Earlham College

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Independent - Pre-1902
1886-87	Earlham plays its first recorded baseball game.
1888	Professor A.T. Murray introduces football to Earlham as an interclass sport.
1889-90	Earlham fields its first intercollegiate football team. Players ride to their away games in horse-drawn wagons, a tradition that would last nearly 25 years. Lack of eligibility rules permitted professors A.T. Murray and E. P. Trueblood to play on the student team.
1890	Cream and blue are selected as Earlham's athletics colors. Two years later the main color is changed to yellow.
1899-00	The first official baseball team is organized complete with a manager and team captain. Earlham formally begins intercollegiate play.

Indiana Collegiate Athletic League - 1902-22
1903-04	Earlham hires its first non-player football coach, "Long" John C. Miller.
1905-06	Walter Wilson begins serving as the first director of athletics. He also coaches Earlham's track team.
1907-08	The school's colors changed from yellow and white to yellow and cream. (The next year, the administration reversed this decision.)
1909-11	Earlham's track team wins a string of ICAL titles in 1909, 1910 and 1911.
1913-14	Gladys Bassett appointed first coach and director of women's athletics Athletic colors changed from yellow/white to maroon/white. The former color scheme "dirtied too easily."
1914-15	Sports teams began to abandon horse drawn carriages in favor of the interurban tram for transportation to games.
1915	Clara Comstock arrives in 1915 to serve as the professor of physical education for women (1915-1949). She organizes the Women's Athletic Association in her first year at Earlham, introducing women's field hockey to the college's athletics program. From 1930-46 Comstock served as the dean of women, later taking the role of dean of personnel from 1946-49. She was also instrumental in starting horseback riding on campus.
1917-1918	The automobile is used to commuting to athletic events as Earlham teams gradually abandoned the interurban tram.

Indiana Intercollegiate Conference – 1922-47
1927-1928	Horse riding begins as an all-women's sport. Horses would be brought from an off-campus stable until the college acquired horses of its own.
1930-1931	College faculty change Earlham's academic colors to maroon and white to match the established athletic colors.
1932-1933	Nicknamed the "Marauding Maroons" after the school's athletic colors, the men's basketball team plays an undefeated season, ending with a 15-0 record.
1937	Coach George Van Dyke leads Earlham baseball to its first-ever undefeated season, going 9-0.
1946	Former football end and quarterback Wendell Stanley '26 is awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. In 1968, The Wendell M. Stanley Senior Athlete-Scholar Award would be established in his honor.

Hoosier College Conference - 1947-57
1949-1950	Men's soccer makes its debut at Earlham. Tom Brown serves as coach until passing the mantle to Ed Nicholson in 1953.
1950-1951	Chess officially becomes a sport at Earlham, attaining varsity status the next year.
1952	Alumni Tom Jones '38 competes in the 1952 Summer Olympic Games in Helsinki, Finland, as a representative of the U.S. Olympic team. He places 36th in the marathon.
1956	Men's tennis finishes 6-0 and wins a sixth straight Hoosier Collegiate Conference title.

Independent - 1957-1966
Spring 1957	Earlham's Board of Trustees announces withdrawal from the HCC, stating, "We feel it has become unrealistic for us to tie ourselves to one conference when such a large percentage of our athletic events involves colleges and universities outside the conference, and when we are firmly committed to a program which emphasizes a wide diversity of sports opportunities for our students."
1961	Arthur Trester '04, Earlham baseball and basketball player, is inducted into National Basketball Hall of Fame after his service as the commissioner for the Indiana High School Athletic Association and development of one of the most successful basketball tournaments in the nation.
1962	Earlham's football team posts the first undefeated, untied gridiron squad in Earlham history at 8-0.

Hoosier College Conference - 1966-1972
Fall 1966	Earlham rejoins the Hoosier College Conference. However, some sports teams would not compete in the HCC until scheduling could be fully integrated with member teams.
1967	Men's soccer wins the Michigan-Illinois-Indiana Soccer Conference Championship after a flawless 6-0 mark in league competition.
1968	The Wendell M. Stanley Senior Athlete-Scholar Award is established in honor of the Nobel laureate and Earlham football captain.

Hoosier Buckeye Conference - 1972-84
1973	David Gray '73 ended his Earlham basketball career as the only Earlham student to score more than 2000 points during his career. His finishing total was 2323 points.
1979	The Kathryn Weber pool is dedicated at Homecoming. An alum, Weber '29 joined the athletics staff in 1936 eventually becoming a full time professor as well. Her efforts aided the implementation of lacrosse and dance at Earlham. She was also instrumental in supporting the field hockey team and horseback riding.
1976	Ultimate Frisbee arrives at Earlham. By the early '80s it had developed into one of the most successful club sports.
1976	Men's basketball wins the Hoosier-Buckeye Collegiate Conference title in a 88-69 game against Bluffton on Valentine's Day. The season would yield a 19-7 record under coach George Waggoner.
1981	Roy Messer begins his tenure as head coach for men's soccer. Messer would serve until his retirement in 2014, amassing 278 victories, winning three conference titles, and qualifying for six NAIA tournaments and one NCAA tournament.
1982	Earlham College becomes an NCAA Division III member on September 1, 1982.

College Athletic Conference - 1984-89
1983	The Kathryn Weber pool is dedicated at Homecoming. An alum, Weber '29 joined the athletics staff in 1936 eventually becoming a full time professor as well. Her efforts aided the implementation of lacrosse and dance at Earlham. She was also instrumental in supporting the field hockey team and horseback riding.
1984	Men's soccer wins Collegiate Athletic Conference and Illinois-Indiana College Soccer Conference championships with a 14-6 record.
1986	By the end of her last basketball season, Libby Maudlin '86 sets 17 basketball records. In 1985 she set the national record for number of consecutive free throws, totaling 21.
1987	Paul Schroeder '87 graduates as all-time leading soccer scorer with 50 goals and 44 assists.
1989	Baseball takes the CAC championship with a perfect 4-0 record in conference play.

North Coast Athletic Conference - 1989-2010
1994-1996	Men's cross country emerged as conference champions 1995 and 1996. The cross country team has the distinction of being Earlham's only outright North Coast Athletic Conference champion.
1994	Former Earlham basketball coach Del Harris takes the helm of the Los Angeles Lakers. Harris coached basketball at Earlham from 1965-74, winning 175 games against 70 losses. His teams won three Hoosier College Conference Championships and a District NAIA crown.
2001	Football player Frank Truster '77 is inducted into Indiana Football Hall of Fame. Following his graduation in 1977, Truster served as an assistant coach in the football program. As a student, he was a 4-year football player and recipient of the George Van Dyke Award.
2001	Eric Clark '58 is inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame. Clark, also a member of Earlham's Hall of Fame, earned 12 varsity letters split between basketball, football, track, and volleyball.
2003	Tashi Johnson '05 smashes three school records in one day, breaking her own records in 100- and 200-meter dashes and helping set the 100-meter relay record with teammates. Johnson also holds the record in the 55-meter dash.
2005	By the end of his last football season in the fall of 2005, quarterback Justin Rummell '06 sets 18 football records including 6 career records in total plays, total offense, passing attempts, passing completions, passing yards, and touchdown passes.
2008	The women's soccer team set a program record for wins (12) in a season.
2009	Women's soccer qualifes for NCAC Tournament and advances to championship after knocking of No. 14 Denison University in semifinals.

Heartland Collegiate Athletics Conference - 2010-present
2010	Women's soccer wins HCAC regular season title with a 14-6-1 overall record and 8-1 HCAC mark - the first women's conference title the College's history.
2011	A longstanding fixture at football and basketball games, the Earlham cheerleading squad disbands due to lack of student involvement. Women's soccer wins second consecutive HCAC regular season title.
2014	Men's tennis wins 4th straight HCAC title, finishing the season 8-0 with an overall 16-7 record.
2015	Relevant magazine declares that Earlham ranks No. 1 of all NCAA religious mascots, taking special note of the College's cheeky cheer: "Fight, Fight, Inner Light! / Kill, Quakers, Kill! / Knock 'em Down, Beat 'em Senseless! / Do It 'til We Reach Consensus!"
2016	Earlham's first women's golf team takes to the links. Men's golf returns as a varsity sport for the first time since 1993.
2017	The new soccer complex hosts its first match in the fall as the Quakers begin the 2017 season. In addition to stands and locker rooms, the facility features a clubhouse, conference room, media area, and concessions.
2017	Earlham baseball captures the 2017 HCAC Baseball Tournament championship with a 5-2 victory over Mount St. Joseph. The Quakers advanced to the NCAA Regional hosted by Washington & Jefferson College, defeating College of Wooster, 6-2, in the program's first NCAA post-season contest.
2018	Men's and women's lacrosse begin competition at Earlham during the Spring 2018 semester. Women's lacrosse, a varsity sport at Earlham from 1972-2003, returns to the College as a varsity sport while men's lacrosse makes its varsity debut at Earlham College.
2018	Women's track and field captures Indiana D-III championship at state meet hosted by DePauw University.
2019	Senior Aishat Sadiq earns NCAA All-America honors after finishing eighth in the 100m (12.00 seconds, +2.4 m/s) at the 2019 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships, on May 25, 2019, in Geneva, Ohio. Six days later, Sadiq is named the HCAC Women's Athlete of the Year, becoming the first Earlham student-athlete, male or female, to receive the conference's highest athletic accolade.
2021	Earlham field hockey earns its first ever trip to the postseason after breaking the program record for wins in a season with a 15-4 record. Denise Bergdolt graduates as the program leader in assists and in second place in career goals. Meg Murphy took NCAC Defensive Player of the Year honors as the Quakers hosted Ohio Wesleyan in the conference semifinals.
2021	The volleyball team finishes in first place in the HCAC regular season standings with a 20-6 record (8-1 HCAC) and hosts the conference tournament for the first time in program history. Maria Young was named HCAC volleyball Player of the Year and earned third team All-American honors.
2022	Baseball wins its second HCAC tournament in five years with a sweep of tournament play. The Quakers advanced to the NCAA Regional hosted by Lynchburg University.
2024	Softball returns to campus with a sweep of Olivet on the opening weekend of competition. The Quakers would go on to compete in the HCAC Tournament as the No.6 seed, and eliminate Defiance College with a 7-6 win. Bo Shelton was named to the HCAC First Team as a freshman.
2025	Volleyball wins the HCAC Regular Season Championship with an 8-1 conference record. The Quakers downed Bluffton University 3-1 in the opening round of the Tournament before falling to Hanover in the semifinal. Four Quakers earned First Team All-HCAC honors, including Madison Bizjak who was named Co-Defensive Player of the Year. Lauren Horton earned a third career Coach of the Year title.
2026	In just its third year of competition, the Earlham softball team won the HCAC Tournament after entering as the No.3 seed. The Quakers defeated Transylvania with a walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh inning. Bo Shelton was named HCAC Player of the Year, while four others earned a spot on either the first or second team All-HCAC. The Quakers then competed in the Angola Regional hosted by Trine University.

Notes: The items within the timeline have been divided into the primary athletic conference affiliation of a given era. Some sports are/have been a part of other conferences. For example, Earlham's field hockey team has competed in the North Coast Athletic Conference since 1989, while the Earlham lacrosse teams compete in the Heartland Collegiate Lacrosse Conference. The timeline was created by Jeremy Bleh '17.

*The office of sports marketing and communications makes a concerted effort to keep these records accurate. If you have information that could assist this page, please contact Earlham's Office of Sports Marketing & Communications at sportsinfo@earlham.edu. *Last updated - September 29, 2026