RIVERDALE—As a final tribute to the last 100 years of Jasper athletics, GoJaspers.com would like to compare what athletics looked like back then to now.
Athletics has been the 'front porch' of the college since the late 1800s, and through the multiple locations the college has called home. Over the years, the sports offering has changed and now features 19 Division I teams, with 10 being women's teams and nine for men.
Through the years, many things have changed. However, some things have stood the test of time. Looking back through our track and field program, the IC4A Championships, the Milrose Games, Metropolitan Championships, and Penn Relays are still run today, with the Green and White participating annually. Some of the events mentioned took place at the legendary Van Cortlandt Park, just down the hill from the current location of the Manhattan campus, with this year's cross country Metropolitan Championships being held and the NCAA Regional meet.
Team sports have seen their opponents evolve over the years. One common opponent that the Jaspers used to see in multiple sports every year is New York University (NYU). In 2022, NYU is a member of NCAA Division III, so the Jaspers do not compete against them regularly.
The men's basketball team has squared off with schools or entities that have either been lost to time or have rebranded and are not recognizable today. Some of these include but are not limited to, Arkansas St. Teachers, Albany Pharmacy, Germans of Buffalo, the Baltimore YMCA, Cushing Academy, and New York Training College. All of these predate the team's contributions as a founding member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference in 1980.
Many Jaspers would go on to play in the pros in various leagues, but those teams that drafted them have either relocated or rebranded over the years. They include but are not limited to the St. Louis Hawks, currently the Atlanta Hawks in the NBA, and the Cincinnati Royals, currently the Sacramento Kings. On the diamond, Jaspers were drafted by the Brooklyn Dodgers, now known as the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The home of Manhattan volleyball and men's and women's basketball, Draddy Gymnasium, was erected on the campus of Manhattan College in 1978; before that, the Jaspers played at various sites around New York City. The Jaspers track and field program held meets in the legendary Madison Square Garden in midtown Manhattan.
Manhattan athletics have had success since their inception in the late 19
th century and will continue that tradition.
