Women's Basketball at RPI

Introduction to Sports at RPI[edit]

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is a private research university with 21 sports teams in intercollegiate athletics. This includes men's and women's basketball, cross country, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis, and track & field. Men's sports include baseball, football, and golf. Women's sports also include field hockey and softball. These teams compete in the NCAA Division III in the Liberty League Conference in New York for all sports except ice hockey, which competes in NCAA Division I, as a member of ECAC Hockey [3].

History[edit]

As a number of women attending RPI in the mid-late 1900s increased, they became more involved in student activities and athletics. In 1975, the women's basketball club became a varsity sport. It was the first women's varsity sport at Rensselaer. That same year, the Women's Athletic Association and Society of Women Engineers (SWE) was also established [1].

Women's Basketball 1975 - 2009[edit]

The newly formed Women's Varsity Basketball team competed in its first matchup at home against New Paltz on December 2, 1975 coming out with a big win of 66 to 28. In the 1975 to 1976 season, the team went 8 and 5 with head coach Dan Walsh who had just graduated in 1973 and was a former player on the Men's Basketball team.

Games were originally played in the Armory which was purchased by RPI in 1970 along with nine acres of land between 15th Street and Burdett Avenue. Plans were then made to convert the old Armory into a sports and recreation center and the Alumni Association pledged funds to install a synthetic rubber floor in the gymnasium. In 1973, it was named the Alumni Sports and Recreation Center. However, Ellis Robison made a gift in 1976 that allowed an extensive renovation of the facility and a subsequent gift from the Robison's funded the addition of an eight lane pool in 1984. The gym and pool were both renamed in his honor [7].

Women's Basketball 2009 - Present[edit]

The basketball program's home at RPI was moved to the East Campus Athletic Village (ECAV) upon its renovation completion in 2009 [6]. As part of the Rensselaer Plan, the Institute broke ground on August 26, 2007 undertaking one of the Institute's most extensive athletic construction projects in RPI history [3]. The facilities were opened on October 3, 2009 which include a multipurpose lighted turf stadium seating 5,200 people, along with a 1,200 seat basketball arena [6].

The women's team continues to grow, now in its 48th season, having competed every year since 1975 except for the 2020-2021 season which was canceled due to COVID-19 along with all of the other RPI sports that year. They made the NCAA Tournament in the seasons of 2000-01 and 2009-10, a season in which they were also Liberty League Tournament Champions [2]. The team set a school record for wins in season during the 2000-2001 season with a 23-5 record [2].

In their last full season, the 2023-2024 season, the Engineers played a total of 25 games, with a 9-16 overall record, and a 6-12 conference record [9]. They finished 8th in Liberty League standings, only topping the Clarkson Golden Knights and the Bard College Raptors. The Engineers boasted an all-Liberty League first team selection that season in guard/forward Siena Smith who was a junior transfer from the NAIA University of Michigan-Dearborn.

The team is currently coached by John Greene who has been the head coach since the 2001-02 season. He is the program's all-time leader in wins and has a 272 and 243 record, which includes nine consecutive postseason appearances from 2001-10 [4]. The team's most recent postseason appearance came in the 2022-2023 season where the Engineers defeated the Saint Lawrence University Saints in the first round of the playoffs before falling to the Ithaca College Bombers in the Liberty League Semifinals [5]. The Engineers have also added a new assistant coach for the 2024-2025 season, Claire Kruszka. Kruszka graduated in 2024 from St. John Fisher College where she acquired numerous accolades, including Empire 8 Rookie of the Year, 2022-2023 Empire 8 Defensive Player of the Year, and a 3-time All Conference selection [10].

Women's Club Basketball[edit]

Rensselaer is not only home to varsity athletics, but also club and intramural sports including both men's and women's club basketball teams. The women's team was created to provide female students at RPI with an opportunity to play and participate in competitive basketball without a varsity team's commitment [6]. While the Women's Club basketball team was formed in 2019, it did not compete against other schools until the 2022-23 season. The team now practices twice a week and plays in the National Club Basketball Association - Women (NCABBA-W) league in the New England North Conference [6]. Apart from the original group of women's basketball club players prior to 1975, this is the school's first official competitive women's club team.

John Greene

School Mascots[edit]

In the early 1920's, Rensselaer's athletic teams began to be called the "Fighting Engineers." However, in 1995 the nickname was officially changed from the Engineers to the Red Hawks. The hockey, football, cross-country, tennis, and track & field teams all chose to retain the Engineers name. The name "Red Hawks" was never really accepted by the student body and the Red Hawk mascot was frequently taunted by fans who threw objects at the mascot and chanted things like "Kill the Chicken" [3].

In 2009, the nickname was officially changed to the Engineers. The official ice hockey mascot, Puckman, has received continued enthusiasm and support since the character's initial appearance in costume in 1998 [3]. Puckman has only shown support at ice hockey games, however, leaving other sports like basketball without mascot presence.