The Denver Pioneers are the sports teams of the University of Denver. They play in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I, with most teams participating in the Sun Belt Conference. DU's athletic teams are known as the Pioneers and have been fielding intercollegiate teams since 1867. With over 200 All Americans, 27 NCAA Championships and 53 Olympians in its history, there is a long tradition of excellence in Pioneer sports. Today, DU operates a full NCAA Division I athletic program with a unique and successful mix of sports in and around the $75 million Daniel Ritchie Center for Sports and Wellness, which was completed in 2000. In 2008, Denver was 47th overall in the NACDA Director's Cup, which ranks NCAA programs on total athletic program achievement, and was first among NCAA D-I schools without football programs (D-I AAA). Sports Illustrated ranked the DU program 23rd in the nation in 2008 among all schools. Denver is a member of the Sun Belt Conference for Men's and Women's Basketball, Swimming, Tennis and Golf, as well as Women's Volleyball and Women's Soccer. The other Denver teams play in various conferences in the sports that are not sponsored by the Sun Belt. Men's Ice Hockey plays in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, Men's Soccer and Women's Lacrosse play in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, Men's and Women's Skiing competes in the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association, while Men's Lacrosse plays in the Great Western Lacrosse League and will play in the ECAC beginning in 2010. Women's Gymnastics competes as an Independent. It is no secret that Denver would prefer to play the majority of its sports in a more appropriate regional conference. The West Coast Conference is often cited as Denver's preferred conference destination, given the WCC schools are also smaller private schools that also do not have big-time football. Other possible conferences that are mentioned for Denver include the Mountain West Conference, the Western Athletic Conference and the Big Sky Conference. However, those three conferences are football-driven, and Denver would need to be admitted as a restricted member (if those possibilities were ever to materialize). Until something new happens, Denver will stay as a Sun Belt member.

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Ice hockey

Ice hockey is DU's flagship spectator sport, regularly selling out the new 6,000 seat Magness Arena on campus, the showpiece of the Ritchie Center for Sports and Wellness. DU's Men's Hockey Program has been playing NCAA Division I hockey since 1949-50. Pioneer Hockey is one of the most successful hockey programs in the history of collegiate hockey. The Pioneers are ranked (with the University of North Dakota) second in all time NCAA National Hockey Championships with 7. Only the University of Michigan (9) has more Championships. Since the creation of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association in 1959, the Pioneers have won 9 WCHA Regular Season Championships (now the recipients of the MacNaughton Cup) and 13 WCHA Playoff Championships (now the recipients of the Broadmoor Trophy). The Pioneer hockey program is on the only programs in the history of NCAA Division I Hockey to win the regular season, league playoff, and national championship in the same year (2005).

Denver's ice hockey alumni include over 50 NHL hockey players, including Hall of Famer Glenn Anderson, and current (2008-2009) NHLers: 2007 Calder Trophy nominee Paul Stastny of the Colorado Avalanche, Chris Butler of the Buffalo Sabres Peter Mannino of the New York Islanders and 2006 Hobey Baker Memorial Award Winner Matt Carle of the Philadelphia Flyers. Previous DU players who starred in the NHL besides Anderson include Keith Magnuson, Craig Patrick, Cliff Koroll, Peter McNab, and Kevin Dineen. Legendary hockey coaches at Denver include three former NHL players - Murray Armstrong, Marshall Johnston and Ralph Backstrom. The current hockey coach is George Gwozdecky.

Other sports

Skiing is another strong sport at Denver, with 20 NCAA titles (more than any other school), dominating the current decade. DU won NCAA titles back to back in 2009 and 2008, an NCAA title in 2005 and as well as three consecutive NCAA titles from 2001 to 2003. The Women's Gymnastics team finished 12th at the 2008 NCAA Championships and 10th in 2007. The Denver Women's Soccer teams have appeared in the 2006, 2007 and 2008 NCAA Tournaments, the men's soccer team has appeared in the 2008 NCAA tournament, while the Men's Lacrosse team appeared in the 2008 and 2006 NCAA Tournaments, and the Women's Basketball team appeared in the 2001 NCAA Tournament. The Women's Golf team finished 5th in the 2009 NCAA tournament and have also been in the 2008 (6th) and 2007 (14th) NCAA finals, while the Men's Basketball team won the Sun Belt West Division in 2005 and appeared in the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) for the first time since the 1950s.

Denver's first athletic event was in a baseball game in 1867 (a loss to the Arapahone Baseball Club), a sport that was played at the varsity level until 1999 when DU returned to full NCAA D-I status.

Football was once the most popular sport at Denver. The first DU football game was played in 1885 against Colorado College, which is believed to be the first intercollegiate football game west of the Mississippi River. DU's Football highlights include appearances in the 1946 Sun Bowl, the 1947 Alamo Bowl and the 1951 Pineapple Bowl. The football team played in a 30,000 seat stadium that stood on campus from 1926 to 1971. However, the program was discontinued in 1961 for financial reasons,

Other notable Denver sports alumni include former Major League Baseball player Dan Schatzeder, NBA basketball players Vince Boryla and Byron Beck, CFL Hall of Famer and former NFL football player Sam Etcheverry, 1952 US Olympic Long Jump Gold Medalist Jerome Biffle, former US Olympic Committee Executive Director Lyman Bingham, and former Colorado Rapids/US National soccer player Nat Borchers. San Antonio Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich received a masters degree from DU but did not play any varsity sports there. Five time world champion and US Olympic figure Skating star Michelle Kwan graduaued from DU in 2009. Also, comedian and actor Sinbad played basketball at DU under his real name of David Adkins.

In the early years of competition from the 1860s to the early 1920s, Denver had no official nickname, but sports writers of the day referred to Denver teams as the "Ministers" or "Fighting Parsons" in homage to the Methodist heritage of the school. Denver became the "Pioneers" in 1925, after a the result of student nickname contest, and that nickname has been in place ever since.

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