Buccaneer Athletic Tradition

Though Barry University is still young when it comes to intercollegiate athletics, it is a heavyweight when it comes to national success. Over the first 28 years of Buccaneer Athletics, Barry has already won nine national championships -- three each in women's soccer and volleyball and one each in men's golf, men's tennis and women's tennis. In addition, Barry has crowned 243 All-Americans in 13 different sports and 272 Scholar All-Americans, sending numerous teams and individuals to post-season playoffs and national championship competitions.

The Buccaneer athletic program is one of the most competitive in NCAA Division II. The men's and women's tennis teams have advanced to the NCAA Tournament 19 straight years, tied for the most appearances in school history. The women's tennis team earned their 20th total bid in 2012, one more than men's tennis and two more than women's soccer.

The Bucs have advanced at least five of their 12 teams to NCAA post-season play in each of the last 17 years. In 2003-04, the Bucs set a school record with eight teams earning NCAA Tournament bids (men’s soccer, women’s soccer, volleyball, men’s tennis, women’s tennis, men’s golf, women’s golf and rowing). They tied that mark, sending eight teams to the post-season in 2005-06 (women's soccer, volleyball, women's golf, men's golf, rowing, softball, men's tennis and women's tennis), 2009-10 (men's soccer, men's basketball, women's basketball, rowing, men's golf, women's golf, men's tennis and women's tennis) and 2010-11 (men's soccer, volleyball, rowing, men's golf, softball, baseball, men's tennis and women's tennis).

In 2001-02, seven of the Bucs' 12 teams earned NCAA Tournament bids, led by the volleyball team which won the national championship. Women's golf posted a second-place finish in their first trip to the national finals. Women's tennis finished third for the second straight year. Rowing was fourth at the first-ever national championship regatta. Softball finished fifth in their third trip to the national finals. And the women's soccer and men's tennis teams each reached the regional finals. The Bucs earned 450 points in the Sears Director's Cup competition, breaking the mark of 355 they had set in 2000-01. Barry finished 11th overall in the competition and first among private institutions, thre second time they finished as the top private school in Division II.

Barry's athletic program was guided to national prominence by Dr. G. Jean Cerra, who served as Director of Athletics from June 1991 until January 1998. Under her leadership, the Barry athletic program has attained overwhelming success at the conference, regional, and national levels. Barry has also gained acclaim for its emphasis on academics.

Since Fall of 2001, Barry's athletic teams have complied a combined cumulative GPA of better than 3.0 and in the Spring Semester of 2012, a record 72.5 percent of all student-athletes finished with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better.

Michael L. Covone, who served as Associate Athletic Director for 10 years and guided the Bucs to three NCAA Division II National Championships in women's soccer, was named Director of Athletics in January of 1998.

The Buccaneers compete in the prestigious Sunshine State Conference (SSC). Barry has won 49 SSC titles in 12 different sports since it joined the conference in 1988. The Buccaneers have also won the SSC Women's Mayor's Cup All-Sports Trophy on five occasions, in 1990-91, 1996-97, 1999-00, 2001-02 and 2005-06. In 2006-07, the Buccaneer men finally claimed a Mayor's Cup of their own, as none of the five teams finished outside the top three in the conference. The men were co-winners in 2008-09 for their second cup and took their third in 2010-11.

Barry's coaches have also claimed 48 Sunshine State Conference Coach-of-the-Year awards and seven National Coach-of-the-Year awards.

Barry University currently competes in 12 intercollegiate sports for men and women. Women's sports include basketball, golf, rowing, soccer, softball, tennis, and volleyball. Men's sports include baseball, basketball, golf, soccer, and tennis.