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UNC Greensboro Spartans
University	University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Conference	Southern Conference
NCAA	Division I
Athletic director	Brian Mackin
Location	Greensboro, North Carolina
Varsity teams	17
Football stadium	N/A
Basketball arena	Fleming Gymnasium
Baseball stadium	UNCG Baseball Stadium
Soccer stadium	UNCG Soccer Stadium
Mascot	"Spiro" the Spartan
Nickname	Spartans
Colors	Navy, white, and gold [1]
Website	www.uncgspartans.com

The UNC Greensboro Spartans are the athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in Greensboro, North Carolina. They compete in the Southern Conference in all sports.

History

The intercollegiate athletics program at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) reaches as far back as the late 1940s during the days of the WCUNC, with students participating in national golf tournaments in 1948 and the school hosting the national tournaments for women's golf (1954) and tennis (1965). During the 1980s, all Spartan teams competed in Division III (non-scholarship) and then Division II (scholarship) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and all teams have competed in Division I since Fall 1991. UNCG is a three-time winner of the Big South's Sasser Cup.

Teams

UNC Greensboro (UNCG) is a member of the Southern Conference and sponsors teams in eight men's and nine women's NCAA sanctioned sports: ^[3]

Men's Sports:

• Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Golf, Soccer, Tennis, Track

Women's Sports:

• Basketball, Cross Country, Soccer, Softball, Tennis, Track, Volleyball

Although not considered official sports teams, the Athletic Department also includes the UNCG Cheerleading Squad and the UNCG Dance Team, the Spartan Gs. UNCG has a club football team, which competes in the South Atlantic Conference of the National Club Football Association.

National Championships

UNCG has won five national championships. All five were won while at the Division III level of the NCAA.

• Men's Soccer – 1982*, 1983*, 1985*, 1986*, 1987*

(*) NCAA Division III

Achievements

Baseball

Brian Moehler played at UNCG from 1991-1994 and was selected in the sixth round of the 1993 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft. Moehler played 13 seasons of Major League Baseball and was inducted into the UNCG Athletic Hall of Fame in 2005.

Danny Valencia played third base at UNCG and was the 2004 Southern Conference Freshman of the Year, and was voted second-team All-Conference. ^[4]

On April 18, 2006, UNCG earned its first win over a top-ranked team in any sport during the university's Division I era. The baseball team defeated top-ranked North Carolina, 7–6, in front of a crowd of 1,835.

On February 20, 2024, UNCG beat No.1 Wake Forest, 4-3. On March 12, 2024, UNCG beat No.13 NC State, 18-3.

The baseball team plays its home games at UNCG Baseball Stadium.

• 1998: SoCon Regular Season Champions.
• 2017: SoCon Tournament Champions.
• 2018: SoCon Regular Season Champions.
• 2022: SoCon Tournament Champions.
• 2024: SoCon Regular Season Champions.

Men's Basketball

On March 2, 1996, UNCG knocked off Liberty, 79–53, to claim the Big South Tournament Championship and advance to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in Division I. The Spartans lost to Cincinnati in the NCAA Tournament, 66–61. The five seniors from the team had their numbers honored. Scott Hartzell finished his career as the men's basketball's all-time leading scorer with 1,539.

On March 4, 2001, UNCG Men's Basketball won its first Southern Conference Championship on David Schuck's buzzer-beating layup. The team went on to play top-ranked Stanford in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, its second trip to the "Big Dance" in five years. Guard Nathan Jameson was named first-team Verizon Academic All-America.

On December 31, 2005, UNCG hosted top-ranked Duke at the Greensboro Coliseum in front of a record crowd of 21,124. The near capacity crowd was the largest to ever see a UNCG athletic event.

On November 9, 2007, UNCG had their first win against an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent when they beat Georgia Tech at Alexander Memorial Coliseum, 83-74.

On December 5, 2008, it was announced that UNCG would be moving their home games to the Greensboro Coliseum for the 2009–2010 season.

On March 5, 2018, UNCG beat ETSU to win the Southern Conference Tournament Championship to secure an NCAA Tournament bid, 62-47. On March 15, 2018, UNCG played Gonzaga in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament.

On March 8, 2021, UNCG beat Mercer to win the Southern Conference Tournament Championship to secure an NCAA Tournament bid, 69-61. On March 20, 2021 UNCG played Florida State in the first round of the NCAA tournament and lost 54-64.

On November 17, 2023, UNCG beat No.14 ranked Arkansas in Bud Walton Arena, 78-72. The upset was UNCG's first win over a Top 25 team and the first Southeastern Conference (SEC) win in UNCG program history.

• 1996: NCAA Tournament Appearance.
• 2001: NCAA Tournament Appearance.
• 2002: SoCon Regular Season Champions.
• 2012: SoCon Regular Season Champions.
• 2017: SoCon Regular Season Champions.
• 2018: SoCon Regular Season Champions and SoCon Tournament Champions. NCAA Tournament Appearance.
• 2021: SoCon Regular Season Champions and SoCon Tournament Champions. NCAA Tournament Appearance.

Women's Basketball

In December 2005, UNCG's women's basketball program enjoyed two of its greatest non-conference wins since moving to the Division I level. In a 12-day span, UNCG knocked off Big East foe West Virginia at home and ACC member Wake Forest on the road. It was UNCG's first-ever win over a Big East school and the program's first victory over Wake Forest since 1977.

In March 2006, the UNCG women's basketball team made its first SoCon Tournament title game appearance since 2002. The Spartans rallied from nearly all of a 21-point deficit, closing to within three in the final four minutes. However, Chattanooga pulled away late for a 91–79 win.

• 1998: SoCon Tournament Champions. NCAA Tournament Appearance.
• 1999: SoCon Regular Season Champions.
• 2002: SoCon Regular Season Champions. WNIT Appearance.
• 2017: WBI Appearance.
• 2024: WNIT Appearance.

Men's Golf

• 2007: Individual SoCon Championship.
• 2015: Team SoCon Champions.
• 2017: Individual SoCon Championship.
• 2018: Individual SoCon Championship and Team SoCon Champions.
• 2019: Individual SoCon Championship and Team SoCon Champions.

Men's Soccer

In 1989 the Spartans were defeated in the NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship by New Hampshire College (now Southern New Hampshire University). This would be the Spartans' only appearance in the Division II championship.

In 1991 the UNCG Soccer Stadium, a $3.6 million facility, opened for its first game on September 7, as the men's team defeated Campbell, 3–1. Four days later, the Spartans stunned No. 2 NC State, 2–1.

In 2004 UNCG was ranked #1 in the country for 11 weeks. The season ended with a loss in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament to UC-Santa Barbara in overtime, 0-1.

In 2005 UNCG advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament and lost to SMU, 1-3.

In 2006 UNCG 2006 advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament and lost to Northwestern, 1–2.

In 2008 UNCG went into the SoCon Tournament as the #7 seed and were the lowest seed to win the SoCon Soccer Tournament Championship. During their unbelievable run, the Spartans knocked off Duke in the first round of the NCAA tournament, Loyola (MD) in overtime in the second round, and were the first team to make it to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament with a losing record.

In 2022 on November 20, 2022 UNCG played Ohio State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament and won in penalty kicks, 6-5. On November 27, 2022 UNCG played No.5 Stanford in the third round of the NCAA Tournament and won in penalty kicks, 3-1. On December 3, 2022 UNCG played No.13 Indiana in the Elite 8 and lost 0-2. After the season, UNCG Midfielder and 2022 SoCon Player of the Year J.C. Ngando was picked fifth overall in the 2023 MLS SuperDraft and signed with the Vancouver Whitecaps FC.

• 1997: SoCon Regular Season Champions.
• 1998: SoCon Regular Season Champions and SoCon Tournament Champions.
• 2004: SoCon Regular Season Champions.
• 2005: SoCon Regular Season Champions and SoCon Tournament Champions.
• 2006: SoCon Regular Season Champions and SoCon Tournament Champions.
• 2008: SoCon Tournament Champions.
• 2010: SoCon Regular Season Champions and SoCon Tournament Champions.
• 2011: SoCon Regular Season Champions.
• 2019: SoCon Regular Season Champions.
• 2020: SoCon Tournament Champions.
• 2021: SoCon Regular Season Champions.
• 2022: SoCon Regular Season Champions and SoCon Tournament Champions.

Women's Soccer

• 1997: SoCon Regular Season Champions and SoCon Tournament Champions.
• 1998: SoCon Regular Season Champions and SoCon Tournament Champions.
• 2000: SoCon Tournament Champions.
• 2001: SoCon Regular Season Champions and SoCon Tournament Champions.
• 2004: SoCon Regular Season Champions.
• 2006: SoCon Regular Season Champions and SoCon Tournament Champions.
• 2007: SoCon Regular Season Champions and SoCon Tournament Runner up.
• 2008: SoCon Regular Season Champions and SoCon Tournament Runner up.
• 2017: SoCon Tournament Champions.
• 2018: SoCon Tournament Champions.

Softball

• 2017: SoCon Regular Season Champions.
• 2018: SoCon Regular Season Champions and SoCon Tournament Champions.
• 2019: SoCon Regular Season Champions.
• 2021: SoCon Regular Season Champions and SoCon Tournament Champions.
• 2022: SoCon Regular Season Champions.
• 2023: SoCon Regular Season Champions and SoCon Tournament Champions.

Volleyball

• 2021: SoCon Regular Season Champions.

Hall of Fame

The university established the UNCG Athletics Hall of Fame in 2000. The Hall of Fame honors those athletes, coaches, and people whose outstanding contributions have enriched the athletic programs of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Athletic Director

• Nelson E. Bobb (1983–2009)
• Kim Record (2009–2021)
• Brian Mackin (2022–present)

References

External links

• Official website