The Cleveland State Vikings, or Vikes, are the athletic teams of Cleveland State University. From 1929 to 1965, the school was a small private college known as Fenn College and athletic teams were known as the Fenn Foxes. Cleveland State competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level, which they have been part of since 1972. They were previously members of the NCAA College Division, a precursor to NCAA Division II. The university is a full member of the Horizon League (1994–present) and an associate member of the Northeast Conference (2024–present) for men's lacrosse and the Central Collegiate Fencing Conference for fencing. Cleveland State was formerly in the Mid-Continent Conference (1982–1994) and North Star Conference (1989–1992). Cleveland State previously fielded baseball, men's cross country, women's golf, men's track and field, softball, and wrestling. As Fenn College they fielded men's ice hockey and rifle.
Sports sponsored Men's sports Women's sports Basketball Basketball Fencing XC/Track & Field Golf Fencing Lacrosse Soccer Soccer Swimming & Diving Swimming & Diving Tennis Tennis Volleyball
Facilities
Current facilities The Bert L. & Iris S. Wolstein Convocation Center- Men and women's basketball Krenzler Soccer Field — Men's lacrosse, men's and women's soccer Robert F. Busbey Natatorium – Men and women's swimming and diving Homer E. Woodling Gymnasium – Volleyball, wrestling and fencing Viking Field – Softball The Robert Malaga Tennis Center – Men and women's tennis
Former facilities All Pro Freight Stadium – Baseball The Ellwood H. Fisher Swimming Pool – Men's swimming Fenn Gym – Wrestling and fencing Homer E. Woodling Gymnasium – Men and women's basketball
Athletic Director history # Name Years 1 Homer E. Woodling September 1, 1929 – June 30, 1966 2 Robert F. Busbey July 1, 1966 – 1990 3 John Konstantinos July 1, 1990 – July 1, 2002 4 Lee Reed July 24, 2002 – May 2010 5 John Parry May 10, 2010 – June 30, 2017http://www.csucauldron.com/news/article_398a9e00-ecc8-11e6-a176-a7db0c8887a6.html 6 Michael Thomas March 1, 2017 – April 30, 20197Scott Garrett May 1, 2019 – January 15, 20248Kelsie Gory HarkeyMay 16, 2024 - Present
McCafferty Trophy The McCafferty Trophy is awarded by the Horizon League to the school with the best overall athletic performance in all the sponsored sports. Cleveland State has won the award twice, in 2008 and 2013. Below is a table of the Cleveland State finishes and points.
Year Pts.(men) Pts.(women) Pts.(total) Finish Ref. 2005 ? ? ? ? 2006 ? ? ? ? 2007 ? ? ? ? 2008 25 21 46 1st 2009 ? ? 41 3rd 2010 ? ? 36 3rd 2011 22.5 17 39.5 3rd 2012 19 20 39 2nd 2013 26 19 45 1st
Baseball
Baseball at Cleveland State was played for a total of 69 seasons. On May 2, 2011, Clevleland State University announced that they would eliminate the baseball team. The reasons cited were budget concerns as well as the difficulty of having a baseball team in the northern United States with the season starting earlier and earlier and favoring teams in the warmer southern United States.
Regular season Mid-Continent Conference Team Championships (2): 1986, 1989 Horizon League Team Championships (0):
Tournament Mid-Continent Conference Team Championships (0): Horizon League Team Championships (0):
Men's basketball
Regular season Mid-Continent Conference championships (3): 1985, 1986, 1993 Horizon League championships (2): 2011, 2021
Tournament Mid-Continent Conference championships (1): 1986 Horizon League championships (2): 2009, 2021
Men's cross country Cleveland State dropped Men's Cross Country after the 1993 season. Mid-Continent Conference Team Championships (1): 1992
NCAA Championship history Season Place Points 1977 11th 313 1979 19th 425
E-Sports Cleveland State University launched a Division I esports program which kicked off its inaugural season in the fall of 2022.
Now they have inaugurated a new Esports Lab in Fenn Hall on September 24, 2024, located within the Washkewicz College of Engineering. This marks a major advancement for the university's esports program, which previously operated off-campus at the Cavs Legion Lair. The creation of the dedicated lab was a collaborative effort, with significant contributions from Dr. Susan Carver and Dr. Richard Schoephoerster. Their support, along with efforts from the FAST and IS&T staff, ensured the lab was ready for use by student-athletes in August. PJ Farrell, Director of Esports, expressed enthusiasm for the new space, emphasizing its role in strengthening the program and creating opportunities for growth. The lab also supports CSU's involvement in major esports events, such as high school playoffs and collegiate tournaments. Cleveland State's esports teams compete in the GLEC and NACE Premier Conferences across titles including Rocket League, League of Legends, Valorant, and Overwatch.
Men's fencing
Record by year
Season Record (Conf. Record) Postseason 1931–32 0–4 (N/A) -- 1932–33 1–4 (N/A) -- 1933–34 N/A (N/A) -- 1934–35 0–6 (N/A) -- 1935–36 N/A (N/A) -- 1936–37 N/A (N/A) -- 1937–38 N/A (N/A) -- 1938–39 N/A (N/A) -- 1939–40 N/A (N/A) -- 1940–41 N/A (N/A) -- 1941–42 N/A (N/A) -- 1942–43 N/A (N/A) -- 1943–44 N/A (N/A) -- 1944–45 N/A (N/A) -- 1945–46 N/A (N/A) -- 1946–47 N/A (N/A) -- 1947–48 N/A (N/A) -- 1948–49 0–5 (N/A) -- 1949–50 1–6 (N/A) -- 1950–51 2–6 (N/A) -- 1951–52 N/A (N/A) -- 1952–53 3–4 (N/A) -- 1953–54 6–4 (N/A) -- 1954–55 5–6 (N/A) -- 1955–56 3–9 (N/A) -- 1956–57 7–5 (N/A) -- 1957–58 9–2 (N/A) -- 1958–59 5–6 (N/A) -- 1959–60 8–6 (N/A) -- 1960–61 10–7 (N/A) -- 1961–62 5–9 (N/A) -- 1962–63 3–9 (N/A) -- 1963–64 6–6 (N/A) -- 1964–65 4–9 (N/A) -- 1965–66 3–9 (?–?) -- 1966–67 3–7 (?–?) -- 1967–68 10–6 (?–?) -- 1968–69 5–10 (?–?) -- 1969–70 3–9 (?–?) -- 1970–71 5–9 (?–?) -- 1971–72 5–10 (?–?) -- 1972–73 9–5 (?–?) -- 1973–74 14–3 (?–?) --
Season Record (Conf. Record) Postseason 1974–75 11–1 (?–?) -- 1975–76 12–5 (?–?) -- 1976–77 10–4 (?–?) -- 1977–78 10–3 (?–?) -- 1978–79 9–8 (?–?) -- 1979–80 11–5 (?–?) -- 1980–81 11–5 (?–?) -- 1981–82 9–8 (?–?) -- 1982–83 13–5 (?–?) -- 1983–84 17–6 (?–?) -- 1984–85 15–4 (?–?) -- 1985–86 17–6 (?–?) -- 1986–87 6–16 (?–?) -- 1987–88 9–12 (?–?) -- 1988–89 15–10 (?–?) -- 1989–90 11–10 (?–?) -- 1990–91 17–9 (?–?) -- 1991–92 10–6 (?–?) -- 1992–93 3–18 (?–?) -- 1993–94 19–13 (?–?) -- 1994–95 19–13 (?–?) -- 1995–96 10–21 (?–?) -- 1996–97 3–21 (?–?) -- 1997–98 6–19 (?–?) -- 1998–99 1–12 (?–?) -- 1999–00 ?–? (?–?) -- 2000–01 ?–? (?–?) -- 2001–02 5–6 (9th) -- 2002–03 ?–? (?–?) -- 2003–04 7–9 (10th) -- 2004–05 9–4 (8th) -- 2005–06 9–15 (14th) -- 2006–07 19–5 (3rd) -- 2007–08 11–23 (3rd) -- 2008–09 9–23 (9th) -- 2009–10 4–17 (9th) -- 2010–11 8–23 (9th) -- 2011–12 13–17 (10th) -- 2012–13 18–10 (5th) -- 2013–14 23–13 (?–?) -- ?? years ?–? (?–?) ? Postseason bids
Head coaching history #NameTenureRecord 1 E. Sylvester Kennedy 1931–1933 1–8 2 O. Adolf Berger 1934–1935 0–6 3 John RoynerMadison Dods 1948–1949 0–5 4 Madison Dods 1949–1951 3–12 5 Charles Simonian 1952–1958 33–30 6 Madison Dods 1958–1960 13–12 7 John Szent Kiralyi 1960–1986 324–215 8 Joe Fazekas 1986–1995 176–160 9 William Reith 1995–2001 ?–? 10 James A Sager 2001–2008 ?–? 11 Christopher Tulleners 2008–2015 99–26412Jim Fazekas2015–2017 13 Christopher Tulleners 2017–2021 14 Matthew Gebbett (interim) 2021-2022 15 Christine Griffiths 2022–present
Football On October 14, 2008, Cleveland State University President Michael Schwartz stated "he wants a blue ribbon panel to give him a recommendation on the football team before July 1 when he is scheduled to retire. He also said the program will have to be structured to pay for itself."http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2008/10/cleveland_state_university_con.html Cleveland State considers a new name and a new football team. Accessed October 25, 2008. On November 19, 2008, it was revealed that President Schwartz had chosen the committee members to explore the feasibility of football at Cleveland State.http://www.csuohio.edu/news/inthenews/081119football.html CSU Picks Committee to Explore Football. Accessed October 2, 2010. On October 9, 2009, it was announced the university had completed its feasibility study. Football Feasibility Study Announced . Accessed October 2, 2010. From April 12–14, 2010 the Cleveland State Student Government Association polled students online about whether they favored football at Cleveland State. The results were as follows. 2010 SGA Election Results . Accessed October 2, 2010. #Question% YesVotes% NoVotes 1 Are you interested in having Cleveland State add a Division I non-scholarship football team? 68.7 1,214 31.3 553 2 Are you willing to pay a fee for Division I non-scholarship football in addition to any potential, future tuition increases that may be instituted by the university? 44.4 780 55.6 977 3 The fee that would be instituted will cover operating costs for the football team. This would include staff salaries, equipment, travel, insurance, and medical care. Would you be willing to pay $4 to $6 per credit hour for CSU football? 51.8 913 48.2 847 4 Would you be willing to pay $6 to $8 per credit hour for CSU football and other Division I sports? 41.8 732 58.2 1,022
Men's golf
Mid-Continent Team Championships (0): Horizon League Team Championships (10): 1998, 2006, 2008–09, 2011, 2014–18
Men's ice hockey Fenn College sponsored a men's ice hockey team in the 1930s and 1940s. Ohio-Pennsylvania Intercollegiate Hockey League Team Championships (0):
Record by year
School Season Record (Conf. Record) Postseason Total 4 years 8–34–2 (8–34–2) 1 Postseason bid
Head coaching history # Name Years Record 1 Bud Cook 1938–1938 1–8–1 2 Peggy O'Neill 1939–1939 3–9–0 3 James W. Griswold 1940–1941 4–17–1
Men's lacrosse Cleveland State established its varsity men's lacrosse program on March 30, 2015."Cleveland State University to Add Men's Lacrosse Program," Cleveland State University Athletics, Monday, March 30, 2015. Retrieved February 3, 2018 The Vikings' inaugural lacrosse match was a 13–8 home loss to Michigan on February 4, 2017."Vikings Drop Inaugural Contest to Michigan, 13-8," Cleveland State University Athletics, Saturday, February 4, 2017. Retrieved February 3, 2018
CSU competed as an independent for its first five men's lacrosse seasons. After the 2021 season, CSU joined the newly reinstated men's lacrosse league of the Atlantic Sun Conference (then officially the ASUN Conference). After the 2024 season, CSU left ASUN men's lacrosse for the Northeast Conference, which reinstated the sport after a two-season absence.
Head coaching history #NameYearsRecord 1 Dylan Sheridan 2017–2019 5–92Andy German2019–present
Men's rifle No team since 1937–1938, no place to shoot.
Head coaching history # Name Years 1 Don Fable 1929–1938
Men's soccer
Regular season Mid-Continent Conference Team Championships (3): 1984, 1986, 1988 Horizon League Team Championships (0):
Tournament Horizon League Team Championships (1): 2012
Men's swimming & diving Penn-Ohio Conference Championships (14): 1974, 1976–1986, 1990–1992 Mid-Continent Conference Team Championships (0): Horizon League Team Championships (4): 1998, 1999, 2006, 2013
Record by year