The Vanderbilt Commodores are the NCAA athletic teams of Vanderbilt University, located in Nashville, Tennessee. The university fields 16 varsity teams (6 men's teams and 10 women's teams), 14 of which compete in the Southeastern Conference. Vanderbilt is also a member of the American Lacrosse Conference. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA, often said NC-Double-A) is a voluntary association of about 1200 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletics programs of many colleges and universities in the United States. ... Vanderbilt University is a private, nonsectarian, coeducational research university in Nashville, Tennessee. ... Nickname: Location in Davidson County and the state of Tennessee Coordinates: Country United States State Tennessee Counties Davidson County Founded: 1779 Incorporated: 1806 Government  - Mayor Bill Purcell (D) Area  - City  526. ... Official language(s) English Capital Nashville Largest city Memphis Largest metro area Nashville Area  Ranked 36th  - Total 42,169 sq mi (109,247 km²)  - Width 120 miles (195 km)  - Length 440 miles (710 km)  - % water 2. ... The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a college athletic conference headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, which operates in the southeastern part of the United States. ... The American Lacrosse Conference, also known as the ALC, is a NCAA Division I Womens Lacrosse-only college athletic conference whose members are located in the Midwest and East Coast states from Illinois to Florida. ...

Teams

See also: Vanderbilt Commodores football

See also: Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball

The university's varsity teams include: City Nashville, Tennessee Stadium Dudley Field at Vanderbilt Stadium (grass, capacity 40,000) Head Coach Bobby Johnson League/Conference affiliations Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (1895-1921) Southern Conference (1922-1931) Southeastern Conference (1932-present) Eastern Division (1992-present) National Championships (2 disputed) 1906 Billingsley, 1911 Billingsley [1] SIAC Championships (11... The Vanderbilt Commodores basketball team represents Vanderbilt University in the Southeastern Conference. ...

• *No conference affiliation
• **Affiliated with the American Lacrosse Conference

Athletics at Vanderbilt

Vanderbilt is a charter member of the SEC and is the conference's only private school. With approximately 6,400 undergraduates, the school is also the smallest in the conference; University of Mississippi, the next smallest, has nearly twice as many undergraduate students. Vanderbilt therefore fields fewer teams than any of its rivals and sometimes lacks the national prominence enjoyed by schools such as the University of Florida or the University of Kentucky. Men's and women's tennis and men's and women's basketball are traditionally Vanderbilt's strongest sports, with the more recently founded women's lacrosse and bowling programs as well as the long-standing men's baseball program experiencing moderate national success. After enjoying success in the first half of the 20th century, the football program has struggled in more recent times. The University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss, is a public, coeducational research university located in Oxford, Mississippi. ... The University of Florida (commonly referred to as Florida or UF) is a public land-grant, space-grant, research university located in Gainesville, Florida. ... The University of Kentucky, also referred to as UK, is a public, co-educational university located in Lexington, Kentucky. ... For other uses, see Tennis (disambiguation). ... Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five active players each try to score points against one another by throwing a ball through a 10-foot high hoop (the basket) under organized rules. ... The Dive Shot. Lacrosse is a team sport that is played with ten players (mens field), six players (mens box), or twelve players (womens field), each of whom uses a netted stick (the crosse) in order to pass and catch a hard rubber ball with the aim... A bowler releases the ball. ... This article is about the sport. ... City Nashville, Tennessee Stadium Dudley Field at Vanderbilt Stadium (grass, capacity 40,000) Head Coach Bobby Johnson League/Conference affiliations Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (1895-1921) Southern Conference (1922-1931) Southeastern Conference (1932-present) Eastern Division (1992-present) National Championships (2 disputed) 1906 Billingsley, 1911 Billingsley [1] SIAC Championships (11...

Lack of athletic department

Unique in NCAA's Division I, Vanderbilt does not administer intercollegiate athletics separately from other student organizations, but as a part of the university's Division of Student Life, which oversees all student organizations and activities. When the change was instituted in September 2003, Chancellor Gordon Gee cited a need to reform college athletics, returning the emphasis to the student half of student-athletes.

Mascot history

Vanderbilt's intercollegiate athletics teams are nicknamed the Commodores, in honor of the nickname given to Cornelius Vanderbilt, who made his fortune in shipping. Fans often refer to Vanderbilt athletic teams as "Dores" or use the cheer "Go Dores!" Commodore has several meanings: Commodore International is a computer company Commodore 64 and Amiga were home computers Commodore (rank) is a naval rank Commodore (yacht club) is the senior officer of a yacht club The Holden Commodore is a type of car The Opel Commodore is a type of car... Cornelius Vanderbilt Cornelius Vanderbilt I (May 27, 1794 – January 4, 1877), also known by the sobriquets The Commodore [1] [2] or Commodore Vanderbilt [3], was an American entrepreneur who built his wealth in shipping and railroads and was the patriarch of the Vanderbilt family. ...

The term commodore was used by the Navy during the mid- to late-nineteenth century. A commodore was the commanding officer of a task force of ships, and therefore higher in rank than a captain but lower in rank than an admiral. The closest parallel to this now-defunct rank is rear admiral lower-half. (In the Royal Navy, the designation of commodore was applied to the commanding officer of a convoy in the Second World War.) Captain is a rank or title with various meanings. ... For other uses, see Admiral (disambiguation). ... The term Rear Admiral originated from the days of Naval Sailing Squadrons, and can trace its origins to the British Royal Navy. ...

Since the term was used most during the late nineteenth century—and because it was then that Cornelius received his nickname—Vanderbilt's mascot is always portrayed as a naval officer from the 1880s, complete with chops, cutlass, and nineteenth-century naval regalia. Look up chop in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

School colors

The school colors are black and gold. Opinions vary as to the reason for selecting black and gold as the colors for Vanderbilt's teams. Some say the original colors were orange and black, given to the university by Judge W.L. Granbery of Princeton. Others say that Commodore Vanderbilt's legacy was called upon to develop school colors for the university that bears his name: black for the magnate's control of coal and gold for his money. Black cat, thought by some to cause bad luck (see superstition) Black is the shade of objects that do not reflect light in any part of the visible spectrum. ... Old Gold is a dark yellow, which varies from light olive or olive brown to deep or strong yellow. ... Princeton University is a private coeducational research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, in the United States of America. ...

When questioned about the subject in the 1930s, the few remaining members of the school's first football squad from 1890 did not recall why they suddenly began appearing in black and gold. Whatever the source of the colors, by 1892, the Commodores were known by the colors that Vanderbilt fans still wear today.^[1]

Traditions and rivalries

• Rivalries Vanderbilt's primary rival in almost every sport is the University of Tennessee. In addition, a rivalry exists with Ole Miss; the two schools play each other every year as SEC cross-division "permanent opponents." Recently, Wake Forest and Vanderbilt have agreed to a seven-game football series beginning in 2007,^[2] which could potentially lead to a new rival for the Commodores.
• V-U Hand Sign Formed by extending the thumb, index, and middle fingers of the hand, the resulting shape forms a "V" and "U". This is a relatively recent development compared to other Vanderbilt traditions.
• Football gameday traditions Vanderbilt has a number of football traditions: the "Commodore Creed" in the football locker room; the "Corridor of Captains" that honors Vanderbilt's athletics history; the "Star Walk" with fans, cheerleaders, and the Spirit of Gold Marching Band; the "Star V," an on-field formation by the marching band; the "Touchdown Foghorn" from a U.S. Navy battleship that sounds when Vanderbilt scores; "Mr. Commodore," the mascot; and the "Victory Flag" that is raised over Dudley Field after home wins.
• Fight song The Vanderbilt fight song, "Dynamite," was written by student Francis Craig in 1924. The song references the vigor with which Vanderbilt plays and the enthusiasm of the university's fans, who cheer regardless of the outcome of the game.

The University of Tennessee (UT), sometimes called the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UT Knoxville or UTK), is the flagship institution of the statewide land-grant University of Tennessee public university system. ... The University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss, is a public, coeducational research university located in Oxford, Mississippi. ... Wake Forest University is a private, coeducational university located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. ... The Spirit of Gold Marching Band plays Vanderbilts fight song, Dynamite. ...

Recent success

Vanderbilt's athletics programs have seen more success in recent years, and 2006–2007 was one of the best in the school's athletic history. At one point, seven of Vanderbilt's 16 teams were ranked in the Top 25 of their respective sports.^[3] Women's bowling won the NCAA championship, bringing the university its first team championship since the advent of the NCAA.^[4]

Baseball

Vanderbilt's baseball team has enjoyed a great deal of success in recent years. The team qualified for the NCAA Super Regionals in 2004, had the nation's top recruiting class in 2005 according to Baseball America,^[5] made the NCAA field again in 2006, and won the 2007 SEC regular-season and SEC tournament crowns. The Commodores were ranked first in most polls for a large portion of the 2007 season and earned the #1 national seed for the 2007 NCAA tournament. Baseball America is an alternative Major League Baseball resource, with in-depth coverage of every level of the game and a particular focus on up-and-coming players. ... The 2007 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament will be held from June 1st through June 26th, 2007. ...

Facilities

Campus athletic facilities include:

• Vanderbilt Stadium, seating capacity: 40,200
• Memorial Gymnasium, 14,168
• Hawkins Field, 2,000
• Vanderbilt Soccer/Lacrosse Complex, 2,400
• Brownlee O. Currey Jr. Tennis Center.
• Vanderbilt Legends Club of Tennessee (off campus)

Vanderbilt Stadium at Dudley Field is a football stadium located in Nashville, Tennessee. ... Memorial Gymnasium is a multi-purpose facility located in Nashville, Tennessee. ... Hawkins Field is a baseball stadium in Nashville, Tennessee. ...

References