DePauw University - Athletics

Athletics

The DePauw Tigers compete in the NCAA Division III North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC). Every year since 1890, DePauw University has competed in American football against its rival Wabash College in what has become the Monon Bell Classic. The traveling trophy, a 300-pound train bell from the Monon Railroad, made its debut in the rivalry in 1932. The DePauw-Wabash series is one of the nation's oldest college football rivalries.

In 1933, head coach Ray "Gaumey" Neal led the DePauw Tigers football team to an unbeaten, untied, and unscored opening season. The Tigers compiled a 7-0-0 record and outscored their opponents 136-0. Neal nearly duplicated this feat in 1943, but DePauw, 5-0-1, finished the season with one scoreless tie and six points allowed in a different game. The only points surrendered that season were in a 39-6 victory over Indiana State and the only non-win was a 0-0 tie against Oberlin. The Tigers outscored their opponents, 206-6.

DePauw had been a member of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference from 1997 to 2011, and won numerous conference championships, most notably in women's basketball, where the school is a Division III power. DePauw's program had also won the conference's overall "President's Trophy" seven times in that span, including six consecutive President's Trophies from 2005-06 to 2010-11. In 2007, the Tigers defeated Washington University in St. Louis to win the Division III title in women's basketball. The women's softball team won the regional title, advancing to the Division III College World Series for the first time in school history.

DePauw University's women's golf program is the best of any NCAA Division III college in the nation for students seeking a "balanced" experience, according to Golf Digest's third annual College Golf Guide, which appears in the September 2007 issue.

The DePauw University women's basketball team won the Division III National Championship for the 2006-07 year. They defeated Washington University in Springfield, MA to win the first team national championship in the school's history.

Over the years, DePauw has sent several players to the NFL, including Dave Finzer '82, a punter for the Chicago Bears and Seattle Seahawks, and Greg Werner '89, a tight end for the New York Jets.