Graceland Yellowjackets | |
---|---|
University | Graceland University |
Association | NAIA |
Conference | Heart of America Athletic Conference |
Athletic director | Joe Worlund |
Location | Lamoni, Iowa |
Varsity teams | 22 (10 men’s, 9 women’s, 3 co-ed) |
Football stadium | Huntsman Field |
Basketball arena | Closson Center |
Baseball stadium | Chase Stadium |
Softball stadium | HMP Stadium |
Soccer stadium | John Rasmussen Soccer Complex |
Mascot | Sting |
Nickname | Yellowjackets |
Fight song | Graceland Forever |
Colors | Blue and black
[1] |
Website |
www |
The Graceland Yellowjackets are the athletic teams that represent Graceland University, located in Lamoni, Iowa, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC) since the 1971–72 academic year. [2]
Over 50% of the students on Graceland's Lamoni campus are student athletes. [3]
Graceland competes in 22 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, track & field (indoor and outdoor), volleyball and wrestling; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, flag football, golf, soccer, softball, track & field (indoor and outdoor) and volleyball; and co-ed sports include cheerleading, dance and rodeo.
Men's sports | Women's sports | Co-ed sports |
---|---|---|
Baseball | Basketball | Cheerleading |
Basketball | Cross country | Dance |
Cross country | Flag football | Rodeo |
Football | Golf | |
Golf | Soccer | |
Soccer | Softball | |
Track and field† | Track and field† | |
Volleyball | Volleyball | |
Wrestling | ||
† – Track and field includes both indoor and outdoor |
A member of the Heart of America Athletic Conference, Graceland University sponsors teams in ten men's and eight women's varsity sports.
In 2005, just four years after completing a season of 0–10, the Yellowjackets won their first HAAC championship title since 1975 and qualified for the NAIA national championships for the first time in the school's history. [4] Herbert Goodman (1998-1999), and Jeff Criswell (1983-1986) went on to play in the NFL. Jerome Messam (2007-2009) as of 2018 plays in the CFL. The coach as of 2017 for the Yellowjackets was Marc Kolb. [5]
In 2018 the men's basketball team won the NAIA Division I National Championship. This was the Yellowjackets first appearance in the tournament.
The school's fight song, Graceland Forever, was written by Warren McElwain in 1925. [6] The school's alma mater was written by Roy A. Cheville in 1926. [6]