Alaska Fairbanks Nanooks

The Alaska Nanooks
The Alaska Nanooks are the University of Alaska Fairbanks sports teams, derived from the Inupiaq nanuq. The school colors are blue and gold. The Nanooks compete at the NCAA Division I level for hockey and are a member of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association and plays at the 4,500 seat Carlson Center located in downtown Fairbanks. Alaska Nanooks also have a Division I rifle team which has won nine NCAA Rifle Championships. The men's and women's basketball, cross country running and skiing, and women's volleyball teams are Division II members of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, while the women's swim team is a member of the Pacific Coast Swim Conference.

Mission Statement:
The mission of the University of Alaska Fairbanks athletics program is to provide the student-athlete with an opportunity to compete at the Division I and II levels of competition while receiving a quality education consistent with the mission of the University. The athletics experience is an extension of the educational process whereby student-athletes acquire the skill, characteristics and self-confidence that will enable them to reach their full potential. The athletics program is committed to assisting student-athletes to achieve their academic and physical potential by learning to develop worthy goals for a meaningful life. It is the goal of the athletics program to provide the student-athlete with the means to perform with distinction.

What is a Nanook?
Nanook is a derivation of nanuq, the Inupiaq word for polar bear. UAF's first teams had been nicknamed the Polar Bears, but after 1963, the Polar Bears became known as the Nanooks, which have since applied to all UAF sports teams. It is incorrect to shorten the word Nanook to 'No.In the media poll, defending NCAA champion Michigan State topped the media poll with 25 first place votes and 701 points, followed by Miami and defending CCHA Champion Notre Dame. The Nanooks got almost twice as many points as Bowling Green, who was picked to finish last with 108 points. Miami edged MSU by one point in the coaches' poll, although the Spartans received six first place votes to the RedHawks five. The Fighting Irish received one first-place vote from the league's coaches and were slated third with 105 total points. Alaska got 25 points, again falling just ahead of Bowling Green.

A total of 63 members of the media ranked the 12 CCHA teams in projected order of finish for the regular season. Points were awarded on a 12-11-10-9, etc., basis. League coaches ranked the CCHA teams, excluding their own school, in the order they predicted the regular season will end. Points in the coaches' poll were tallied on an 11-10-9, etc. basis. Including Eckford, the Nanooks return 16 lettermen from one year ago and welcome nine newcomers, giving their new coach plenty to look forward to this season.

DelCastillo said to the CCHA coaches and media Our goaltending situation is solid. I feel we have the best goaltending tandem in the league with Chad Johnson and Wylie Rogers. Dion Knelsen is one of the better young players in the league, played for the Canadian National Under-18 Team in the spring. The DelCastillo era of Nanook hockey will begin Saturday in the annual Blue and Gold intra-squad game at 7:00 p.m. at the Patty Center Ice Arena. The Nanooks will then host Southern Alberta Institute of Technology for their final exhibition before the regular season on Saturday, Oct. 6 at 7:05 p.m. at the Carlson Center.