A Freshman’s Guide to Providence College Sports

Behind the statistics and the standings, the results and the rosters, the players and the coaches, there exists at Providence College a rich and sometimes mysterious tradition in sports and athletics. I do not profess to know all of the intricacies of this tradition, but I can offer three years' worth of knowledge to the Class of 2014 in the form of this Freshman's Guide to Providence College Athletics.

▪ The Basketball Team gets all the press, but year-in and year-out, the most successful teams are the Men's and Women's Cross Country Squads.

▪ St. Dominic Chapel is the holiest place on this campus, but Mullaney Gymnasium is a close second.

▪ They want to build an outdoor track on Hendricken Field, the home of the former Providence College Baseball Team. The Track Team undoubtedly deserves a track, but this leads at least one sportswriter to wonder if the construction of that track is the final nail in the Baseball Team's coffin.

▪ Although most fans tend to flock towards the field-level bleachers at Glay Field, the best place to watch a soccer game is from the wall on Huxley.

▪ It is almost never acceptable to rush the court at the Dunk. Seriously. Otherwise, we look like fools.

▪ For years, the Men's Basketball Team played on campus in the former Alumni Hall Gym (now Mullaney Gymnasium).

▪ The hardest working athletes at this school are the swimmers.

▪ Providence's mascot, the Friar, was named one of the scariest NCAA mascots last year.

▪ Keep your eyes on Symone Roberts '13 of the Women's Basketball Team and Vincent Council '13 of the Men's Basketball Team, both of whom are sophomores who will very likely be getting some national attention this season.

▪ And while you're at it, keep an eye on the Women's Basketball Team, which went to the WNIT last year.

▪ Although PC's teams are officially named the Friars, Providence teams have been known previously and informally as the Cardinals, the Black and White, the Smith Hillers, and the North End Boys.

▪ The coaches at Providence College are universally nice people, and we could say many kind things about them. It will suffice for us here to note that Head Women's Basketball Coach Phil Seymore and Head Women's Hockey Coach Bob Deraney are two of the kindest gentlemen you will ever meet, and that Cross Country and Track Coach Ray Treacy is a legend living among us.

▪ Once upon a time, there was a Football Team and a Baseball Team at Providence College. May they rest in peace.

▪ Everybody makes a big fuss about sitting in the student section at the Dunk, but if you are truly there for the basketball, you have to sit in mid-court nosebleed seats.

▪ If you played sports in high school, and you still want to be involved but cannot compete at the Division I collegiate level, you should consider joining the Friar Faithful, a marvelous organization of which colleague Chris Torello is a founding member.

▪ Before the mascot was an oversized grinning Dominican, there was Friar Boy, the Dalmatian.

▪ The best deal in town is free admission for students at all on-campus contests.

▪ Everybody here roots against the University of Rhode Island, which adds fuel to the fire that is the PC-URI rivalry. I get the rivalry, but I think the jeers would be better directed towards our Jesuit neighbor to the north, Boston College.

▪ The Providence College fight song is When the Saints Go Marching In, and the acoustics in Schneider Arena—which are superior probably by chance—make the Pep Band's rendition sound amazing.

▪ Raymond Field, the home of the Softball Team, is the most attractive home venue of all the Providence playing surfaces.

▪ Head Coaches Chaka Daley (Men's Soccer), Tim Army, (Men's Hockey), Kerri Jacklets (Softball), and Ray Treacy (Track) are all Providence alums.

▪ The Lacrosse Team is better than its record indicated last season. The 2010 campaign was the Friars' first in the Big East, and as a general rule, sophomore year is better than freshman year.

▪ The Women's Hockey Team is all but bound for Hockey East glory this winter. The Friars finished the 2009-10 season ranked 10th nationally and lost only four seniors.

And last, the Tip of all Tips:

▪ Be a fan of Providence sports. There are few things these days that universally rally and unite us, but sports still have that mystical power to bring people together. And campus unity is of inestimable value.