Itching to get out to the field and show your school spirit for the brown and blue? The Daily provides you with a comprehensive guide to Tufts sports, past and present.
Ashes: In 1885, circus showman P.T. Barnum donated $50,000 and the stuffed hide of Jumbo after the famed elephant was killed by a train in Ontario, Canada. The animal hide was destroyed in a fire in 1975, but some of the ashes are housed in a peanut butter jar in the athletic department.
Brown, Scott: Former Senator Scott Brown (R-Mass.) earned the nickname "Downtown Scotty Brown" as an outside shooting specialist on the men's basketball team. Also a member of the Zeta Psi fraternity, Brown made 422 of his 853 career field goal attempts and was a captain during the 1980-81 season.
Cousens Gymnasium: Home to the men's and women's basketball and volleyball team, Cousens, located on College Avenue, recently adjoined with the Steve Tisch Sports and Fitness Center, which opened at the start of the 2012-2013 school year.
Directors' Cup: The national trophy that is awarded to the Div. III athletic program with the greatest success aggregated across all sports. In 2012-2013, Tufts ranked eighth out of 330 schools, with NESCAC-rival Williams finishing first.
Ellis Oval: The school's oldest athletic facility, Ellis was named after Fred "Fish" Ellis (LA '29), a four-sport athlete for the Jumbos. The complex houses the Tufts football team, which plays home games on Zimman Field, as well as outdoor track and field meets.
Fournier, Allyson: The junior pitcher on the softball team who might be the most accomplished athlete at Tufts. Last season, Fournier led the Jumbos to the NCAA Div. III national championship with a 25-1 record and an ERA of just 0.59. She was recently honored with the Honda Sports Award, which is given to the Div. III female Athlete of the Year. Fournier also competes on the women's swimming and diving team at Tufts.
Gehling, William "Bill": The director of athletics since 1999, Gehling (LA '74) co-captained a 10-2 men's soccer team in 1973. Prior to his current position, he also coached the women's soccer team for 20 years.
Hockey (Field): The field hockey team won the first women's team title in Tufts history in 2012 with a 2-1 victory over Montclair State. Sophomore Hannah Park scored both goals in the final and was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
Intercollegiate Football: Director of Athletics Emeritus Rocky Carzo has long contended that Tufts competed against Harvard in the first U.S. college football game in 1875. Most historians, however, argue that an 1869 contest between Princeton and Rutgers gave birth to the sport at the collegiate level.
Johann Schmidt: The senior diver has been named to five All-American teams and has won one national championship. With one more year of competition left, he looks to further cement his status as one of the best Tufts athletes of all time.
Kraft family: Best known for owning the NFL team the New England Patriots, this family's name is all over Tufts athletics - from the soccer field to the atrium in the Steve Tisch Sports and Fitness Center - as a result of their support of the university.
Lacrosse: Men's lacrosse was the first Tufts' team to win an NCAA championship in 2010 and has made the national quarterfinals in each of the past four seasons.
Marathon: Started by former President Lawrence Bacow in 2003 with 25 runners, the President's Marathon Challenge team boasts over 100 runners each year who complete the Boston Marathon.
NESCAC: The New England Small College Athletic Association is home to the Lord Jeffs, Camels, Ephs and most importantly the Jumbos, among others, making it one of the top athletic (and academic) conferences in Div. III sports.
Olympics: Three Jumbos competed in the most recent Olympics in London. Sailors Zander Kirkland (LA '07) and Mark Mendelblatt (LA '95) represented Bermuda and the United States, respectively, while Tufts School of Medicine student Gevvie Stone, of the United States, placed seventh in the women's single sculls competition.
Phineas T. Barnum: The former Tufts trustee is responsible for the school's Jumbo nickname. After Jumbo tragically died while saving a smaller elephant from an oncoming train, Barnum donated the animal's stuffed remains to the university.
Quinsigamond: The lake is home to many of the men's and women's crew teams' regattas. Each year it hosts the New England Rowing Championships.
Richardson, Bill: Before he was the governor of New Mexico and one-time presidential hopeful, Richardson was a hard-throwing right-hander for the Tufts baseball team from 1968-1970. He currently sits 15th on the school's all-time strikeout list.
Softball: The Jumbos went 46-3 on their way to winning the 2013 NCAA Div. III championship last spring, bringing home the softball program's first-ever national championship. The title winners were honored at Fenway Park this summer, and with all but three players returning in the spring, Tufts is poised to repeat.
Table Tennis: Love ping pong? Then this club sport is for you. If you don't like it enough to join the team, there's a table in the Campus Center with your name on it.
Ultimate Frisbee: This ultra-competitive club sport has a men's and a women's team, both of which perform at the highest level. Last season, the women's team placed fifth in the country at College Nationals.
Volleyball: The women's team ranked near the top of the NESCAC last year, finishing fourth with a 6-4 conference record (13-13 overall). There's a men's club team, too.
Winter Skiing: Tufts hits the slopes with a co-ed Alpine ski racing team that competes in the U.S. College Ski Association Thompson division in the Eastern Region. During the cold winter months, Jumbo skiers practice two times per week on local hills such as Pat's Peak, then go on to compete in 12 races on nearby mountains in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.
XC: Don't let the name fool you - Jumbos are fast runners. The men's cross country team placed seventh at the 2012 Nationals, and the women's team ranked sixth out of 51 at the NCAA New England Regional Championship.
Yoga and Yogalates: A.k.a. PE 0006, this course offered by the Physical Education Department teaches students to unwind with meditation and relaxation exercises.
Zimman Field: Tufts' football field, named after Harold O. Zimman in 1987. Zimman, a member of the Class of 1938, played offensive line for the Jumbos and later served on the board of directors of the United States Olympic Committee.
