Springfield College

Founded in 1885, as the Young Men's Christian Association department of the School for Christian Workers in Springfield, the school originally specialized in preparing young men to become General Secretaries of YMCA organizations in a two-year program. In 1887, it added a Physical Education department. In 1890, it separated from the School for Christian Workers and became the YMCA Training School and in 1891, the International Young Men's Christian Association Training School.

In 1905, the school became a degree-granting institution.Glenn T. Miller, Piety and Profession: American Protestant Theological Education, 1870–1970, 2007. {{ISBN|0-8028-2946-5}}, p. 289 In 1912, it took the name International YMCA College and in 1954, Springfield College.{{cite web|url=http://springfield.edu/about/springfield-college-history|title=Springfield College History | website=Springfield College |access-date=14 November 2017}}

Since 1999, the institutional archives have included archival material from the Society of Health and Physical Educators and some of its affiliates, including the papers of their leaders.{{Cite web|title=Springfield College - SHAPE Archives|url=https://springfield.edu/archives/shape-america-archieves|website=Springfield College}}

Springfield College has had 13 leaders:{{Cite web|last=Martel|first=Alli|title=Library Services: College History: College History|url=https://library.springfield.edu/college-history/college-history|access-date=2021-04-26|website=library.springfield.edu|language=en}}

Springfield College offers bachelor's degrees in more than 40 majors, 25-plus master's degrees, and doctoral programs in counseling psychology, educational leadership, medical science, physical therapy, physical education and more. The institution is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE).{{cite web|date=2020|title=New England Commission of Higher Education - Springfield College|url=https://www.neche.org/institution/springfield-college/|website=New England Commission of Higher Education}}

The institution comprises three schools:{{Cite web|title=Springfield College - Academics|url=https://springfield.edu/academics|website=Springfield College}}

• School of Arts and Sciences{{Cite web |title=Springfield College - School of Arts and Sciences |url=https://springfield.edu/school-of-arts-and-sciences |website=Springfield College - School of Arts and Sciences}}
• School of Physical Education, Performance, and Sport Leadership:{{Cite web|title=Springfield College - School of Physical Education, Performance, and Sport Leadership|url=https://springfield.edu/school-of-physical-education-performance-and-sport-leadership|website=Springfield College}} This school incorporates the Springfield College East Campus Outdoor Learning Center.
• School of Health Sciences:{{Cite web |date= |title=Springfield College School Of Health Sciences |url=https://springfield.edu/school-of-health-sciences |website=Springfield College - School of Health Sciences}} The school is a member of the College of Health Deans.{{Cite web |title=COLLEGE OF HEALTH DEANS |url=https://www.cohd.org/directory/springfield-college?rq=Springfield%20College |website=COLLEGE OF HEALTH DEANS}}

Springfield College also offers bachelor's degree completion programs and master's degrees in business, education, counseling and more, that are geared toward working adult students at its main campus, and online.{{Cite web |title=Academics |url=https://springfield.edu/academics |website=Springfield College Academics}}

The campus of Springfield College is located in Springfield, Massachusetts. The main campus spans {{convert|100|acre}} and contains ten residence halls, recreational and fitness facilities, science and academic facilities, a performing arts center, and the Flynn Campus Union, which includes a food court, activity and lounge space, and bookstore.{{cite web |date=2011-06-01 |title=Campus Union Student Activities |url=https://springfield.edu/student-life/campus-union-student-activities |access-date=2015-09-27 |publisher=Springfield College}}

In fall 2023, Springfield College opened a new Health Sciences Center, which facilitates, expands on, and celebrates interprofessional education. Inside the four floors of the 86,000-square-foot building, simulation, anatomy, pediatrics lab, and makerspace environments enhance interdisciplinary collaboration as does expanded meeting space. {{cite web |url=https://springfield.edu/academics/health-science-center |title=Health Sciences Center | publisher=Springfield College }}

Springfield College's East Campus, which encompasses {{convert|57|acre}} of forest ecosystem, is located about one mile from the main campus.{{cite web |url=http://www.springfield.edu/east-campus |title=East Campus | publisher=Springfield College |access-date=2015-09-27}} This location provides rustic facilities for conferences and meetings, and space for outdoor research and recreation. East Campus is also home to the Springfield College Child Development Center, which provides early education services for children of members of the faculty and staff, students, and families in the community.

File:Springfield logo from NCAA.svg

Springfield College's athletic teams have been known since 1995 as the Pride;{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/39813542/freedom_conference/ |title=Freedom Conference |newspaper=The Boston Globe |page=43 |date=August 25, 1995 |access-date=November 29, 2010 |via=newspapers.com}} the teams were nicknamed the Chiefs from 1968 through 1994, and prior to that were known as the Gymnasts or Maroons. The institution is a member of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III and most teams compete in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC). Springfield's football team joined the NEWMAC when it began sponsoring football in 2017. The men's soccer, men's golf, cross country and gymnastics teams are affiliate members of the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC). The men's volleyball team competes as an independent.

File:Springfield college gymnasium c 1887.jpg

Springfield College is known as the "Birthplace of Basketball",{{Cite web |title=Where Basketball was Invented: The History of Basketball |url=https://springfield.edu/about/birthplace-of-basketball |website=Springfield College}} a game created by alumnus and faculty member James Naismith under the founding head of the Physical Education department Luther Gulick Jr. in 1891. Gulick is in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame,{{cite web |title=Luther H. Gulick |work=Basketball Hall of Fame profile |url=http://www.hoophall.com/hall-of-famers/tag/luther-h-gulick |access-date=May 9, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090831072446/http://www.hoophall.com/hall-of-famers/tag/luther-h-gulick |archive-date=August 31, 2009 }} which is named for Naismith and located in Springfield to honor the location of its invention.{{cite web |title=James Naismith |work=Basketball Hall of Fame profile |url=http://www.hoophall.com/hall-of-famers/tag/james-naismith |access-date=May 9, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130319212618/http://www.hoophall.com/hall-of-famers/tag/james-naismith |archive-date=March 19, 2013 }}see also History of Basketball

Alumnus William G. Morgan invented the game of volleyball.{{cite web |title=William G. Morgan (1870-1942) inventor of the game of volleyball |work=Volleyball World Wide web site |url=http://www.volleyball.org/wmorgan.html |access-date=May 9, 2010 |archive-date=December 26, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101226223431/http://www.volleyball.org/wmorgan.html |url-status=dead }}

Stagg Field serves as the institution's main athletic field; it was named after former coach, Amos Alonzo Stagg who briefly coached Springfield and went on to play a pivotal role in the development of modern football.

On October 19, 2017, Springfield College unveiled a one-of-a-kind intercollegiate and adaptive baseball field that resulted from a partnership between Springfield College and the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation. On that day, Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Cal Ripken, Jr. joined Springfield College President Mary-Beth Cooper for a ribbon-cutting ceremony on the new field. The name of the baseball field was changed from Berry-Allen Field to the Archie Allen Field. {{Cite web |title=Springfield College and Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation Partnership Results in One-of-a-kind Intercollegiate and Adaptive Baseball Field |url=https://springfield.edu/news/springfield-college-and-cal-ripken-sr-foundation-partnership-results-one-kind-intercollegiate |website=Springfield College News}}

The Springfield softball team appeared in one Women's College World Series in 1977.{{cite book|title=A Series Of Their Own: History Of The Women's College World Series|first1=William|last1=Plummer|first2=Larry C.|last2=Floyd|year=2013 |publisher=Turnkey Communications Inc.|location=Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States|isbn=978-0-9893007-0-4}}

The Springfield College women's gymnastics team won the first intercollegiate national championship in 1969 and three of the first four (1971 and 1972).

In 1940, Springfield was one of eight teams to make the 1940 NCAA basketball tournament, losing to eventual champion Indiana 48–24 in the regional semifinals held at Butler Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana.

In 2006 and 2007, the institution hosted the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Final Four.

The men's volleyball team has six non-NCAA national titles in the now-defunct Molten Invitational championship, an event for NCAA Division III schools that ran from 1997 through 2011, and also won the first three NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball Championships in 2012 through 2014. All nine championships were won under Head Coach Charlie Sullivan. The Pride followed up with two more national championships in 2016 through 2018. Ten of the 11 championships were won under Head Coach Charlie Sullivan.

The Springfield College women's basketball team of 2004–2005, made the Elite Eight of the NCAA Division III basketball tournament. Springfield earned its second-ever at-large bid to the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament in February 2024 and made its eighth appearance in the national tournament to cap off the 2023–24 season. At the end of that season, Head Coach Naomi Graves and her staff were chosen as the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Coaching Staff of the Year.

Women's basketball has won several conference tournament championships, including the season of 2006. The 2023–24 team competed in the first round of the NCAA Division III championship.

Springfield College graduates Rusty Jones G '86 and Jon Torine '95 participated in Super Bowl XLI as the Head Strength and Conditioning coaches of the Chicago Bears and Indianapolis Colts, respectively.{{cite press release |title=Three Springfield College Grads in Sunday's Super Bowl XLI |date=January 30, 2007 |publisher=Springfield College |url=http://www.spfldcol.edu/homepage/athletics.nsf/websearch/F3CF9A9DD651D9C085257273005420A3 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070228192252/http://www.spfldcol.edu/homepage/athletics.nsf/websearch/F3CF9A9DD651D9C085257273005420A3 |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 28, 2007 }} Steve Spagnuolo ’82 has served as a defensive coordinator six times in the Super Bowl with the Kansas City Chiefs and New York Giants, and three of those games resulted in Super Bowl victories.

The Springfield College women's field hockey team has won the NEWMAC (New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference) title for five consecutive years (2004–2008), and competed in the NCAA Division III tournament in those five years as well.

The men's lacrosse team won six straight titles (2008–2013) in the now-defunct Pilgrim Lacrosse League, which has since been absorbed by the NEWMAC.

Springfield's women's swimming and diving team has won the NEWMAC Conference title for ten consecutive years (2001–2010) in the Division III Conference.

Springfield's men's soccer team were voted National College Champions by the Intercollegiate Soccer Football Association in 1946, 1947 and 1957. This was before the NCAA championship soccer tournament in 1959.

{{Infobox US university ranking

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| USNWR_NU = 216

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| Wamo_NU = 366

}}

U.S. News & World Report ranked Springfield College #26 for Best Regional Universities—North Region for 2021,{{Cite web|date=2021|title=U.S. News & World Report - Regional Universities North|url=https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/springfield-college-2211/overall-rankings|website=U.S. News & World Report}} the sixth consecutive year that it has been in the top 30.{{Cite web|date=September 14, 2020|title=Springfield College Ranked in Top Tier of U.S.News Rankings in Best Regional Universities – North Region|url=https://springfield.edu/news/springfield-college-ranked-top-tier-usnews-rankings-best-regional-universities-north-region|website=Springfield College - News}} U.S. News also ranked Springfield College #18 among Best Value Schools for Regional Universities—North, the school's fifth consecutive year on the list.

Springfield College was the recipient of the 2016 Presidential Award in the education category of the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll. This honor is the highest federal recognition a college or university can receive for its commitment to volunteering, service-learning, and civic engagement.{{cite web |url=http://springfield.edu/news/springfield-college-honored-recipient-highest-presidents-higher-education-community-service |title=Springfield College Award |publisher=springfield.edu |access-date=2016-09-19}}

In 2015, the institution successfully for an optional community engagement classification in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.{{cite web|url=http://www.springfieldcollege.edu/sc-news/springfield-college-receives-community-engagement-classification-by-carnegie-foundation#.VLAHsWTF8Vh|title=Springfield College Receives Community Engagement Classification by Carnegie Foundation|publisher=Springfield College|access-date=2015-09-27|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402103821/http://www.springfieldcollege.edu/sc-news/springfield-college-receives-community-engagement-classification-by-carnegie-foundation#.VLAHsWTF8Vh|archive-date=2015-04-02}}

Springfield College was named a 2016–17 College of Distinction for providing an innovative, teacher-centered undergraduate education with a strong record of preparing its graduates for real-world success.{{cite web|author=Colleges of Distinction |url=http://springfield.edu/news/springfield-college-earns-national-recognition-college-distinction |title=All |date=August 29, 2016 |publisher=Colleges of Distinction |access-date=2016-09-19}}

• Harold Amos, microbiologist and professor
• Rocky Aoki, founder of Benihana
• Peter Avdoulos, All-American diver who coached the Springfield College diving team for two decades, leading them to seven national championships{{cite web |title=Springfield College Men's Swimming and Diving, Peter Avdoulos|url= https://springfieldcollegepride.com/sports/mens-swimming-and-diving/roster/coaches/peter-avdoulos/449|website=springfieldcollegepride.com}}
• Mark Banker, safeties coach for the Washington State Cougars football team
• Stanley F. Battle, American educator, author, civic activist, and former leader of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Coppin State University and Southern Connecticut State University, 1973
• Marilyn Bevans, the first Black American female to earn a medal at the Boston Marathon (1977)
• Vaughn Blanchard, 1912 Olympian in Track and Field and Baseball
• Rick Blangiardi, 15th mayor of Honolulu and former television executive
• Jeff Blatnick, 1984 Olympic gold medalist in Greco-Roman wrestling, 2015 UFC Hall of Fame inductee{{cite web|url=http://www.ufc.com/news/2015-HallOfFame-Profile-Jeff-Blatnick?id=|title=2015 HOF Profile - Jeff Blatnick|access-date=14 November 2017}}
• Roscoe Brown, flew 68 missions as part of the Tuskegee Airmen
• Raymond Castellani, actor, activist on Los Angeles' Skid Row
• John Cena, professional wrestler and actor
• J. Howard Crocker, Canadian YMCA educator, and sports executive for the Amateur Athletic Union of Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee; granted an honorary master's degree in physical education in 1916 for work in China and establishing the Far Eastern Championship Games{{cite news|title=Athletic Director Leaving in June; Dewar Successor|last=Byrnes|first=Bruce|date=April 11, 1947|newspaper=UWO Gazette|location=London, Ontario|page=1}}; {{cite news|title=Athletic Director (Continued from Page 1)|last=Byrnes|first=Bruce|date=April 11, 1947|newspaper=UWO Gazette|location=London, Ontario|page=3}}
• Nancy Darsch, women's basketball coach in college, the WNBA, and the Olympics
• Tony DiCicco, head coach of USA Women's Soccer National Team 1994–1999, coach of the FIFA Women's Soccer 1999 Championship Team
• W. Dean Eastman, educator (graduate assistant track coach 1974–76, MSE 1976, CAGS 1977)
• John Forslund, TV play-by-play announcer for the Seattle Kraken of the NHL
• Richard F. Garber, Hall of Fame college lacrosse coach
• Nancy E. Gary, dean of Albany Medical College and executive vice president of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and dean of its F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine.
• Dave Gettleman, pro football executive, general manager of the New York Giants
• Wayne Granger, former Major League Baseball relief pitcher and National League saves leader in 1970
• Sally M. Hage, professor of psychology
• Charles Hapgood, professor of history, originator of the pseudoscientific cataclysmic pole shift hypothesis
• Don Ho, Hawaiian musician and entertainer (attended for one year)
• Dan Hunt, head football coach at Colgate University, 2014–2021
• Rusty Jones, strength and conditioning coach for the Chicago Bears
• Peter V. Karpovich, professor of physiology (1927–1947), director of health education (1947–1955), research professor of physiology (1955–1969);{{Cite web|title="The Conversion of Dr. Peter Karpovich"|url=https://starkcenter.org/igh/igh-v8/igh-v8-n4/igh0804c.pdf|website=starkcenter.org}} founder of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM).{{Cite web|title="Springfield College Hosts 2019 Peter V. Karpovich Lecture"|url=https://springfield.edu/news/springfield-college-hosts-2019-peter-v-karpovich-lecture|website=springfield.edu/|date=October 16, 2019 }}
• Leslie Mann, Major League Baseball outfielder and founder of the International Baseball Federation
• William G. Morgan, inventor of volleyball.
• James Naismith, Canadian faculty member, invented basketball while teaching at the college in 1891
• Max Nacewicz, professional football player
• Erin Pac, bronze medal winner in bobsled at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics
• Boris Pash, commanded the Alsos Mission during World War II
• Lee Patton, legendary basketball coach who launched WVU's golden age of basketball. His record of successive home wins there remains unbroken.
• Fernando Picó, historian, expert on the history of Puerto Rico{{cite news |first=Ismael|last=Torres |title=Puerto Rican historian Fernando Picó dies at 75 |url=http://caribbeanbusiness.com/puerto-rican-historian-fernando-pico-dies-at-75/ |work=Caribbean Business |date=2017-06-27 |access-date=2017-07-17}}
• Albert I. Prettyman, head coach of the United States Hockey Team at the Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
• John Quinlan, model and actor, former professional wrestler
• Manuel Rivera-Ortiz, documentary photographer; attended classes at Springfield College as part of the Massachusetts Migrant Education summer program, where he was offered his first courses in photography and film development.
• Angela Salem, professional soccer player and coach{{Cite news |url=https://scstudentmedia.com/angela-salem-a-professional-mindset/ |title=Angela Salem: A professional mindset |last=Rhim |first=Kristian |date=October 22, 2017 |work=The Springfield Student |access-date=July 13, 2023 |language=en-US}}
• Ted Shawn, adjunct faculty, 1932–1933; founder of the Denishawn Dance School and Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival and a key figure in establishing male modern dance
• Craig Shirley, political consultant and author, associated with Ronald Reagan
• Justine Siegal, baseball coach and sports educator
• Charles Silvia, International Hall of Fame swimming coach, Springfield College All-American swimmer and 1934 alumni who coached Springfield College swimming from 1937–1978, winning ten New England Interscholastic Team Championships.{{cite web|url=https://swimmingcoach.org/page/HOFcharlessilvia/|title=American Swimming Coaches Hall of Fame, Charles Silvia|publisher=SwimSwam|access-date=18 June 2023}}
• Stacy Sims, exercise physiologist, nutrition scientist, author, and women's health and fitness advocate.
• Steve Spagnuolo, former head coach of the National Football League's St. Louis Rams
• Amos Alonzo Stagg, head football coach, 1890–1891; later head of multiple national champion teams at the University of Chicago{{Cite web|title=SHAPE America - A Brief History of the Midwest District|url=https://www.shapeamerica.org/about/districts/midwest/History.aspx|website=shapeamerica.org}}
• Sue Thomas, the first deaf person to work as an undercover specialist doing lip-reading of suspects for the Federal Bureau of Investigation
• Tom Waddell, physician and founder of the Gay Games
• Glenn Warner, president of National Soccer Coaches Association of America in 1953, head coach of the Naval Academy's men's soccer team from 1942 to 1975
• Scotty Whitelaw, former Commissioner of the Eastern College Athletic Conference
• Mike Woicik, football coach (1978–79) and strength and conditioning coach for several professional football teams
• Bill Yorzyk, physician and only USA swimming gold medalist in 1956 Olympics, 200 m butterfly

{{Reflist}}

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• {{Official website}}
• [https://springfieldcollegepride.com/ Athletics website]

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Category:Universities and colleges founded by the YMCA

Category:Universities and colleges in Springfield, Massachusetts

Category:Universities and colleges established in 1885

Category:1885 establishments in Massachusetts

Category:Private universities and colleges in Massachusetts