Iowa has some of the best college sports rivalries in the country, thanks to the fact that the state has a number of excellent programs. What are some of the best college teams here and what sports do they compete in? By looking at the key facts, we’ll find that there are some teams well worth supporting.
Representing Ohio State University in Columbus, the Buckeyes take part in the big ten conference in a variety of different sports. With their scarlet and gray colors and Brutus Buckeye mascot, this team is instantly recognizable.
According to PickBoss, Ohio State is one of the few college programs to win the national NCAA championship in basketball and baseball as well as be a national football champion.
Buckeyes have also found success in a wide selection of other sports. Golf, gymnastics, volleyball, swimming, and rowing are some of the disciplines where men or women from this program have excelled. The 2005-06 season was particularly memorable for Ohio State, as their men’s football and basketball teams, together with the women’s basketball team, all won their respective conference championships. They then did exactly the same thing the next year.
Many sporting legends have come through this program over the years since it began in the 1880s. They include basketball players John Havlicek and Jerry Lucas, athlete Jesse Owen, golfer Jack Nicklaus, and football player Archie Griffin. If we focus on the example of the men’s basketball team, we can see that they won the NCAA championship in 1960 and reached the Final Fours on a total of four occasions. Their biggest football rival is the University of Michigan, with their rivalry going back well over a century.
This team is from Ohio University, which is located in Athens. Their sports history began back in the 1890s, with their baseball team. Just a couple of years later, the Bobcats had a football team to support as well. Their baseball program has won the regular season title 14 times, with the last one coming in 1991. In addition, 23 players have made it from the program into the major leagues, with Mike Schmidt probably the most famous of them.
In terms of their basketball program, Ohio plays at the Convocation Center, where over 13,000 spectators can be seated. They are regularly among the college basketball teams with the biggest attendances. The football team plays in the historic Peden Stadium, with a 27,000 capacity.
The University of Toledo also has a number of sports teams, going under the name of the Toledo Rockets. They wear a combination of midnight blue and gold, taking part in sports such as football, tennis, and basketball. Both men’s and women’s teams compete in their respective leagues, with Rocky the Rocket and Rocksy the Rockette their mascots.
The Toledo football team is probably the most successful part of the sports program overall. They have won nine Mid-American Conference titles and the last one came in 2017. The Falcons, who represent Bowling Green State University, are their biggest rivals and these teams compete against each other every year for the Peace Pipe. The Rockets are currently leading the series and have won ten of the last 11 games between these programs.
As mentioned above, the Falcons are another of Ohio’s best college teams. Representing Bowling Green State University, they compete in sports like ice hockey, football, golf, and soccer. Among the biggest success stories this century, the women’s basketball team won their conference championships three years in a row and got to the Sweet Sixteen stage of the NCAA championship in 2007.
