| Key Dates In W&J Athletics History |
| Date |
Moment |
| Jan. 2, 1922 |
W&J plays the University of California to a 0-0 tie in the Rose Bowl. The game remains as the only scoreless tie in Rose Bowl history. |
| Feb. 2, 2021 |
Athletic competition returned after a 326-day hiatus due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. The W&J women's swimming & diving team commenced competition for the 2020-21 academic year with a home meet against Franciscan University of Steubenville. |
| Feb. 22, 1992 |
Washington & Jefferson College finishes atop the standings at the PAC Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships to earn its first conference championship in school history |
| Mar. 3, 1962 |
The Presidents brought home their first PAC Wrestling Championship after Lou Pogoreltz and Pat McCormick won individual titles |
| Mar. 3, 1978 |
W&J claims first Pennwood West Conference Women’s Basketball championship |
| Mar 7, 2025 |
The W&J women's basketball team claimed its first NCAA Tournament win in program history. Bryn Bezjak scored a team-high 18 points including the game-tying basket at the regulation buzzer to power the Presidents to a 76-72 overtime victory over Messiah University in the first round of the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament. |
| Mar. 8, 2008 |
Women’s lacrosse debuts as the 24th NCAA Division III sport offered by the college. The Presidents lost a 7-6 decision to Adrian (Mich.) in a match that was played during a snowstorm at Alexandre Stadium. |
| Mar. 9, 1963 |
W&J tops Case Western Reserve 68-51 to finish off its season as Presidents’ Athletic Conference champions for the first time in school history |
| Mar. 10, 2005 |
Freshman Kaitlyn Orstein won her first NCAA Division III title after setting a national record in the 200 individual medley (2:03.18) in Holland, Mich. |
| Mar. 11, 1965 |
Lawrence Petrillo won the 200-yard individual medley title and helped a freestyle relay to a first-place touch as the men’s swimming & diving team celebrated its first-ever Presidents’ Athletic Conference Championship |
| Mar. 11, 1994 |
Presidents knock off Illinois Wesleyan 97-82 in Springfield, Ohio, to earn first trip to NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Tournament Elite Eight appearance |
| Mar. 14, 2015 |
Nick Carr wins NCAA Division III wrestling 157-pound championship, becoming the first wrestler in school history to capture a national title. The tournament was held at The Giant Center in Hershey, Pa. |
| Mar. 15, 2008 |
Kaitlyn Orstein captures her eighth career national title, winning the 200 breaststroke championship in a school-record time of 2:16.29 in Oxford, Ohio. Orstein won three NCAA Championships during her senior year. |
| Mar. 18, 1943 |
Head Coach Adam Sanders leads W&J to 43-42 victory over Creighton in the quarterfinals of the NIT Men’s Basketball Tournament at Old Madison Square Garden. Eleven days later, the Presidents topped Fordham 39-34 in the tournament’s third-place game. |
| Apr. 16, 1962 |
Men’s Golf wins first-ever Presidents’ Athletic Conference Championship |
| Apr. 26, 1986 |
W&J splits a PAC baseball doubleheader from Hiram to finish off its PAC schedule to earn its first conference crown |
| Apr. 27, 1996 |
W&J sweeps Chatham on the softball diamond to clinch its first PAC Softball championship |
| Apr. 27, 2001 |
W&J women’s golf captures first Presidents’ Athletic Conference championship |
| Apr. 29, 2006 |
Lauren Weinheimer selected as PAC Women’s Track & Field MVP after leading the Presidents to their first conference women’s track & field title |
| May 3, 1967 |
Frank Doroff earned the No. 3 singles and No. 2 doubles conference titles to help W&J win a share of its first Presidents’ Athletic Conference men’s tennis championship. |
| May 14, 2009 |
Freshman Dave Trushel pitches eight innings of three-hit baseball to help W&J earn its first-ever NCAA Tournament victory when defeating Washington and Lee 8-3 at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium in Salisbury, Maryland, at the NCAA South Regional |
| May 22, 2017 |
W&J wins its first NCAA Baseball regional championship with a 6-3 victory over SUNY Cortland in a winner-take-all regional final. Senior Riley Groves, later named an All-American by D3baseball.com, pitched a complete game on three days rest. |
| May 23, 1997 |
Jaimee Heffner wins first national championship in school history after posting a top throw of 144-feet, nine inches at the NCAA Division III Track & Field Championship |
May
25,
2019 |
The Washington & Jefferson College baseball team held off host Misericordia University for a 5-4 victory to secure the NCAA Division III South Super Regional Championship. The Super Regional Championship helped the Presidents secure a spot in the NCAA Division III Baseball Championship in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. This marked the second appearance at the championships during a three-year period for W&J. |
| May 26, 2017 |
W&J makes its first appearance at the NCAA Division III Baseball Championship in Appleton, Wis., defeating Concordia Chicago, 4-2, in the first game of the tournament. |
| May 27, 1971 |
Washington & Jefferson College’s men’s athletics teams honored with the school’s first Presidents’ Athletic Conference All-Sports Trophy. |
| May 29, 2017 |
W&J wins the first game of the championship series over Cal Lutheran, 12-2, in its first NCAA Division III Baseball Championship finals appearance in Appleton, Wis. Junior Matt Heslin tosses a complete game in the win. |
| May 30, 1994 |
W&J women’s athletics teams stop Grove City’s five-year run as PAC Women’s All-Sports Champion and earn school’s first-ever women’s trophy |
| June 1, 1958 |
Washington & Jefferson College becomes a member of the Presidents’ Athletic Conference joining Western Reserve University, John Carroll University, Case Institute of Technology and Wayne State University. Allegheny College, Bethany College and Thiel College join on this day with W&J. |
| June 1, 2009 |
Zach Devilbiss announced as NCAA Division III’s leading scorer for 2009 men’s lacrosse season after averaging 5.62 points per game. |
| June 7, 2023 |
Tyler Horvat made history for W&J when he was named the College Sports Communicators Division III Academic All-America of the Year for the sport of baseball. Horvat became the first W&J student-athlete to earn the highest recognition in the Academic All-America program. This also marked the third time that Horvat earned Academic All-America honors. |
| July 4, 1925 |
One of the most revered figures in W&J athletics history, Robert “Mother” Murphy passes away due complications from pernicious anemia. Murphy, a graduate manager for the football program, was credited as being the architect of W&J’s football prominence. In 1921, Murphy mortgaged his house to make the trip with W&J to the Rose Bowl. |
| Sept. 1, 1984 |
Women’s sports start competing in Presidents’ Athletic Conference after previously being a member in the Pennwood West Conference |
| Sept. 2, 2004 |
The first game in Alexandre Stadium history is played as Allegheny defeats W&J 2-0 in a women’s soccer match |
| Sept. 7, 1963 |
Legendary football standout, coach and AD Wilbur F. “Pete” Henry inducted into the Professional Football Hall of Fame |
| Sept. 11, 1999 |
Washington & Jefferson College renames its football field from College Field to Cameron Stadium, thanks to the support of the Cameron Family. During the same day, thanks in part to a $60,000 grant from the United States Olympic Committee, the men’s water polo team played its first-ever NCAA varsity match, falling to George Washington University 17-7. |
| Sept. 29, 1923 |
John Heisman coaches his first football game at W&J and leads the Presidents to a 21-0 home victory over Bethany |
| Oct. 17, 1980 |
Women's Tennis crowned conference champions for first time in history |
| Oct. 23, 1948 |
Washington & Jefferson College celebrates Doc Donehoo Day at College Field. An 1890 W&J graduate, Donehoo attended his 300th consecutive Presidents’ football game and was recognized as the “Nation’s No. 1 Football Fan”. |
| Oct. 24, 1970 |
Presidents turn around recent football misfortunes with miracle season and clinch school’s first PAC football title with 41-28 victory over Thiel |
| Oct. 25, 1930 |
Presidents play first indoor night football game in history and defeat Lafayette 7-0 in Atlantic City (NJ) Auditorium |
| Oct. 26, 2019 |
Women's Tennis defeats Grove City by a 5-3 score in the PAC Championship match at the Greensburg Racquet Club. Caitlin Shellhamer clinched the match with her victory at No. 5 singles. The win gave W&J its first-ever PAC women's tennis title. |
| Oct. 27, 1994 |
Washington & Jefferson College defeats Thiel 2-0 to clinch its first-ever PAC volleyball championship with a perfect 8-0 league record |
| Oct. 31, 1987 |
One of the wildest football games in Presidents' Athletic Conference history resulted in a 38-36 W&J victory over Carnegie Mellon after John Ivory booted a 40-yard field goal with eight seconds left. A.J. Pagano cemented his legendary status as a Presidents' all-time great with 357 all-purpose yards and four touchdowns. |
| Nov. 1, 1890 |
First varsity game in school history played as W&J crushes Western University of Pennsylvania (Now the University of Pittsburgh) 34-0 in football. |
| Nov. 6, 2011 |
W&J wins first Empire 8 Conference field hockey tournament title (W&J 2, Nazareth 1 – Utica, N.Y.) |
| Nov. 7, 1974 |
First women’s sport in school history competes in a varsity college volleyball game as Presidents lose to California (Pa.) by a score of 2-0 |
| Nov. 8, 2003 |
Mike Chiodo scored both goals as the Presidents defeated Grove City 2-0 at Cameron Stadium to win its first-ever PAC men’s soccer title |
| Nov. 8, 2008 |
Presidents win first PAC women’s soccer championship, defeating Thomas More in Kentucky 1-0 in overtime |
| Nov. 10, 2012 |
The Presidents' football team caps an emotional season by defeating Waynesburg 31-14 to claim the PAC Championship and automatic bid to the NCAA playoffs. During the second half of the season, W&J played with heavy hearts following the tragic death of running back and team captain Tim McNerney |
| Nov. 16, 1958 |
Bill Mason becomes W&J’s first All-Presidents’ Athletic Conference selection after being chosen to the football all-conference team as a guard. He also was honored in 1959 at the same position. |
| Nov. 17, 1984 |
W&J competes in first-ever NCAA Division III playoff game as the football team defeats Randolph-Macon 22-21 |
| Nov. 17, 2012 |
Sophomore Kristen Galligan places 12th out of 277 runners at the NCAA Cross Country Championships (Terre Haute, Ind.) to become the first All-American in W&J cross country history. |
| Nov. 18, 2023 |
Cassie Carr earns the NCAA Elite 90 award at the 2023 NCAA Division III Women's Cross Country Championships. Carr becomes the first W&J women's student-athlete to earn the honor, which is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals site for each of the NCAA's championships. |
| Nov. 20, 1948 |
“Deacon” Dan Towler scores three touchdowns in a 26-25 loss to Ohio Wesleyan and finishes the season as the nation’s third-leading scorer with 133 points (eight games). |
| Nov. 27, 2004 |
W&J set a school record for single-season football victories, improving to 12-0 after defeating Christopher Newport 24-14 in the second round of the NCAA playoffs. Chris Edwards passed for 293 yards and two touchdowns, while Frank Pilato notched 10 tackles and one interception. |
| Nov. 28, 1913 |
Burleigh Cruikshank, Red Fleming and John Spiegel named the Presidents’ first-ever football All-Americans |
| Dec. 5, 1992 |
Chris Babirad runs 81 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to help W&J defeat Rowan in Glassboro, N.J., 18-13 in the NCAA Division III football semifinals |
| Dec. 10, 1994 |
The Presidents’ football team makes its second appearance in three years in the NCAA Division III national championship game (Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl), but falls to Albion 38-15 |
| Dec. 10, 2011 |
Following a 32-point season in which she was selected as the Presidents' Athletic Conference Player of the Year, sophomore Holly Shipley became the women's soccer program's first All-American after being named to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America/Continental Tire NCAA Women’s Division III All-America Team |
| Dec. 12, 1992 |
W&J makes first appearance in Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl in Bradenton, Florida. Wisconsin-La Crosse defeated W&J 16-12 for the national title. |
