The athletic teams of “The University of Rhode Island” are known as the “Rhode Islands Rams”.
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“The Rhode Island Department of Athletics and Recreation” offers 22 intercollegiate sports (12 for women and 10 for men) and 17 club sports programs. The University is a member of the Atlantic10 Conference, the Eastern Collegiate Hockey Association and the Colonial Athletic Association in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision for football.
The players in the team not only excel in the field of sports but academics also. A senior football player of the Rhode Island Rams, Damien Gresko was recently named the recipient of the Vangermeersch Award, which is given annually to the top accounting graduate and undergraduate students.
The official colors of the team are light blue, white and navy blue. Earlier the color was formerly referred to as "Keaney blue". A Ram is the official mascot of the team. It was chosen in the year 1923 as a tribute to the school's agricultural history. There has not been a live 'Ram' at the school since the year 1974, with "Rhody", a student in an anthropoid Ram costume, roaming the sidelines in his place.
The history of the people who have done coaching for the team is quite interesting! Jim Harrick came over to URI from UCLA. Al Skinner coached the Rams before Harrick but later, Jim Barron took over as coach in the year 2001 and Rick Pitino coached at rival Providence College.