The program's athletic director is Thorr Bjorn.[3]
The school's colors are light blue (officially referred to as "Keaney blue"), white, and navy blue.[2] The school's mascot is Rhody the Ram. It was chosen in 1923 as tribute to the school's agricultural history, making its first appearance in 1929. The school has not used a live ram since the introduction of "Rhody," a student in an anthropomorphic ram costume, in 1974.[4]
URI Basketball went to the NCAA tournament in 2017 after an 18 year drought, nearly upsetting Final Four participant #3 Oregon in the second round. In the 1990s, the Rams made the Big Dance in 1997,[7]1998,[8] and 1999.[9] In 1998, the Rams went on a surprise run to the Elite 8.[10]
The women's team has made one NCAA appearance in 1996 after going 21–8 and 13–3 in A10 play, losing 90–82 to Oklahoma State. They have two other postseason appearances in the 2022 and 2023 WNITs. [11]
The Rams have won eight conference championships, seven in the Yankee Conference and one in the Coastal Athletic Association. Likewise the Rams have won one division title, in 1995: the Yankee Conference's New England Division.
The University of Rhode Island Club Sports program consists of 13 teams. Each team is organized and managed by students with guidance from the Coordinator of Club Sports. They include Soccer, Tennis, Hockey, Field Hockey, Rowing, Sailing, Rugby, Swimming, Volleyball, Gymnastics, and Equestrian.
Rhody the Ram is the official mascot of the University of Rhode Island. His mascot status was given on March 8, 1923, and he made his first appearance on November 21, 1929. At one time a real ram was housed at a dairy barn across from the campus, but that stopped in the 1960s, and was picked up for one year in 1974. Unlike other popular universities, the Rhody the Ram mascot program is run by the URI Student Alumni Association, a student run organization that serves the university by organizing many popular events on campus.[14][15]
Media coverage
Television
University of Rhode Island sports are televised regionally on the Ocean State Network, a joint venture of Cox Communications and WJAR.[16] OSN provides television and streaming coverage of all regular season men's basketball games not broadcast on a national carrier, and select football, baseball, soccer and women's basketball games. Select men's basketball games are also covered by ESPN, and A-10 tournament games are televised by contract with ESPN, CBS and NBC.[17] The University's ACHA men's ice hockey and women's basketball home games have live streaming video available on their respective websites.
Radio
Commercial coverage of men's basketball and football is provided by iHeartMedia stations WHJJ and WWBB in the Providence area, with rights managed by Learfield IMG College.[18] The longtime announcer for both sports is Steve McDonald, who in 2011 was awarded the inaugural Ben Mondor Award for "extraordinary contributions in...sports in Rhode Island".[19]
Non-commercial coverage of home games for football, baseball, men's (and select women's) basketball, as well as the school's ACHA men's ice hockey team can be heard on the University's student radio station WRIU. Other sports, including men's and women's soccer, softball, women's ice hockey and select women's basketball games are carried on WRIU's online station RIU2.[20]
Controversial incidents
February 3, 1998 – Rhody the Ram tried to prevent the St. Joe's Hawk from his eternal flapping by putting an inner tube over its head, temporarily immobilizing his arms. While trying to remove the tube, the Hawk's head (costume) fell off. The incident was televised and repeated on ESPN.[21]
^Plummer, William; Floyd, Larry C. (2013). A Series Of Their Own: History Of The Women's College World Series. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States: Turnkey Communications Inc. ISBN978-0-9893007-0-4.
