The Lafayette Leopards represent the 23 Division I varsity athletic teams of Lafayette College and compete in the Patriot League. There are 11 men's teams, 11 women's teams, and one co-ed team. The club teams also compete as the Leopards. Though not a varsity sport, crew and ice hockey are very competitive at Lafayette and play in intercollegiate club leagues.
Lafayette's primary rival in every sport is the Lehigh Mountain Hawks of nearby Lehigh University. Bucknell University is also a major rival and other league and school rivalries exist on an individual sport level.
Lafayette's student-athletes generally lead the NCAA in academic performance. In 2011, 16 of Lafayette's 23 teams academic performance scored within the top ten percent of their respective sport. Lafayette led the Patriot League, which placed second behind the Ivy League.
Lafayette's first recorded athletic event outside of the student body was a baseball game against Easton amateurs, a 44–11 win on November 8, 1865. The first recorded intercollegiate match was a 45–45 tie in a baseball game against Lehigh in October 1869. In 1883, Lafayette won the intercollegiate tug of war championship, held at the annual track and field championship meet.
Nickname The first athletic teams at Lafayette were nicknamed the 'Maroon' as a result of the maroon sweaters worn by the players. Though the team continued to wear maroon, a new nickname was bestowed on Lafayette. The Lafayette Student Council voted on the nickname "Leopards" since many other rival schools, such as Princeton, Pittsburgh, and Bucknell, had animal nicknames. It is not clear why the nickname "Leopards" was selected, although it is reasonable to speculate that an 'L' nickname was ideal since other schools had animal nicknames that started with the school's first letter (Pittsburgh Panthers, Bucknell Bison). The leopard was also selected because its 'cunning and physical strength, combined with the fact that it is irresistible when aroused, seemed to be typical of a Lafayette team.' The Leopard mascot made its debut against Washington & Jefferson University at Yankee Stadium on October 25, 1924, a 20–6 Leopard victory. On November 4, 2023, Lafayette students voted to change the nickname of the mascot from "The Leopard" to "Roary."
It was previously believed that the nickname Leopards first appeared on November 24, 1924, when a writer at the Easton Express-Times referred to the team as the 'Leopards.' The name was first used on campus when Lafayette sports editor George Parkman referred to the team as the 'Leopards' on October 7, 1927. Parkman noticed that other competitors were selecting animal nicknames and decided Lafayette should have one. Given the two different accounts of the nickname 'Leopard', it seems the nickname was slow to resonate with students and alumni.
History Baseball was the first organized sport on campus, with a club formally organized in March 1860. Games would be played amongst the students until Lafayette teams began playing amateur clubs from the region. Lafayette met Lehigh in its first intercollegiate game in October 1869, a 45–45 tie in Easton, and earned its first win against Lehigh, a 31–24 decision in Bethlehem. Lafayette's first non-Lehigh college game was a 26–11 loss to Princeton University in May 1874.
Football appeared on campus in 1878, and did not become fully organized until 1880. The first games took place in 1882, when Lafayette lost to Rutgers University. The team earned its first win ever against Rutgers the following year.
Interest in football became so great that by 1889, a field was needed to handle the crowds and earn revenue for the team to compete against a schedule. The Alumni Advisory Committee was formed to handle all aspects of facilities, management, and equipment fundraising, although players were still largely responsible for their own equipment and health. By 1894, March Field was complete and featured a track meet at the dedication.
Football quickly became the marquis sport at Lafayette as students, alumni, and citizens of Easton packed March Field through 1925. Lafayette became the first non-Ivy League school to win a national football championship in 1896. The team continued to enjoy success through the 1920s by winning two national championships and becoming one of the top football teams in the East and the United States. In 1926, Fisher Field was built to capitalize upon the excitement of football, as well as Alumni Gymnasium in order to house other athletic programs and provide general training for the student body.
Lafayette was independent in football until 1929, when it joined the Middle Three Conference with Lehigh University and Rutgers University.
With the decline of football as a national power in the 1950s, basketball became a popular sport. The Leopards made appearances in the NCAA Tournament and the more noted NIT Tournament. Also, Lafayette baseball made several trips to the College World Series in the 1950s and 1960s.
In 1958, Lafayette helped form the Middle America Conference (MAC), which soon became known as the more recognized East Coast Conference. All Leopard teams aside from football competed in the conference.
The Leopards continued to play "major" college football through the 1970s, until the NCAA reclassified the divisions. Lafayette soon found itself as a member in Division I-AA, where Lafayette remains a member today (now known as the FCS Subdivision. At this time, Lafayette's major rivalry with Rutgers ended, also due to Rutgers' increasing size and competitiveness in football. In search of an athletic league with more like-minded institutions focused on academic scholarship and non-athletic scholarship financing for student-athletes, Lafayette co-founded the Patriot League in 1986. A major objective of the league was to serve as non-conference football opponents for the Ivy League.
As women matriculated at Lafayette in 1970, teams were quickly established in basketball and field hockey. Lafayette quickly became a mid-major power in women's lacrosse and field hockey, which continued into the 21st century. The field hockey team currently ranks in the top 20 for all-time victories.
Lafayette continued offering non-scholarship athletic financial aid through the 1990s, when Holy Cross started offering athletic scholarships for their basketball teams. Other schools followed suit except Lafayette, which held out until 2006, three years longer than the last holdout (Bucknell). At the time, Lafayette was the lone school in Division I aside from the Ivy League not offer athletic scholarships in any sports. Along with basketball athletic scholarships, Lafayette offers scholarships in field hockey and men's soccer. In 2012, Lafayette, along with the rest of the Patriot League, elected to award football scholarships starting with the class of 2017. Scholarships in other sports will follow suit.
Varsity sports Lafayette sponsors 22 Division I sports, the highest level of competition in college athletics. All sports compete in the Patriot League.
Men's sports Women's sports Baseball Basketball Basketball Cross country Cross country Fencing Fencing Field hockey Football Lacrosse Golf Soccer Lacrosse Softball Soccer Swimming Swimming Tennis Tennis Track and field Track and field Volleyball
Baseball
Baseball is the oldest sport at the College, with a club team competing on a College Hill since March 1860. The team's first official game was a 44–11 win on November 8, 1865 against amateurs from Easton. The first recorded intercollegiate match was a 45–45 tie in a baseball game against Lehigh in October 1869 and its first win against Lehigh 31–24 shortly thereafter.
Aside from its traditional Ivy League and local rivals, Lafayette developed a rivalry with the University of North Carolina and the University of South Carolina in the late 19th and early 20th century. Games were played on March Field, and were later played at Fisher Stadium. Once the Metzgar Athletic Complex was built in the late 1960s, the team moved its field to what is now known as Kamine Stadium.
Lafayette has made four appearances in the College World Series in the 1950s and 1960s, the final round of the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship. Coached by former major leaguer Charlie Gelbert, the Leopards made it the semi-finals in 1953 before bowing to the University of Texas, finishing third. Lafayette eliminated Stanford and Boston College, with their only losses coming against Texas. Lafayette did not win a game in its other trips in 1954, 1958, and 1965.
Lafayette won the East Coast Conference in 1990 and Patriot League title 2007 to earn a trip to the NCAA Regionals.
The most noted Lafayette baseball player is former Los Angeles Angels and Chicago Cubs world series winning manager Joe Maddon, who played on the team in the early 1970s.
Lafayette is 1755–1563–32 all-time. College World Series appearances (4): 1953, 1954, 1958, 1965 NCAA Regionals appearances (2): 1990, 2007 Conference Championships (2): 1990 (ECC), 2007
Baseball is currently coached by Allen J. Miller.
Men's basketball
Lafayette has a storied basketball tradition that entails multiple NCAA and NIT bids, conference championships, and legendary college basketball players and coaches. Lafayette was independent until 1958, when it joined the East Coast Conference. The Leopards were members until 1990, when they left as a founding member of the Patriot League, their current affiliation.
Lafayette is 1249–1134 all-time in 102 seasons. NCAA Tournament appearances (3): 1957, 1999, 2000, 2015 NIT Tournament appearances (5): 1955, 1956, 1972, 1975, 1980 Conference Championships - Regular Season (12): 1970, 1971, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1988 (ECC); 1998, 1999, 2000 (Patriot League) Conference Tournament Championships (2): 1999, 2000, 2015
Women's basketball
The Lafayette women's basketball team has a strong tradition and has played intercollegiate competition since 1973, two seasons after women were first admitted on campus. For the first half of its history until the Patriot League era in the early 1990s, women's basketball had a winning tradition that entailed five 20-win seasons and five appearances in the ECC Championship game in seven seasons of league play. Additionally, the women had 17 winning seasons in 22 years of play. Since 1993–94, the Leopards have had only one winning season. During that span, they have had two double-digit wins seasons: 2007–08 and 2010–11.
Lafayette is 440–556 all-time in 40 seasons. NCAA Tournament/AIAW appearances (3): 1977, 1978, 1981 (ECC) Conference Championships - Regular Season (3): 1985, 1987, 1988 (ECC) Conference Tournament Championships (2): 1985, 1987 (ECC)
Cross country (men's and women's) Cross Country has been run at Lafayette since there has been a track and field program in the 19th century. The current course is at the Metzgar Athletics Complex on Sullivan Trail in Forks Township.
In the Patriot League era, the men's team had their best team finishes in 1997 and 1998, placing third in the six-team conference. The team failed to finish higher than sixth at the Conference Championships until 2021 where the Leopards took fourth in the ten-team field.
David Robinson and Bobby Oehrlein are the most prolific runners in Lafayette's recent history. They both earned three all-Patriot League selections: Robinson in 1995, 1996, and 1997; and Oehrlein in March 2021, 2021, and 2022. Lafayette has had twenty-one all-league selections, ninth most in the league.