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QUICK FACTS
Institution: Seattle Pacific University
Address: 3307 Third Avenue West, Seattle, Washington, 98119
Founded: 1891
Enrollment: 3,605
Affiliation: NCAA Division II
Conference: Great Northwest Athletic Conference
Colors: Maroon & White
Nickname: Falcons
Varsity Sports: Basketball (m/w), Cross Country (m/w), Rowing (w), Soccer (m/w), Track & Field (m/w), Volleyball (w)
Arena: Royal Brougham Pavilion (2,650)
Soccer Facility: Interbay Stadium (900)
Track & Field Training & Intramural Activities: Foreman Track & Wallace Field
Athletics Fax: (206) 281-2266
Equipment Room/Cage: (206) 281-2307
Lost & Found: (206) 281-2307
ATHLETICS MISSION STATEMENT
"To cultivate student athletes of high character who are empowered to pursue competitive excellence in athletics and academics within a Christian environment."
ATHLETICS PROFILE
The pursuit of excellence is particularly evident in Seattle Pacific University intercollegiate athletics, as a dedicated coaching staff guides the development of young student-athletes in 12 varsity sports at the NCAA Division II level. SPU is regarded throughout the region and nation as a first-class program, both in terms of producing athletic champions and champions for life.
Falcons teams have won nine national championships, highlighted by five in men's soccer and, most recently, the 2008 women's soccer title.
Success in competition also extends to the classroom.
SPU has won five Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) Academic All-Sports trophies, most recently in 2013-14. The men's program has won nine All-Academic titles, with five straight 2002-07, and three in a row from 2010-12. The women have a pair of conference All-Academic crowns.
Ken Foreman, with legendary runner Doris Brown Heritage.
The modern era of Seattle Pacific athletics began in the 1950s when then-athletic director Ken Foreman (photo left, with legendary distance runner Doris Brown Heritage) built Royal Brougham Pavilion, and the Falcons became affiliated with the NAIA. The school aligned itself with the NCAA in 1962. Women's athletics were first introduced with the internationally-renowned Falcon Track Club in 1960 and with the advent of varsity sports in 1975.
Seattle Pacific's athletic mascot originated as the winner in a 1934 on-campus contest to choose a school emblem and nickname for its teams, which had not yet attained varsity status. Several names were proposed for a vote by the student body, with the Falcons suggested because of the raptor's aggressive nature and deadly hunting instincts.
Seattle Pacific sponsored women's gymnastics from 1974 until the program was discontinued in 2020. The Falcons won three national championships under legendary coach Laurel Tindall, claiming an NCAA Division II crown in 1986 followed by USAGymnastics titles in 1992 and 1997.
Heading the list of SPU's 216 All-Americans and 32 national champions was Maria Hundley who compiled seven individual national titles from 2014-16.
The Falcons have discontinued five other intercollegiate sports through the years, including baseball (1947-70), men's rowing (1978-2016), men's tennis (1950-91), women's tennis (1980-91) and wrestling (1965-74)
Seattle Pacific currently offers 12 intercollegiate sports. They are listed below, along with highlights for each program.
Grant Leep
MEN'S BASKETBALL
• Reached the Final Four twice, finishing third nationally in both 2000 and 2006.
• Under the guidance of coach Grant Leep (photo right), the Falcons won the 2020 GNAC regular-season championship, the sixth in school history and the 11th league title overall. They were the GNAC Tournament champions for the fourth time in 2019.
• Qualified for the NCAA Division II Tournament 29 times and forged a run of 12 straight playoff berths, from 2005-2016, that was the nation's longest active streak at the time.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
• 18 NCAA Tournament berths, with a streak of 15 in a row (1997-2011).
• Four trips to the Elite Eight, most recently in 2010, and an NCAA championship game appearance in 2005.
• Put together a school-record 30-game winning streak during the 2003-04 season that led to one of Seattle Pacific's seven GNAC titles.
MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
• Won the GNAC crown in 2004 with a program-record low score of 71 points.
• That same year, Falcons earned their first trip to the NCAA nationals, finishing 19th.
• Tim LeCount won the 2004 GNAC championship, the first Falcon to do so.
Jessica Pixler
WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
• 18 appearances at the NCAA national meet, with three straight trophy finishes (2nd in 2007, 4th in 2008 and 2009).
• Falcons have won five GNAC titles and prior to that won six Pacific West Conference titles.
• Jessica Pixler (photo left), the most decorated athlete in school history, won three straight national championships (2007-08-09), four consecutive West Regional titles and three GNAC titles in a row. Prior to Pixler, Joan Corbin (1979) and Bente Moe (1985) won national titles.
WOMEN'S ROWING
• Placed second in the team standings at the 2010 NCAA Division II Championships and finished third in the varsity eight race at the 2009 NCAA Regatta.
• Current senior rower Gillian Edgar, a two-time All-American, was the only NCAA Division II rower selected to participate in the 2019 USRowing Under-23 Women's National Team Selection Camp in Charlottesville, Virginia.
• The Falcons registered a fourth-place team finish at the 2019 NCAA Championships, getting fourth-place performance from both the varsity eight and varsity four crews.
MEN'S SOCCER
• Won five NCAA Division II national championship under Coach Cliff McCrath (1978, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1993).
• Current Coach Mark Collings directed the team to school-record streaks of 13 consecutive victories and 15 games unbeaten in 2014 along with absorbing the fewest losses in a season with just one setback in 2015 (14-1-4).
• Goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann garnered three All-America awards from 1990-93 while compiling 46 career shutouts. His distinguished 20-year pro career finished in 2014 with the MLS Seattle Sounders and featured 14 years in England and nine appearances with the U.S. Men's National Team.
Meredith Teague with the NCAA championship trophy.
WOMEN'S SOCCER
• Captured the 2008 NCAA Division II national championship under Coach Chuck Sekyra with a 1-0 double-overtime victory over West Florida. Janae Godoy's golden goal with 2-minutes, 13-seconds left in overtime ended the Dec. 6, 2008 title game in Tampa, Florida.
• Midfielder Meredith Teague (photo right, with trophy) was honored as the 2008 National Player of the Year after leading the Falcons with 14 goals, 10 assists and 7 game-winning goals.
• The Falcons reeled of 23 straights wins during the 2007 season and patched together a 27-game unbeaten streak from 2008 to 2009, going 26-0-1 in that span.
MEN'S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD
• Mike Olson won the NCAA shot put championship in 1993 with a throw of 59 feet, 7 ¼ inches.
• Nate Seely won three straight GNAC championships in the 800 meters from 2010-12.
• In 2020, sophomore Colby Otero broke both the school indoor record and the overall record for the men's 5000 meters when he clocked 14 minutes, 35.10 seconds at the UW Invitational. The previous indoor mark of 14:56.77 was set in 2016. The overall record of 14:39.6 by Walt Notter had stood since 1969 – a period of 51 years.
WOMEN'S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD
• 13 GNAC team titles, including the first nine in conference history (2004-12).
• Falcon women have claimed conference crowns in 13 of the 17 events on the docket. That includes four straight in the 60-meter dash for Latasha Essien from 2007-10 – the only four-time winner in the same event for Seattle Pacific.
• SPU has won nine individual NCAA championships. The first two were by Karin Grelsson in the triple jump in 1993 and 1994. Jessica Pixler won four straight mile titles from 2007-10, added the 5000 in 2009, and joined with Jane Larson, Jennifer Pike, and Lisa Anderberg for a come-from-behind win in the 4000-meter distance medley relay in 2010.
Ben Moring
MEN'S OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD
• Ben Moring (photo left) raced to Seattle Pacific's first national championship, taking the 880-yard run at the 1953 NAIA meet. He won it again the following year.
• Steve Gough (triple jump in 1968, decathlon in 1970) and Chris Randolph (decathlon in 2005 and 2006) also claimed a pair of national crowns, both at the NCAA meet.
• Nathanael Castle became the first GNAC double-winner for the Falcons, racing to first place in the 800 and 1500 at the 2002 meet.
WOMEN'S OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD
• 10 GNAC team championships. Of those, eight completed an indoor-outdoor title sweep, most recently in 2019.
• The Falcons have won 21 NCAA individual crowns. That collection includes four for Bente Moe (two each for 5000 and 10,000 meters), three for Karin Grelsson (two heptathlons, one triple jump), and three for Jessica Pixler (all in the 1500). In addition, thrower Lynette Mathews won three Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) crowns, and Laurel Miller took one.
• Beginning in 1985, SPU has had representation at the NCAA meet for 35 straight years, up through 2019. The 2020 meet did not take place because of the pandemic.
VOLLEYBALL
• Twice won back-to-back GNAC championships: 2005 and 2006, and again in 2010 and 2011.
• Seven trips to the NCAA West Regionals. That included three straight from 2009-11 and a berth in the 2010 NCAA West Regional championship match, part of a record-setting 26-3 season.
• Won 500th match in program history, 3-1 at Western Washington on Oct. 24, 2013.
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