Croup’s Corner – A Point Park sports crash course

Written By Josh Croup, Sports Columnist

I’ve given plenty of overviews of Point Park athletics before, but one theme has been the same in each of my four years at the university: winning.

Point Park sports teams (usually) get the job done. Things are constantly changing, evolving and updating in the athletic department, but Point Park teams are rarely ones that opponents write off as an easy win.

Of course, there are seasons that we’d like to forget and games that don’t go the Pioneers’ way. But go check out the newly-hung championship banners in the gym on the fifth floor of the Student Center and see just how many recent years you can find.

You can also check out Point Park volleyball home games in that gym. This is what we call a segway. Welcome to your crash course on Point Park athletics.

HOMES NEAR AND FAR

The volleyball team is the only one that competes on campus. It’s one of the drawbacks of going to an urban university.

But look out the window from one of the top floors of Lawrence Hall towards the Monongahela River and you’ll see the beautiful Highmark Stadium, home to both the men’s and women’s soccer teams for the fifth season, now.

It’s a simple walk over to Station Square or to the Student Center Gym to watch some of the fall sports teams compete. Oh, and they’re both free, so why not at least check them out?

Both basketball teams host games at the Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC) South gymnasium located about 11 miles south of Downtown in West Mifflin. Just hop on a fan van shuttle before the game and have $2 to gain student admission to support the basketball teams. You can typically get a two-for-one special with both teams hosting games the same nights.

Shuttles also take students for free to Point Park Field at Green Tree Park to watch the baseball team play in the spring and to Fairhaven Park in Kennedy Township for softball games.

ABOUT OUR MASCOT…

So this is an entire story in and of itself, but let’s not over complicate things: We call ourselves the Point Park Pioneers, not the Point Park Bison.

The bison, whose name is Black Diamond, serves as our mascot. It has since 1967, the school’s first year of intercollegiate competition.

There’s a lot of history there that you can research, but know you’re safe chanting for the Pioneers when you go to a game.

You might also see the bison floating around on campus occasionally, at a game or on social media. Who wears the mascot costume? Well, I guess you’ll have to do your own reporting to find that out. That’s a secret.

NAIA and RSC

These are the two acronyms you need to know. Point Park has been a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) since 1967 (happy 50th anniversary). The association places a strong emphasis on advancing the character aspects of athletics and typically includes smaller schools across the country.

It’s smaller than the NCAA, which includes local schools like Pitt and Duquesne. The NAIA includes 249 schools, while NCAA Division I alone has nearly 350 schools.

Point Park belongs to the River States Conference (RSC), which includes 13 member schools across Ky., Ind., Pa., W.Va. and Ohio. Carlow University is also a member of the RSC and shares some home facilities with Point Park.

STAY IN THE LOOP

It’s easy to learn about what your fellow students are doing in their respective sports. We encourage you to check out the Globe’s sports section each week for recaps, profiles and more.

Head to the brand new PointParkSports.com to get updates on the teams, view rosters and watch live broadcasts. Stay tuned to @PointParkSports on social media for live updates as well. Some teams on campus have their own social media accounts that you can follow to further stay updated on the happenings of Point Park athletics.

If you made it to the end of this column, you have no excuse to stay in your dorm room. Get out and head to a soccer or volleyball game this fall. Head to Carnegie Mellon in October to support the cross country teams. Take a fan van to a basketball game.

We have 17 varsity sports teams here and one of the athletes are probably going to sit beside you in class at some point in your college career. Now that you know a little bit about them, go out, support them and cheer for your fellow pioneers.