title in 2022.[12] In 2022, the Keiser Women's Swim team won their first NAIA Women's Swimming National Championship.[13]
Wrestling
[edit]The 2019–20 season marked the inaugural year of the Keiser men's wrestling team. Keiser, along with Southeastern University and St. Thomas University, are the only current institutions that sponsor scholarship wrestling programs in Florida.[14][15]
Championships
[edit]NAIA championships
[edit]The Seahawks have won 22 NAIA team national championships.[16]
| Sport / team | Competition | Titles | Winning years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Football | National championship | 1 |
2023 |
| Golf (men's) | National championship | 1 |
2022 |
| Golf (women's) | National championship | 5 |
2003,[a] 2015,[a] 2016, 2021, 2024 |
| Lacrosse (men's) | National championship | 2 |
2023, 2024 |
| Lacrosse (women's) | National championship | 1 |
2021 |
| Soccer (men's) | National championship | 1 |
2021 |
| Soccer (women's) | National championship | 2 |
2019, 2020 |
| Swimming (men's) | National championship | 5 |
2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023 |
| Swimming (women's) | National championship | 3 |
2022, 2023, 2024 |
| Tennis (women's) | National championship | 1 |
2003[a] |
- Notes
NACDA Directors' Cup
[edit]The Seahawks won the NACDA Directors' Cup for being the NAIA's highest performing overall athletic program for the 2020–21 season.[17]
Club sports
[edit]- Equestrian
- Fishing
- Golf
Notable athletes
[edit]- Nick Akoto, American professional soccer player
- Dante Calabria, men's basketball head coach from 2017–2018
- Evan Finnegan, Irish soccer player who played as an attacking full−back
- Lisa Lilja, Swedish sprinter, specializing in the 200 metres and 400 metres
- Rollie Massimino, men's basketball head coach from 2006–2017[18]
- Aaron Molloy, Irish professional soccer player
- Thobias Montler, Swedish long jumper, won silver medal at the 2022 World Indoor Championships
- Doug Socha, football head coach 2017–2023
- Stanley Whittaker, American professional basketball player
- Stefan Zečević, Serbian professional basketball player
References
[edit]- ^ "Schools". NAIA.ORG. NAIA. Retrieved November 11, 2015.
- ^ "Members". Thesunconference.com. Retrieved November 11, 2015.
- ^ Bandell, Brian. (Mar 15, 2015). Keiser University to take over Northwood University's West Palm Beach campus. South Florida Business Journal. Retrieved Sep 9, 2020.
- ^ Nelson, Marcus (March 23, 2005). "Northwood talks with Massimino". West Palm Beach, Florida: Palm Beach Post. pp. 1C, 10C.
- ^ "Ex-Nova coach Massimino joins elite 800-win club". ESPN.com. December 15, 2016.
- ^ "Keiser Adds Football Program". Victory Sports Network. October 11, 2016. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
- ^ Football Picked as Favorite to win 2022 Sun Conference Title. kuseahawks.com. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
- ^ Shields, Malcom. (December 18, 2023). Keiser football defeats Northwestern College in 2023 NAIA National Championship game. wpbf.com. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
- ^ (May 20, 2022). Keiser Claims First Team and Individual National Titles. NAIA. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
- ^ (December 6, 2021). 2021 NAIA Men's Soccer National Championship. NAIA. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
- ^ Keiser University wins third straight national swimming championship. The Palm Beach Post. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
- ^ No. 1 Men's Swimming Claims Fourth Straight NAIA National Championship. kuseahawks.com. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
- ^ Keiser (Fla.) Win First Women’s Swimming & Diving Red Banner. NAIA. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
- ^ Palmer, Mark (March 5, 2018). "Keiser University to add wrestling, hires coach". Retrieved December 12, 2018.
- ^ "Bertolone Tabbed To Lead Inaugural Keiser Wrestling Program In 2019". Retrieved December 12, 2018.
- ^ "National Championships". Keiser University Athletics. Retrieved May 23, 2021.
- ^ "Keiser Captures First NAIA Learfield IMG College Directors' Cup". National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics. July 2, 2021. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
- ^ "Northwood no more: Seahawks now play for Keiser University". Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
