Wheeling Cardinals

Wheeling University competes in NCAA Division II as part of the MEC. It had been a member of the WVIAC from 1957 to 2013. In June 2012, the nine football-playing schools in the WVIAC announced their intention to break away and form a new conference, which then became the MEC.{{cite news |url=http://www.news-register.net/page/content.detail/id/573196/Cards--Toppers-Set-To-Jump-Into-New-League.html?nav=523 |title=Cards, Toppers Set To Jump Into New League |first=Shawn |last=Rine |newspaper=The Intelligencer & Wheeling News Register |location=Wheeling, WV |date=August 20, 2012 |access-date=August 21, 2012 |archive-date=October 3, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131003031915/http://www.news-register.net/page/content.detail/id/573196/Cards--Toppers-Set-To-Jump-Into-New-League.html?nav=523 |url-status=dead }} Although the university was initially left out of the split, it would soon receive an invitation to become a charter member of the new conference.

The university amassed 47 WVIAC titles during its tenure in that conference, and also boasts 40 Academic All-Americans.

Wheeling competes in 19 intercollegiate varsity sports:

File:Van Horne Grandstand.jpg

Rugby, formerly offered as a club sport from 1967 to 1994, was restarted after an 18-year hiatus in December 2011. The university restarted its rugby program in part because the increasing popularity of rugby in Jesuit high schools meant that offering college rugby would be one way to attract more students.Rugby Mag, Wheeling Jesuit Hires Varsity Rugby Coach, Jan 6, 2012, http://www.rugbymag.com/college-news/3052-wheeling-jesuit-hires-varsity-rugby-coach.html The rugby team is a full varsity men's sport and provides scholarships for athletes.Pittsburgh Press, Eric Jerpe named Director of Rugby at Wheeling Jesuit University, http://www.pittsburgh-press.com/article.cfm?id=4201&sport=0&news=1 The university hired Eric Jerpe as the head coach of the program. Jerpe previously held various leadership positions, including with the Pittsburgh Harlequins, as manager of the US U-17 national team, and as a member of the USA Rugby board of directors.{{cite web|url=http://athletics.wju.edu/news/2012/1/9/RUGBY_0109124532.aspx |title=Eric Jerpe named Director of Rugby at Wheeling Jesuit University |date=9 January 2012 |publisher=Wheeling Jesuit University |access-date=March 26, 2012}}

Wheeling played its first rugby sevens tournament in September 2012, where Wheeling finished fourth in the MAC Sevens despite fielding a team composed entirely of freshmen.Rugby Mag, First Run-Out for Wheeling Jesuit, Sep 1, 2012, http://www.rugbymag.com/men's-di-college/5675-first-run-out-for-wheeling-jesuit.html Wheeling notched its first win in fifteens on September 8, 2012, when Wheeling defeated the West Virginia Mountaineers 10–6 at home in front of a large crowd at James Larosa Stadium.Rugby Mag, Wheeling Wins Varsity Opener in Dramatic Fashion, Sep 8, 2012, http://www.rugbymag.com/men's-di-college/5712-wheeling-wins-varsity-opener-dramatic-fashion.html

The program elevated to the Division 1-A Rugby and joined Rugby East starting in the 2014 season. Governed by USA Rugby, DI-A is the highest level of men's college rugby in the United States and is administered by USA Rugby.{{cite news |last1=Clifton |first1=Pat |title=Changes Coming To DI-A |url=https://www.rugbytoday.com/college/changes-coming-di |access-date=13 February 2020 |publisher=Rugby Magazine |date=July 23, 2013}} Wheeling reached a program-high ranking during the 2015 season when the Cardinals finished 18th in the nation.[http://www.rugbytoday.com/rankings/college-top-25-may-14-2015 "College Top 25, May 14, 2015"], Rugby Today, Pat Clifton. The team did not play a D-IA schedule during the 2019–20 season, instead the Cardinals played an independent schedule.{{cite news |last1=Goff |first1=Alex |title=The Rugby East Sets Fall 2019 Schedule |url=https://www.goffrugbyreport.com/news/rugby-east-sets-fall-2019-schedule |access-date=13 February 2020 |publisher=Rugby Report |date=August 23, 2019}}

The lady Cardinals captured the school's very first NCAA Division II National Championship on Dec. 12, 2015. The team's record for the 2015 season was 39–4.

In 2019, Wheeling University reinstated its men's and women's swimming and diving programs, along with lacrosse, men's golf, and competitive cheer.{{cite news |last1=Anderson |first1=Jared |title=WheelingUniversity In West Virginia Reinstates Swim Program, Hires Head Coach |url=https://swimswam.com/wheeling-jesuit-quietly-cuts-swimming-diving-programs/ |access-date=13 February 2020 |publisher=SwimSwam.com |date=August 14, 2017}} The university dropped the program in 2017.{{cite news |last1=Keith |first1=Braden |title=Wheeling Jesuit Quietly Cuts Swimming Diving Programs |url=https://swimswam.com/wheeling-university-in-west-virginia-reinstates-swim-program-hires-head-coach/ |access-date=13 February 2020 |publisher=SwimSwam.com |date=October 19, 2019}}

Cardinals swimming program won three-straight WVIAC titles in men's competition from 2000 to 2002 and won the WVIAC women's swimming championship. In 1998, Zoran Lazarovski won the university's only NCAA championship in the 200-yard butterfly individual event, finishing the race in 1:48.26, at the 1998 NCAA Division II Swimming and Diving Championships.{{cite web|title=Division II All-Time Championship Records and Results|url=http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/swimming_champs_records/2013-14/2013md2_swim.pdf|publisher=NCAA|access-date=17 December 2013|date=2013}} As teams, the women's team finished 16th in 1998 while the men's reached a program-high 14th in the 2000 event.

{{Main|Wheeling Cardinals football}}

In 2017 the athletic department announced that the university would be adding football with an exhibition schedule in 2018. Zac Bruney the offensive coordinator at Ohio Dominican University was named the program's first head coach on July 7, 2017.{{Cite web|url=http://athletics.wju.edu/news/2017/6/20/general-wheeling-jesuit-university-to-launch-football-program.aspx|title=Wheeling Jesuit University to Launch Football Program|website=Wheeling Jesuit University|date=20 June 2017 |language=en|access-date=2018-02-16}}{{Cite web|url=http://athletics.wju.edu/news/2017/7/17/general-wju-tackles-coaching-selection-names-martins-ferry-native-zac-bruney-football-coach.aspx|title=WJU Tackles Coaching Selection – Names Martins Ferry Native Zac Bruney Football Coach|website=Wheeling Jesuit University|date=17 July 2017 |language=en|access-date=2018-02-16}} Team began play during the 2019 season and recorded their first win on November 16, 2019, with a 27–20 victory at Concord University. The Cardinals finished the inaugural season with a 1–10 overall record.{{cite news |last1=Bone |first1=Tom |title=Wheeling picks up first football win in Concord's season finale |url=https://www.bdtonline.com/sports/wheeling-picks-up-first-football-win-in-concord-s-season/article_3c145b60-08f5-11ea-be2c-a348c4e570f0.html |access-date=13 February 2020 |publisher=Bluefield Daily Telegraph |date=November 16, 2019}}

In January 2013, athletic director Danny Sancomb announced that Wheeling would be adding wrestling at the school's 20th intercollegiate sport.{{Cite web|url=https://wucardinals.com/news/2012/12/21/Wrestling_1221123637.aspx|title=Wheeling Jesuit Athletics Expands to 20 NCAA Division II Varsity Athletic Programs|website=Wheeling University Athletics|date=21 December 2012 }} Wheeling native and Cornell graduate, Sean Doyle was hired to build the program to compete in the fall of 2013.{{Cite web|url=https://wucardinals.com/news/2012/12/21/Wrestling_1221123402.aspx|title=Sean Doyle Selected to Lead Inaugural Wrestling Program at Wheeling Jesuit University|website=Wheeling University Athletics|date=21 December 2012 }} All-American wrestler JD Ramsey was hired as a Graduate Assistant, while Matt Littleton and BJ Hedger were hired to serve as volunteer assistants in the first year. The first recruiting class of 29, includes wrestlers from 7 different states and the team will compete as an NCAA Division II program immediately.{{Cite web|url=https://wucardinals.com/news/2013/8/12/GEN_0812135753.aspx|title=Building Of A Program|first=Times|last=Leader|website=Wheeling University Athletics|date=2 August 2013 }} The university has designed a new wrestling facility, which was ready for use in the fall of 2013. The program was positioned to become competitive in a short period of time.{{Cite web|url=https://wucardinals.com/news/2013/7/26/Wrestling_0726133103.aspx|title=Wheeling Jesuit Wrestling Room Shaping Up|website=Wheeling University Athletics|date=26 July 2013 }} The program's success was short-lived when the program was not sponsored for the 2019–20 season after a mass exodus of the roster that coincided with significant cuts to other departments at the university due to on-going financial issues and restructuring from the Jesuits.{{cite news |last1=Olson |first1=Alan |title=Faculty: WJU to remain open 'in name only' |url=https://www.weirtondailytimes.com/news/local-news/2019/04/faculty-wju-to-remain-open-in-name-only/ |access-date=13 February 2020 |publisher=Weirton Daily Times |date=April 1, 2019}}

In May 2020, August Wesley was named as the third head coach in the history of the program and began to rebuild the program to fully compete in the 2020–21 season.{{Cite web|url=https://www.theintelligencer.net/sports/top-sports/2020/05/wesley-named-wu-mat-coach|title=Wesley Named WU Mat Coach|website=The Intelligencer}}

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