July 1, 1859
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First intercollegiate
baseball game played in U.S. featured Ephs vs. Amherst in Pittsfield, Mass., on July 1st. Amherst won 73-32 in a game played under “Massachusetts Rules.” |
March 13, 1982
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Williams College women's swimming
& diving team won the first |
March, 1988
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Wendell K. Chestnut '88 1st African American named an All-American |
December 1988
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1st NCAA men's soccer coach named National Coach of the Year in consecutive years |
May 10, 1992
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Mike Masters '89 1st American professional to score a gaol in famed Wembley Stadium |
January 29, 1997
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Lasell Gym was the site of the first
known |
October 3, 1995
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Ephs win first Eastern College
Athletic Conference (ECAC) Jostens Institution of the Year Award for combined academic and athletic excellence contested by 280+ schools in NCAA Division I, II and III from Maine to North Carolina. Through the 2009-10 academic year Williams had won the award 6 times, most of any school. |
June 10, 1996
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Williams wins the first Directors'
Cup in NCAA Division III play for overall excellence in athletics as determined by the performance of teams in NCAA team championships and awarded by the National Association of College Athletic Directors and Sears Roebuck Company. Through the 2010-11 academic year the Ephs had won 15 of the 16 Directors’ Cups and 13 in a row. |
October 5, 1999
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Williams becomes the first school
to win the ECAC Jostens Institution of the Year Award and the Directors' Cup in the same year. |
May 19, 2002
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Williams became the first team to
repeat as NCAA Division III champions in women's tennis and in 2012 became the first team to win 6 straight titles. |
June 2, 2002
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The first best
team in NCAA Division III:
Williams women's crew wins the first
NCAA Division III Rowing |
August 11, 2003
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AND |
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Williams becomes first college or university to be ranked 1st nationally in academics and athletics in the same year. Williams has recorded this unique double eight straight years from 2003 – 2011. |
May 31, 2008
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Williams
women’s crew becomes first Division III team to win NCAA Division III women's rowing title three years in a row 2008 (pictured) |
The Ephs extended the streak of NCAA titles to 8 in 2013 |
November 10, 2007
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Williams becomes the first NCAA
Division III member to host ESPN’s College Football GameDay show at Weston Field. |
September 2010
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Williams Purple Cow in the person
of James Dunn '10 is first Division III mascot to appear in an ESPN College Football GameDay commercial. Spot was filmed in Long Beach, CA. |
Fall 2010 |
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Williams first college |
April 24, 2014
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Kelsey Levine
'10 1st female Head Alpine NCAA Ski Coach |
December 7, 2014
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Hayden Rooke-Ley '15 1st NCAA DIII men's basketball player named National Player of the Week by USBWA |
If you are aware of an
Eph athletic first that does not appear
on this list please email Sports Information
Director
Dick Quinn –
dquinn@wiliams.edu