| Catholic University Cardinals | |
| University: | The Catholic University of America |
| Association: | NCAA |
| Conference: | Landmark Conference, New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference, and Mid-Atlantic Rowing Conference |
| Division: | Division III |
| Director: | Kevin Robinson Jr. |
| Location: | Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Teams: | 25 |
| Stadium: | Cardinal Stadium |
| Basketballarena: | Raymond A. DuFour Center |
| Icehockeyarena: | Fort Dupont Ice Arena |
| Baseballfield: | Robert J. Talbot Field |
| Softballstadium: | CUA Softball Field |
| Soccerstadium: | Carlini Field |
| Lacrossestadium: | Carlini Field |
| Tenniscourt: | Dowd Family Tennis Courts |
| Mascot: | Red the Cardinal |
| Nickname: | Cardinals |
| Fightsong: | C.U. Marching Song |
| Pageurl: | http://www.catholicathletics.com |
Catholic University of America's intercollegiate sports teams are called the Cardinals after the northern cardinal, and they compete in the NCAA's Division III. They are members of the Landmark Conference, the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (football) and the Mid-Atlantic Rowing Conference (rowing). The team colors are red (PMS 1805) and black.[1]
Catholic celebrates Homecoming in the fall to coincide with a home football game.
Originally known as the Red and Black after the colors they wore, Catholic University's athletes came to be known as the Cardinals (often the Flying Cardinals, occasionally the Fighting Cardinals) in the mid-1920s.[2]
| Men's | Women's |
|---|---|
| Basketball | Basketball |
| Soccer | Soccer |
| Lacrosse | Lacrosse |
| Cross Country | Cross Country |
| Tennis | Tennis |
| Swimming & Diving | Swimming & Diving |
| Indoor Track & Field | Indoor Track & Field |
| Golf | Golf |
| Outdoor Track & Field | Outdoor Track & Field |
| Baseball | Softball |
| Football | Field Hockey |
| Volleyball | |
Women's teams were established after women were admitted as undergraduate students in the 1950s, and a Women's Sports Department was established in 1959.[3] The Department originally offered dance lessons and ping-pong and badminton tournaments.[3] Jone Rastapkevicius was hired as the first coordinator of women’s sports in 1961.[3] She went on to become a coach and married fellow CUA coach Martin Dowd.[3] In the early part of her 50-year tenure, she worked to schedule games with other local colleges, thereby turning many of the intramural sports into “extramural” ones.[3] The Metropolitan Sports Association for Women (MISAW) was founded in the mid-1960s by CUA along with Trinity College, Georgetown, American University, and George Washington University.[3] It operated until the early 1970s.[3]
As a team, CUA won the national title in 1938. Besides, two cardinals won individual championships:
The NCAA discontinued boxing in 1961.
See main article: Catholic University Cardinals football. The football team appeared in two major bowl games, the 1936 Orange Bowl, which they won, and the 1940 Sun Bowl, which they tied. In the fall of 2008, already in Division III, the team went to the ECAC Southeast Bowl and defeated Johns Hopkins University 18–17 to give the Cards their first post season win since 1936.
| Year | Bowl | Opponent | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| W 20–19 | ||||
| T 0–0 | ||||
| 2008 | W 18–17 | |||
| 2022 | L 24-34 |
The team made three consecutive trips to the Division III playoffs in the late 1990s.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Won/Lost | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 1st | Trinity University | L | 33–44 | |
| 1998 | 1st | Lycoming College | L | 14–49 | |
| 1999 | 1st | McDaniel College | L | 16–20 |
The Catholic University Cardinals played the 1977 NCAA Division I baseball tournament after winning the ECAC District II championship. The Cardinals have won the Landmark Conference Tournament in 2008, 2009, 2011, 2015, and 2018.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Won/Lost | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | ||||
| Northeast Regional | Seton Hall University | W | 4–3 | |
| Northeast Regional | Temple University | L | 3–10 | |
| Northeast Regional | St. John's University | L | 3–8 |
| Year | Round | Opponent | Won/Lost | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | ||||
| Mid-Atlantic Regional | Kean University | W | 3–2 | |
| Mid-Atlantic Regional | Misericordia University | L | 0–4 | |
| Mid-Atlantic Regional | Johns Hopkins University | L | 2–7 | |
| 2015 | ||||
| Mid-Atlantic Regional | Alvernia University | L | 2–3 | |
| Mid-Atlantic Regional | Johns Hopkins University | L | 3–15 | |
| 2018 | ||||
| Mid-Atlantic Regional | Babson College | L | 11–12 | |
| Mid-Atlantic Regional | Arcadia University | L | 2–13 | |
| 2022 | ||||
| Ithaca Super Regional | Stevens Institute of Technology | W | 7–1 | |
| Ithaca Super Regional | Shenandoah University | W | 6–5 | |
| Ithaca Super Regional | Ithaca College | W | 16–2 | |
| World Series | Marietta College | L | 0–7 | |
| World Series | University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point | L | 8–12 |
See main article: Catholic Cardinals men's basketball.
The 2011–12 women's basketball team won the Landmark Conference title and made the program's first trip to the NCAA tournament. In 2013 they won their second straight Landmark Conference title and again received the LC's automatic berth into the NCAA tournament, repeating in 2015. In 2017, 2022 and 2024 they received an at-large bid.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Won/Lost | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 1st | Muhlenberg College | L | 54–63 |
| 2013 | ||||
| 1st | Cabrini College | W | 52–44 | |
| 2nd | Widener University | L | 56–57 | |
| 2015 | 1st | University of New England | L | 50–54 |
| 2017 | 1st | Lynchburg College | L | 64–69 |
| 2022 | 1st | Ithaca College | L | 63-75 |
| 2024 | 1st | Penn State Erie, The Behrend College | W | 71-55 |
| 2nd | Washington and Lee University | L | 70-80 |
The track & field team has produced three individual national champions:
The men's swim team has won four Capitol Athletic Conference titles and three National Catholic Division III championships, while women's swimming has won a Catholic Division III title. The swimming program has two individual national titles as well:
The men's lacrosse team went to the NCAA tournament in 2015, 2016, 2021 and 2022 after winning the conference title.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Won/Lost | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 1st | Gettysburg College | L | 3–19 | |
| 2016 | 1st | Salisbury University | L | 6–19 | |
| 2021 | 1st | Stevens Institute of Technology | L | 12–17 | |
| 2022 | 2nd | St. John Fisher College | L | 11–18 |
In 2008, the women's lacrosse team went undefeated in the inaugural year of the Landmark Conference and won the Conference post-season tournament, garnering a berth in the NCAA tournament for the first time in program history, and making it to the regional finals where they lost to Salisbury University. The team has won the Landmark Conference Tournament in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Won/Lost | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | ||||
| 1st | Christopher Newport University | W | 18–16 | |
| 2nd | Rowan University | W | 15–9 | |
| Sectional Finals | Salisbury University | L | 7–18 | |
| 2009 | ||||
| 1st | Messiah College | W | 9–8 (OT) | |
| 2nd | University of Mary Washington | W | 19–14 | |
| Sectional Finals | Salisbury University | L | 14–18 | |
| 2010 | ||||
| 1st | Christopher Newport University | W | 19–9 | |
| 2nd | Salisbury University | L | 9–18 | |
| 2011 | ||||
| 1st | University of Mary Washington | W | 18–10 | |
| 2nd | The College of New Jersey | L | 9–15 | |
| 2012 | ||||
| 1st | Christopher Newport University | W | 18–5 | |
| 2nd | University of Redlands | W | 17–10 | |
| Regional Final | Salisbury University | L | 6–13 | |
| 2014 | ||||
| 2nd | Franklin & Marshall College | L | 11–17 | |
| 2015 | ||||
| 2nd | Western New England University | W | 22–5 | |
| Sweet 16 | University of Mount Union | W | 21–8 | |
| Elite Eight | SUNY Cortland | L | 12–13 | |
| 2016 | ||||
| 2nd | Messiah College | W | 15–9 | |
| 3rd | Springfield College | W | 12–10 | |
| Elite Eight | SUNY Cortland | L | 2–18 | |
| 2017 | ||||
| 2nd | Washington & Jefferson College | W | 20–1 | |
| 3rd | Washington and Lee University | L | 6–9 | |
| 2018 | ||||
| 1st | Johnson & Wales University | W | 23–10 | |
| 2nd | Rowan University | W | 14–11 | |
| Regional semifinal | York College of Pennsylvania | L | 6–13 | |
| 2019 | ||||
| 1st | Albion College | W | 19–5 | |
| 2nd | University of Mount Union | W | 16–6 | |
| Regional semifinal | Amherst College | L | 6–9 | |
| 2021 | ||||
| 1st | Becker College | W | 24–3 | |
| 2nd | St. John Fisher College | L | 9–15 | |
| 2022 | ||||
| 1st | Saint Mary's College | W | 27–5 | |
| 2nd | Denison University | L | 12–13 |
The men's soccer team went to the NCAA tournament in 2009, 2010, 2013 (at-large bid), 2014, 2019, 2021, 2022 (at-large bid) and 2023.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Won/Lost | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 1st | Lynchburg | L | 0–3 | |
| 2010 | 1st | Ohio Wesleyan University | L | 1–2 | |
| 2013 | 1st | Franklin & Marshall College | L | 0–1 | |
| 2014 | |||||
| 1st | United States Coast Guard Academy | W | 2–0 | ||
| 2nd | Muhlenberg College | L | 0–0 (2OT) 3–5 (pen.) | ||
| 2019 | 1st | Connecticut College | L | 1–2 | |
| 2021 | 1st | Kenyon College | L | 1–4 | |
| 2022 | |||||
| 1st | Lynchburg | W | 2–0 | ||
| 2nd | Christopher Newport | W | 2–0 (2OT) | ||
| Sweet Sixteen | Johns Hopkins | L | 0-2 | ||
| 2023 | 1st | SUNY Oneonta | L | 1-2 |
Women's soccer went undefeated in the CAC in 2005 and earned a berth in the NCAA tournament, repeating in 2009, 2014 and 2015 as LC champions.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Won/Lost | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 1st | Lynchburg College | L | 1–5 |
| 2009 | 1st | Lynchburg College | L | 1–3 |
| 2014 | ||||
| 1st | Hanover College | W | 3–2 | |
| 2nd | Carnegie Mellon University | L | 1–2 (OT) | |
| 2015 | ||||
| 1st | Ithaca College | W | 1–0 | |
| 2nd | Swarthmore College | L | 0–1 |
The field hockey team advanced to the 2001 ECAC Southern Region championship game and won the ECAC title in 2010. In 2011 CUA won its first conference championship, which propelled the Cardinals to their first-ever NCAA tournament.[4] They won the conference title again in 2012,[5] and 2013.[6] In 2014, the team earned an at-large bid and a first round bye to big dance. In 2015 and 2022, they were again Landmark Conference champions.[7] [8]
| Year | Round | Opponent | Won/Lost | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | |||||
| 1st | Eastern University | W | 5–2 | ||
| 2nd | Lynchburg College | L | 0–2 | ||
| 2012 | 1st | Lynchburg College | L | 3–4 (OT) | |
| 2013 | |||||
| 1st | Messiah College | W | 2–1 (OT) | ||
| 2nd | DePauw University | W | 1–0 (OT) | ||
| Elite Eight | Christopher Newport University | L | 0–1 | ||
| 2014 | |||||
| 2nd | Messiah College | W | 2–0 | ||
| Elite Eight | The College of New Jersey | L | 0–1 | ||
| 2015 | 1st | Bridgewater College | L | 1–2 | |
| 2022 | 1st | Trinity College | L | 0–1 |
The volleyball team made its first NCAA tournament appearance in 2001 and followed it up in 2002.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Won/Lost | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | |||||
| 2nd | Gettysburg College | W | 3–1 (30–22, 30–19, 22–30, 30–27) | ||
| Mid-Atlantic Regional Final | Juniata College | L | 0–3 (20–30, 19–30, 13–30) | ||
| 2002 | Mid-Atlantic Regional Final | Ohio Northern University | L | 0–3 (21–30, 24–30, and 15–30) |
The softball team won its first and only Capital Athletic Conference title in 1994, and went on to become the ECAC Southern Region Champions in the same season. In 2012 the Cardinals won the ECAC Southern Region Championship for the second time. In 2014 CUA won its first Landmark Conference championship, which propelled the Cardinals to their first-ever NCAA tournament.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Won/Lost | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | ||||
| Norfolk Regional | Christopher Newport | L | 1–6 | |
| Norfolk Regional | Staten Island | W | 11–5 | |
| Norfolk Regional | Virginia Wesleyan | L | 3–6 |
The men's golf team went to the NCAA tournament in 2021 after winning the conference championship.
The women's golf team went to the NCAA tournament in 2021 after winning the conference championship.
Student-led club teams include rugby, ice hockey, lacrosse, and sailing.
The Ice Hockey team competes in the Delaware Valley Collegiate Hockey Conference (DVCHC) of the ACHA and plays at the Fort Dupont Ice Arena in Washington, D.C. The team went 13–0–0 during the 2014–15 season and went on to win the Blue Ridge Hockey Conference (BRHC) Championship in a 5–4 victory against the Maryland Terrapins. In 2017 the team transferred to the DVCHC. On February 10, 2019, the Cardinals secured an 11–5 victory at York College to win the 2018 Championship. They went 15–3–0 that season.
| Year | Opponent | Won/Lost | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | University of Maryland | W | 5–4 | |
| 2018 | York College | W | 11–5 |
The Men's Club Lacrosse team competes in Division 2 of the Chesapeake Conference in the National College Lacrosse League. The team has secured the NCLL Division 2 National Championship for 2015, 2016, and 2017.
| Year | Opponent | Won/Lost | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | n/a | W | n/a |
| 2016 | n/a | W | n/a |
| 2017 | n/a | W | n/a |
An important rivalry in Cardinals' history has been the football game against the Georgetown Hoyas, where the Steven Dean Memorial Trophy is in dispute. The series started at Brookland Stadium in 1976.
Since 2022, the Pope's Cup is in dispute in all sports against Marymount University.[10]
The official Alma Mater Song was adopted in 1920, when students organized a contest for an alma mater song, open to the then all-male student body. The winner was Hail CUA (lyrics by Robert H. Mahoney and music by Victor Herbert), but second-place winner Guardian of Truth (music and lyrics by Thomas J. McLean) became more popular over the years.[11] [12]
The cardinal's fight song is "C.U. Marching Song" (1931):[13] (Music by Michael J. MacDonald & Lyrics by Clement Ducy)[14]
Students supporting the games in the early 1900s created the following songs and chants to inspire high spirits:[15]