** The list below is in no particular order. For the next 10 weeks (Beginning April 19), Radford will release 100 Moments in Highlander Athletics History. The next 10 moments will be released on July 15.
1. April 15, 1916: First Inter-society basketball game is held on Radford State Normal School.
2. January 29, 1921: First Intercollegiate game (women's basketball) is played by Radford State Normal vs. Sullins College in Bristol, Va.
3. March 25, 1921: The Radford State Normal School for women defeats Harrisonburg 21-9 to win the State Normal Basketball Championship.
4. 1970's: The "Highlander" is adopted as the nickname for all Athletic
Teams.
5. April 30, 1978: First Men's Basketball scholarships are awarded to forward
Steven Robinson, center
Dan Grubbs and guard
Skip Smith.
6. May 4, 1978: First Women's Basketball scholarship is awarded to
Brenda Orange of William Byrd High School in Roanoke, Va.
7. February, 1979: Lacrosse and Men's Golf are added to Radford College Athletics, bringing Radford's total of men's sports teams to six. This makes Radford eligible for acceptance into NCAA Division II.
8. March, 1979: Women's Basketball takes third in the VAIAW tournament defeating Virginia, 53-49 in the large college division state tournament held at Virginia Tech. It also marked the 100th win for women's basketball since its inception in 1971.
9. April 11, 1979: Andi Lawter of Virginia Beach is awarded the first athletic scholarship in Women's Volleyball.
10. September, 1979: Field Hockey is established at Radford Collge by
Sheila Harrington,
Barbara Goodrich and
Mary DeMartino working in conjunction with athletic director
Chuck Taylor.
11. 1980: The Women’s Cross Country team becomes the first team to qualify to compete in nationals after winning the Region II, Division II championship in their second year of competition.
12. February 8, 1980: The Radford University Athletic Association is approved by the Board of Directors of the RU Foundation.
13. June 26, 1980: The air supported roof of the Dedmon Center is raised for the first time.
14. September 1980: Men’s soccer team upsets 11th ranked Averett College, NCAA Div-II Poll.
15. November 30, 1980: Women’s Volleyball wins the Division II State Championships.
16. February 12, 1981: Radford’s application for admission in to the NCAA for Division II membership is approved by the NCAAs executive council. The membership would go into effect September 1, 1981.
17. April 9, 1981: Two new varsity sports for women are added to Radford athletics, field hockey in the fall and women’s soccer in the spring.
18. December 9, 1981: The Dedmon Center opens and Rowdy Red premiers as the first mascot.
19. December 31, 1981: The men’s soccer team wins its first ever soccer state championship against Averett College.
20. January 1982: Radford’s women’s soccer star
Helen Negrey is Radford’s first soccer All-American by the NSCAA.
21. March 18, 1982: Women's Gymnastics wins the first Region II Division II Championship.
22. April 29, 1982: Men's Golf captures its first NAIA District 19 Championship in Cherry Hill, N.J.
23. May 19, 1983: Radford leaves the new Mason-Dixon Athletic Conference and begins its study to a possible move to NCAA Division I status.
24. August 21, 1983: Big South Conference is formed. Radford joins the league with UNC Asheville and Armstrong State giving the Big South more than the six schools needed to become a conference.
25. September 15, 1983: Division I move is approved by the Board of Visitors.
26. November 3, 1983: Women's soccer defeats William & Mary to become Virginia State Champions.
27. Fall of 1984: The Big South Conference's first official year in competition. In 1986, the NCAA grants the conference full DI status.
28. February 2, 1984: Women's Basketball is ranked 19th in NCAA Division II poll. Eventually the Highlanders achieve a No. 13 ranking later in the season and finish
16th.
29. March 15, 1984: Baseball comes to Radford as the athletic department begins its move into the Big South Conference.
30. September 13, 1984: RU's Division I status is approved by the NCAA. D-I status will take effect in the fall making Radford the 10th D-1 program in the state of Virginia.
31. November 1984: The annual Red-White game is played in the Dedmon Center (Nov. 8), kicking off RU's first season of NCAA Division-I play. Men's basketball falls in home opener to Georgia Southern, 72-69 in overtime (No. 27).
32. November 29, 1984: Women's basketball wins its first ever DI contest at Richmond, 82-72.
33. December 6, 1984: Men's basketball earns first DI victory against Maryland-Eastern Shore, 90-57.
34. December 5, 1985: Construction on the Dedmon Center Pool begins.
35. February 1986: Billy Myers of men's basketball is Radford's first Academic All-American (honorable mention).
36. May 1, 1986: Women's basketball player
Stephanie Howard is selected to the 1986 National Sports Festival East Squad and will compete in the U.S. Olympic sponsored event in Houston, Texas. It is a week-long competition considered to be the first step towards reaching the 1988 Olympics.
37. September 11, 1986: Former Radford basketball player
Pat DiServio is drafted by the Cincinnati Slammers of the Continetal Basketball Association (CBA). Drafted in the fourth round, he becomes the first RU athlete to be selected by a professional basketball team.
38. October 1986: Men's and women's Cross Country capture the Big South conference championship. The men's team wins second straight title, while the women triumphed in the first every women's meet.
39. October 9, 1986: Women's soccer breaks the NCAA DI record for most goals in a game, defeating UNC Asheville, 22-0. The previous record of 20 was set by Central Florida in 1981.
40. March 7, 1987: Radford claims the first ever Big South Women's Basketball Championship with a 71-59 victory over Campbell in the Dedmon Center.
41. April 30, 1987: Sue Shoemaker and Tammy Ponder win the Big South Conference Tournament Doubles Tennis title in Asheville, N.C.
42. November 12, 1987: Men's and Women's Cross Country repeat as Big South champions. They would go on to compete in the NCAA Regionals III Championships in Greenville, S.C.
43. November 19, 1987: In front of their home fans, the second-seed Highlanders defeated the fourth-seeded Winthrop, 3-2 to win its first Big South Volleyball Championship.
44. December 12, 1987: Men's Basketball makes its television debut on WSLS against George Mason. It is the first ever commercial telecast of a home game in the 13-year history of the program.
45. November 10, 1988: Men's soccer wins the its first Big South Championship by defeating UNC Asheville, 3-1 in Buies Creek, N.C.
46. February 23, 1989: Women's basketball playerStephanie Howard scores her 2,000th point against Coastal Carolina. Howard became the first RU basketball player, men's or women's, to reach this milestone.
47. March 1989: Women's Baskeball is invited to play in the WNIT becoming the first Big South men's or women's basketball program to appear in a post season tournament. The Highlanders would go 2-1 with victories over Richmond and DePaul.
48. September 7, 1989: Stephanie Howard becomes the first Radford student-athlete in its 15-year history to have their jersey (#10) retired.
49. 1990: Phil Leftwitch is drafted in the second round of the Major League Baseball draft as the California Angels' top selection. In 1993, he became the first Radford athlete in the major leagues.
50. 1990-96: Women's Baskeball claims seven consecutive Big South Championships.
51. November 1, 1990: Women's golf begins its first season as a university sponsored sport.
52. November 2, 1990: Men's Cross Country wins its sixth consecutive Big South championship.
53. November 16, 1990: Women's volleyall captures the Big South Conference Championship with a 3-0 victory (15-4, 15-12, 15-9) over Davidson.
54. March 15, 1991: Roz Groce hits a jumper at the buzzer lifting Radford to its third Big South Women's Basketball championship in five years with a 65-64 win over Campbell.
55. January 17, 1992: Dante Washington becomes Radford's first D-I National Soccer Coaches All-American after becoming the the Big South's all-time leading scorer with 159 career points.
56. February 21, 1992: Radford womens' basketball player Patrinda Toney becomes the Big South's all-time leading scorer with 1,895 points, surpassing Tammy Brown of Cambell (1,893).
57. February 21, 1992: Doug Day scored his 1,348th point to become the all-time leading scorer in men's basketball history.
58. March 10, 1992: Six games into its first season, softball picks up win number one with a 7-5 victory at Charleston Southern. The Highlanders would also win their home opener with a doubleheader sweep over Davis & Elkins (March 25).
59. Oct. 9, 1992: Sue Williams becomes the all-time leading scorer in women's soccer, surpassing the previous record of 75 points held by Stephanie Johnson.
60. November 1992: Two-time All-American Dante Washington finishes up his illustrious Highlander career as the second leading scoring in NCAA history with 82 golas and an NCAA-record 66 assists.He went on to play for the 1992 US Olympic Team as well as the US National squad. He would go on a play nine seasons in Major League Soccer (MLS).
61. February 4, 1993: Doug Day breaks the NCAA Career record for three-pointers, and would go on to hold that record until 1997.
62. March 26, 1993: Gymnast Christie Epperly receives an at-large bid to the NCAA Southeast Regional Gymnastics Championships in Athens, GA on April 3.
63. October 29, 1993: Women's soccer upset #16 ranked George Mason 2-1.
64. November 5, 1993: Cross Country runner Merrill Hausenfluck wins his fifth straight race, capturing a Big South Tournament title.
65. December 1993: Radford becomes the first Big South conference team to play in the NCAA Volleyball Tournament.
66. December 30, 1993: Men's Basketball team travels to LSU and defeats the Tigers 73-72, one of the biggest wins in RU Men's basketball history.
67. February 1994: Samantha Gilbert is honored as Women's basketball's first CoSIDA Academic All-American (second team).
68. March 24, 1995: Women's basketball wins their sixth straight Big South Tournament Championship. Earns 12th seed and faces the Florida Gators in their first round of the NCAA Tournament. Still remains the highest seed for any Big South basketball program (men or women).
69. August 25, 1995: Tartan: Radford's Inaugural class is inducted into the Sports Hall of Fame. The class includes: Charlene Curtis (Women's basketball), Janell Dobbins (Volleyball coach), Stephanie Howard (Women's basketball), Phil Leftwich (Baseball), David Smith (Men's basketball), and Chuck Tickle (Men's golf).
70. March 22, 1996: Women's basketball wins their seventh straight conference tournament title and receives their third NCAA Tournament bid.
71. September 27, 1996: Men's golfer, freshman Phil Boyer, win's the Individual State Golf title at the Virginia State Inter-Collegiate Championships in Hot Springs, VA.
72. August 27, 1997: Three baseball players are drafted in the MLB draft. Pitcher Jason Anderson went in the 4th round to the Oakland Athletics, pitcher Tim Manwiller went in the 30th round to the Oakland Athletics, and 2nd basemen Kelly Dempeer is selected in the 22nd round by the Cleveland Indians.
73. February, 1998: Corey Reed of Men's basketball is named to CoSIDA Academic All-American First Team. He is the first RU student-athelete in school history to earn this honor.
74. February 28, 1998: Men's basketball defeats UNC Asheville 63-61 on Kevin Robinson's buzzer-beater to capture its first Big South title and NCAA tournament berth. They would go on to play Duke in the first round of the tournament.
75. April 22, 1998: Track & Field finishes up its year in Big South competition. Highlights from the season include a first place high jump finish in the conference meet by Tim Langford.
76. November 11, 1998: Women's soccer team grabs its first Big South Conference Tournament title with a 1-0 win over UNC Asheville and receives automatic bid to the NCAA Women's Soccer Championship tournament.
77. November 10, 1999: Men's soccer wins the Big South Conference Tournament title beating Liberty 4-3 in a shoot-out at the end of regulation.
78. April, 2000: Khadijah Conda (400m) is Track & Field's first All-American.
79. October 4, 2000: Men's soccer team upsets #5 ranked Duke 3-2, snapping a 23 game home regular season win streak for the Blue Devils.
80. November 15, 2000: Women's Swimming & Diving is promoted from club status to varsity level within the athletics department.
