Football is Delaware's most popular and successful sport. The football teams of the University of Delaware have won six national championships, including the NCAA Division I Football Championship in 2003. Basketball is also widely played by students at all levels of education within the state.
Hockey is another popular sport in Delaware. The University of Delaware's hockey team has made the NCAA tournament nine times, most recently in 2016. In addition, two other college hockey teams from Delaware play in national tournaments: Wesley College plays in the National Collegiate Hockey League (NCHL), and the University of Delaware Blue Hens women's ice hockey team plays in the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA).
Students and alumni of Delaware universities are active participants in many more sports including baseball, softball, soccer, golf, tennis, and racing. Women's volleyball is also popular among students.
The state government sponsors several events each year that are open to all residents. These include the Delaware State Open, which was first held in 1969 and now includes men's and women's singles competitions as well as doubles events. The event is part of the ATP Tour and $150,000 in prize money is awarded annually.
The state is best known as the home of the University of Delaware, which has a long-standing football rivalry with Virginia Commonwealth University. Other major colleges include Wilmington College.
Basketball is also very popular in Delaware. Three NBA teams have their headquarters in Delaware: the Philadelphia 76ers, the Detroit Pistons, and the New Jersey Nets. Two other teams used to have their headquarters in Delaware but now have them in different states: the Baltimore Bullets and the Washington Wizards. There are also two minor league basketball teams that play in Delaware: the Wilmington Blue Rocks and the Delmarva Shorebirds. Baseball is played throughout the state by students at many high schools and college campuses. Hockey is played by students at the University of Delaware.
Women's softball is played widely in Delaware. The state is home to one major league team, the Delaware Stars. The women's fast-pitch game is popular here too. It is believed to be the first sport ever sponsored by the American Football League when it started playing games in 1960. The Delaware Rockets were the first franchise in the original AFL and they played in Wilmington until 1964 when they moved to Houston and became the Houston Astros.
Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football/Division I NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision
The Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football team competes in college football's National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).
2018 (August). The Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens are the athletic teams of the University of Delaware, which is located in Newark, Delaware. The university's sports programs are part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)'s Division I.
The Blue Hens, who went 55-7 during their regular season before being defeated by Miami (FL) in the NCAA Tournament, have won at least a share of the Colonial Athletic Association title for three consecutive years. UD also has three Ivy League championships and one America East championship to its name. The school's football team has made the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) playoffs nine times with two second-place finishes and one national championship game appearance.
They play their home games at Delaware Stadium in Newark, which has a capacity of 10,099. The stadium was built in 1929 and was originally called New Castle County Stadium until it was renamed after Delaware's first senator and governor, Daniel F. Dickinson. He was born in New Castle County and attended the University of Pennsylvania before moving to Wilmington in 1812. There he started a law practice with his brother William Smith Dickinson and became active in local politics. In 1813, he was elected to the First State House of Representatives and served three terms.
Stadium of Delaware Football/arenas/stadiums for the Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football team. The field is natural grass and has a capacity of 102,500. It is located on campus in College Park near the center of town.
The stadium is part of the Rodney Skinner Sports Complex. The other parts are a baseball park and a tennis facility. In addition to college football, the stadium also hosts high school football games as well as Little League World Series games.
It was built in 1910 and currently holds 10,000 people. The original scoreboard still stands today and is one of only two known to be left in the country. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
The stadium is named after former University of Delaware president Rodney O. Skinner. It was originally called College Green before being renamed in honor of Dr. Skinner who had just died. He had been president of the university for ten years when it opened.
College football's first game was played at College Green on November 7, 1910, with Delaware defeating Harvard 0-0. The current stadium has been expanded several times since then, most recently in 1980 when 2,500 more seats were added.
Delaware Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Newark, Delaware that seats 18,800 people and is home to the University of Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football team. The stadium opened on August 31, 2000 with a win over North Carolina State University.
It is the largest on-campus stadium in the state of Delaware. The current capacity includes 9,000 permanent seating sections and a further 9,200 temporary bleacher seats for football games.
The stadium is part of the John L. Grove Center for Athletic Excellence which also includes the William J. Donahue Jr. Center for Intercollegiate Athletics and the Mandy-Rae Nocera Tennis Center. The $55 million project was funded by private donations and state appropriations. It was built at a cost of $27.5 million, with an additional $27.5 required each year to maintain it.
The university's previous stadium, Alumni Hall, had only 10,000 seats and was considered small for college football. It was demolished in 1999 after 30 years of use. Delaware Stadium replaced it as the main campus stadium and has been praised for its innovative design by some critics.
It is the second-largest on-campus stadium in the country behind Michigan Stadium (which is also known as "Big House").
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