Saint Joesphs Hawks Tickets

Saint Joesphs Hawks
It's the sharp and vigilant eye of the hawk that makes it soar higher for victory. Likewise any organization or a league that has the mascot or symbol of hawk surely has the tendency to reach the heights. The Saint Joseph's Hawks represents the athletic teams at Saint Joseph's University. The school also has intramurals and extramural, the latter of which compete with the City 6.

The school is mostly known for its men's basketball team. The Hawk became the school's mascot in 1929. It first flapped its wings at a basketball in 1956 in a win over La Salle University. With the sober colours, crimson and gray, men's basketball is the most popular sport at Saint Joseph's University. The team has competed in eighteen NCAA Tournaments. In 2003, Sports Illustrated complemented the team as the most defiant cheer in college sports.

Saint Joseph's University fields teams in 20 varsity sports in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The Hawks are part of the Atlantic Ten Conference; because the Atlantic 10 does not support men's lacrosse, the Hawks play that sport in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. Along with the Atlantic 10, Saint Joseph's is a member of the Philadelphia Big 5, intensifying rivalries with Temple University and Villanova University.

Saint Joseph's had a football team from 1922 until 1939 but it was disbanded due to the death of a player and, like many other small, private colleges, World War II. What is now Finnesey Field was expected to become where the football stadium would be built. Saint Joseph's ironically got their nickname, the Hawks, due in part to the football team's potent aerial attack.

Saint Joseph's University celebrated its sesquicentennial anniversary in 2000-01. In conjunction with that celebration, the SJU Rowing Program, kicked off a capital campaign to finance the construction of a state-of-the-art boathouse on the Schuylkill River. The boathouse provides a permanent home for the Hawk rowing programs. In addition, it provides the University with a significant presence on Kelly Drive.

During the 2003-2004 season, the Saint Joseph's Hawks went undefeated (27-0) during the regular season and are the last NCAA Division I team to do so. The Hawks ended the regular season with a #1 ranking nationally and a #1 ranking in the NCAA Tournament. After losing to Xavier University in the Atlantic 10 tournament final, St. Joe's made it to the Elite Eight in the NCAA tournament. They would finally lose to Oklahoma State in the last seven seconds of the game to end their remarkable run. Nelson was named National Player of the Year while coach Phil Martelli was named Coach of the Year.

Historical rivals of SJU are the La Salle University Explorers. Recently, though, the main rival has been the Villanova University Wildcats which is locally referred to as the Holy War. St. Joseph's also has a heated rivalry with the Temple University Owls. Because games against Drexel University are in-city, the two teams are sometimes considered rivals but Saint Joseph's leads the all-time series 43 to 6.

Fans of the Hawks often chant The Hawk Will Never Die! Since the school's undefeated season, this chant has gained familiarity with the team's opponents. SJU's mascot, The Hawk, has garnered numerous accolades in its 50-year history. It won a Best of Philly award from Philadelphia Magazine in 2003-04, has been named the Atlantic 10 Conference's best mascot, and has been selected as the nation's top mascot.

The baseball team plays at Elmwood Park under lights making it the only team in the Philadelphia area able to play home games at night. They compete in the A-10 in the East Division. The team is led by coach Shawn Pender but has struggled mightily for the past five years. Since 2002, the team has gone 84-227 overall and 47-103 in conference play. In 2007, the team was led by strong hitting but no pitchers had ERA's under 5.91.

Finnesey Field has been the home of Hawk athletic teams since 1929 and it was laid out in a natural bowl in the center of Saint Joseph's campus. Originally constructed for football and opened in 1929 with plans for an eventual 70,000-seat stadium, the field has undergone numerous changes over the years. Near it stand the Finnesey Courts, home to the Hawk men's and women's tennis teams since the late 1940s. Prior to that SJU primarily played its home matches at the nearby Narberth courts.