The Saint Joseph's Hawks are the athletic teams that represent Saint Joseph's University of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Hawks compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference and of the Philadelphia Big 5. The school also has intramurals and extramurals, the latter of which compete within the City 6 (the six major universities in Philadelphia). 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 game in 1956 in a win over La Salle University. The Saint Joseph's school colors are crimson and gray.
Sports sponsored Baseball Basketball Basketball Cross country Cross country Field hockey Golf Lacrosse Lacrosse Rowing Rowing Soccer Soccer Softball Tennis Tennis Track and field Track and field A member of the Atlantic 10 Conference and the Philadelphia Big 5, Saint Joseph's University sponsors teams in nine men's and ten women's NCAA sanctioned sports. The men's lacrosse team competes as an associate member of the Northeast Conference. Men's rowing is sanctioned by the Intercollegiate Rowing Association, not by the NCAA. Saint Joseph's men's team competes as an independent.
Baseball
The baseball team played its games at Latshaw Field 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. In 2007, the team was led by strong hitting but no pitchers had ERA's under 5.91. Since 2002, the team has gone 84–227 overall and 47–103 in conference play.
The baseball team played the 2009, 2010, and 2011 seasons at Campbell's Field in Camden, New Jersey and moved to the Maguire Campus on Hawk Hill in 2012. All Hawks home games are now held at John W. Smithson Field in Lower Merion, Pennsylvania. Its prime location and turf surface make Smithson Field one of the top baseball facilities in the country.
Saint Joseph's played the first game on the Washington Nationals new field, Nationals Park in a loss to George Washington University in 2008. St. Joe's also played in the first game at the University of Pennsylvania's Murphy Field on March 23, 2000.
20 SJU baseball players have been drafted in the history of the school's program. Jamie Moyer, class of 1985, holds the records for strikeouts and ERA in a season. His is the only number to be retired for baseball.
There are currently 6 former Hawks playing professional baseball, in affiliated and independent leagues.
Men's basketball
Men's basketball is the most popular sport at Saint Joseph's University. The Hawks have competed in twenty one NCAA Tournaments (1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1969, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1981, 1982, 1986, 1997, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2008, 2014, 2016) and sixteen NIT Tournaments (1956, 1958,1964, 1972, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1993, 1995, 1996, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2012, 2013). They have made one Final Four, three Elite Eights, and seven Sweet Sixteens. Throughout the school's history, 29 different players have been drafted into the NBA.
The Saint Joseph's University's basketball team was ranked 43rd best of all-time by Smith & Street's magazine in 2005. The Hawks have won seven Atlantic 10 regular season titles and three A-10 tournament championships and ranks 33rd all-time in wins with 1,439 and 44th all-time with a .605 winning percentage.
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. In 2003, Sports Illustrated listed that cheer among The 100 Things You Gotta Do Before You Graduate (Whatever the Cost), calling it "the most defiant cheer in college sports."
2003–04 Season During the 2003–2004 season, the Saint Joseph's Hawks went perfect 27–0 during the regular season. The Hawks were led by a backcourt of Jameer Nelson and Delonte West, both of whom would end up as starters in the NBA. The Hawks ended the regular season with a No. 1 ranking nationally and a No. 1 ranking in the NCAA Tournament. After losing to Xavier University in the Atlantic 10 tournament quarterfinal, 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.
Current The Hawks most recently made it to the NCAA Tournament in 2016. They defeated Cincinnati 78–76 in the first round, but lost to #1 seed Oregon 69–64 in the second.
Rivals Historical rivals of SJU are the La Salle Explorers, being the only two Catholic universities actually in Philadelphia proper. For decades, though, the main rival has been the Villanova University Wildcats. The annual basketball game between SJU and Villanova is locally referred to as the Holy War. Villanova leads the all-time series 47 to 25. 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. The all-time series between La Salle and the Hawks is 63 to 49 in SJU's favor. They are losing the all-time series against Temple 63 to 75 and winning the series with Penn 45 to 32. Overall, the Hawks are 112–83 in the Big 5 which once was the best team among Big 5 schools.
Other less intense rivalries include those with A-10 competitors Virginia Commonwealth University, who Saint Joe's beat twice in three years for the A-10 Championship, Xavier University and the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Field hockey The Saint Joseph's field hockey program has become the preeminent team in the Atlantic 10. The Hawks have won 8 of the last 9 regular season titles (2016-19, 2021-24) and 7 of the last 8 tournament titles (2017-19, 2021-24), thus reaching the NCAA tournament in each occasion.
St. Joe's won its first NCAA tournament game in 2022, defeating Wake Forest to reach the quarterfinals.
In 2024, the field hockey team became the first program in Saint Joseph's history to compete for a national title. The Hawks, the No. 4 seed, hosted a regional for the first time, defeating Lafayette and Princeton by matching 1-0 scores.
In the national semifinals, Saint Joseph's defeated two-time defending national champion and No. 1 North Carolina, 2-1, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, snapping UNC's 27-game winning streak in the process. SJU fell to Northwestern in the title game.
In 2007, SJU advanced to the A-10 Championship game but lost to UMass. They won the conference tournament and regular season championship in 1995.
Lacrosse
Saint Joseph's previously competed as members of the MAAC, CAA, and NEC conferences.
In 2000, St. Joe's was the number one seed in the MAAC year-end tournament, they would go on to win the MAAC Championship, defeating Manhattan 17-7.
From Taylor Wrays first season in 2012, through the 2024 season, St. Joe's record has been 120 wins and 69 losses. Including 8 first-place conference finishes, 5 NEC tournament finals, 1 NEC Championship, and 1 A10 Championship.
Soccer
SJU's soccer team used to be a part of the unofficial Soccer 7 until Philadelphia University dropped down to Division II. Now the "league" is referred to as the Soccer 6. Former Hawk goalkeeper and current head coach Tim Mulqueen coached soccer in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Softball
As May 1, 2008, the softball team had a player, Brooke Darreff, who was leading the nation in batting average (.500). Darreff was also named the Atlantic 10 softball player of the year. Erika Rosenwinkel ended up leading the NCAA in doubles and Darreff finished fifth in batting average and sixteenth in doubles per game.
Rowing
Saint Joseph's competes in the Dad Vail Regatta, a nationally recognized event and the largest collegiate regatta in the United States, held on the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia. The Hawks women and men have taken championships home as recently as 2006 and 1999 respectively.
SJU's boathouse sits on the east bank of the Schuylkill River approximately 2 miles up river from the historic Boathouse Row, listed among the "100 Things To Do Before You Graduate" by Sports Illustrated (visit Boathouse Row).
Former SJU rower Renee Hykel competed in the 2008 Olympic Games in the lightweight double sculls. She also won a silver medal in the lightweight double sculls at the 2005 World Championships in Gifu, Japan and a bronze medal in the lightweight quadruple sculls in the 2004 World Championships. Hykel was a five-time member of the U.S. National Rowing Team.
In 2008, SJU rower Debbie Bateman won A-10 student-athlete of the year.
Notable non-varsity sports
Dance As of early 2008, the dance team was nationally ranked. They dance at all SJU home basketball games and occasionally perform at 76ers home games.
Rugby The Saint Joseph's University Rugby Football Club (RFC) was founded in 1962 by sophomore Hugh O'Neill, a transferee from Saint Lois University. Mr. O'Neill recruited Dr. Francis Caughlin from Villanova University as the team's first head coach. Because of the dearth of college rugby teams in the '60s, the Hawks played mostly Ivy League schools such as Princeton, Penn, Yale and Harvard. Saint Joseph's University Rugby team now plays college rugby in the Mid-Atlantic Rugby Conference. St. Joseph's, as a university without a football team, their rugby team has received great exposure on campus over the last number of years. The Hawks play their home matches at Sweeney Field. The Hawks are led by head coach Mike Williams (6/2022-Present).
The Hawks won Eastern Pennsylvania Rugby Union (EPRU) league titles in 2008 and 2010. In 2011, the Hawks were promoted from Division II to Division I-AA. Since 2016 the Hawks have won the MARC 6 out the last 7 seasons, and have made it to the NCR national semi-finals 5 time. Reaching the D1-AA National Championship twice during that time.
Former sports
Football Saint Joseph's College had a football team until 1939. It is unclear when the program officially started. One of the earlier recorded games was in 1901 against Fordham College. The outcome was a 0–0 tie. Saint Joseph's hired Edward Bennis in 1909 to coach the team. Bennis was a former football standout at the University of Pennsylvania.
SJU played many of its home games at Wynnewood Park in addition to 28th Street and Allegheny Avenue in Philadelphia. Finnesey Field, located on 54th and City Avenue, was dedicated on October 12, 1929. The opening game was played that day as Saint Joseph's lost to Pennsylvania Military College by a score of 7–6. Pennsylvania Military College would later become Widener University.
In 1925–26, Saint Joseph's started to draw up plans for a 70,000 – 80,000 seat neo-classical (colosseum) style stadium. The plans were put on permanent hold however due to both a lack of funds as well as a growing feeling among the student body that Saint Joseph's would never be able to compete with other schools in terms of football.
Though the plans for a stadium ultimately failed, the college would later name its outdoor athletic facility after James T. Finnesey who donated more than half of the original $42,000 that was initially raised to build the new stadium. Finnesey was the president of Finnesey & Kobler which was an auto manufacturer at the time.