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The Athletic Department at Hood College is proud to adhere to the philosophy of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, Division III. Hood College is a member of the Middle Atlantic Conferences, competing in the MAC Commonwealth. The MAC sponsors 23 conference sports that include student-athletes from 17 schools spanning two leagues – the MAC Commonwealth and the MAC Freedom. As a member of the MAC Commonwealth, Hood will compete against Albright College, Alvernia University, Arcadia University, Lebanon Valley College, Lycoming College, Messiah College, Stevenson University and Widener University in the sports of baseball, basketball, field hockey, lacrosse, men’s golf, soccer, softball, tennis and volleyball. The sports such as cross country, women’s golf, swimming and track and field, will compete against both the MAC Commonwealth schools as well as the MAC Freedom schools. The MAC Freedom is comprised of Delaware Valley College, DeSales University, Eastern University, Florham Campus – Fairleigh Dickinson University, Kings College, Manhattanville College, Misericordia University and Wilkes University.
Hood College athletics are designed to contribute to the student’s overall educational experience. Each athletic program is conducted in a manner designed to protect and enhance the physical, educational and spiritual well-being of the student-athlete.
Those interested in women’s intercollegiate competition can compete in basketball, cross country, field hockey, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, indoor and outdoor track and field and volleyball. Men’s intercollegiate sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, swimming, soccer, lacrosse, indoor and outdoor track and field and tennis. An equestrian team is also offered as a club sport.
Two full-time certified athletic trainers work with athletes and coaches in all phases of sports medicine including off-season and in-season strength and conditioning. The intercollegiate athletic program at Hood College complements and enhances the learning experience inherent in a liberal arts education. The program provides the opportunity for athletes to excel physically, emotionally and spiritually. Each athlete is challenged to appreciate and respect individual differences, to work collaboratively to achieve a common goal and to strive for excellence.
To be eligible to participate in intercollegiate sports, a student must be enrolled for at least 12 credits, be in good academic standing and maintain a cumulative 2.0 G.P.A. Students on academic or social probation are not permitted to participate in varsity or club sports.
Hood College is a private college in Frederick, Maryland. In fall 2018, Hood enrolled 2,052 students (1,092 undergraduate students; 960 graduate students). Thirty-eight percent of students are either members of under-represented racial or ethnic populations or from foreign countries.
It was established in 1893 by the Potomac Synod of the Reformed Church in the United States as the Woman’s College of Frederick. An all-female institution until 1971, the college initially admitted men only as commuters. This continued until 2003, when male students were extended the option of residential status.
hood college blazers
Hood’s first-ever costumed mascot, Blaze, made its debut in a surprise flash mob performance at the end of the traditional Convocation ceremony in 2010.
Doug Raftery ’12, Bilal Syed ’11, Brittany Lethbridge ’13 and the Student Athletic Advisory Committee spearheaded the mascot project. Street Characters Inc. of Canada designed the costume, based on the Hood Blazers logo, which was designed in 2005.
The mascot and the Blazers logo were intended to reflect Hood’s history and tradition. The logo includes the graphical depiction of a horse’s head, including a windswept mane and a white streak on its head, which on a horse is called a “blaze.” The College’s and the state of Maryland’s long history with equestrianism also played a role in the selection of the mascot.
Blaze has two outfits—a Hood College sports jersey and shorts, and a blue slacks and white blazer outfit. The blazer was once part of the College tradition when white jackets, or blazers, were presented to exemplary student-athletes.
Blaze regularly makes appearances at athletic, campus and community events.
Traditions
Hood College students participate in a number of long-standing traditions, some of which date back nearly 100 years, such as the “Hood Hello.”
Class banners
Each class decorates a banner to be displayed in the dining hall. The banners correspond to each class’ assigned color, red, green, blue or yellow. Every year, a new representative symbol is designed and painted on the banners. Following a class’ graduation, the banners are hung in the atrium of the Whitaker Campus Center.[20]
Columns So Fair
Alumnae Hall’s four Ionic columns are named Hope, Opportunity, Obligation and Democracy (HOOD). The columns were dedicated by the classes of 1915, 1916, 1917 and 1918. Many buildings on campus that were constructed after Alumnae Hall also have four columns,[6] but the inspiration for the columns themselves probably came from the six columns on each of the twin buildings that comprise Winchester Hall, the original buildings of the Woman’s College in downtown Frederick.
Dinks
Dinks (or colored beanie hats) have been a Hood College tradition since at least the 1950s. According to some sources, the tradition may have started very early in the 20th century with colored armbands rather than beanies, although the wearing of beanies is officially documented as beginning in the 1950s. There is reason to believe this is true, as ceremonial colored beanies were also used by women’s colleges such as Wellesley during the early 1900s. Upon arriving at Hood, the members of each incoming class are given dinks with its class color, either blue, green, yellow or red. The four colors rotate so that the color of the previous year’s seniors goes to the incoming freshmen. In the past, dinks were worn at special events such as Campus Day, and freshmen were previously required to wear their dinks continuously during their first few weeks on campus. Now, they are primarily worn during opening convocation, Policies for Dollars, and baccalaureate.
Midnight and Strawberry Breakfasts
Begun in the 1980s, Midnight Breakfast is held each semester the night before final exams begin and is served by College faculty and staff.
Originally held on the morning of May Day, Strawberry Breakfast now takes places on the morning of Commencement.
The Pergola
Located in the geographical center of Hood’s residential quad since 1915, the Pergola is a wooden dome-like structure covered with wisteria.[6] Before 1915 a Pergola was located at the East Church Street campus and was the inspiration for the current structure. Several traditions are associated with the Pergola, such as the decoration of the pergola with holiday lights during the holiday season. Students are not to speak any harsh words under the Pergola or “split poles” with friends, as this might lead to a failed friendship after graduation.
Policies for Dollars
Policies for Dollars is a competition in which the freshmen of each residence hall compete to raise money for their respective halls. The winning dorm also receives the “pink spoon,” a giant plastic trophy of sentimental value. Typical activities in the competition include Hood trivia, dorm cheers and skits.
Accreditations
Hood College is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education[23] and the following bodies for specific degrees:
Undergraduate business and MBA by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs
Bachelor’s degree in computer science by ABET
Counseling programs by Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP)
Education programs by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) which merged with another organization to form the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP
Nursing programs by The Maryland Nursing Board[28] and the Maryland Higher Education Commission; the BSN by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education[30]
Social work program by the Council on Social Work Education
Academics
Hood College offers 33 undergraduate majors, 19 master’s degree programs and 10 post-baccalaureate certification programs, including certification programs in education. Hood College has consistently been ranked in the U.S. News & World Report list for Best University in the Northeast.
Departmental honors
Each spring students selected by the academic departments make presentations of their completed year-long research projects. These students are known as Tischer Scholars, in honor of Christine P. Tischer, alumna and former member of the Hood College Board of Trustees. In the spring of 2013, 22 seniors gave presentations on topics that varied from “First Generation College Students: Challenges and Solutions” to “Effects of Stream Nutrients on Salamander Species Diversity and Abundance.”
Honors program
The Hood College Honors Program is a selective program of study, admitting only a limited number of students each year. Students in the Honors Program take an interdisciplinary seminar each semester, as well as participate in community service, study abroad or internships, and Senior Seminar, allowing students to choose a topic of broad interest and selecting a faculty member to teach the course.[33]
Study abroad
Hood College offers a study abroad program that can be utilized by any student with any major. Some majors require students to spend a semester abroad, including foreign language and literature students.
Graduate school
The Hood College Graduate School is the oldest graduate school in the region. It opened in the summer of 1971 after approval of the program by the college faculty in the fall of 1970 and approval by the State of Maryland in December 1970. The first graduate program was a Master of Arts in Human Sciences. Concentrations were available in Contemporary Government, Counseling and Guidance, Early Childhood Education, Elementary Science and Mathematics, Environmental Science, Public Affairs, Reading, and Special Education. Over the ensuing forty years, that single program has evolved into fifteen master’s degree programs and thirteen post-baccalaureate certificate programs.
hood college athletics division
The Athletic Department at Hood College is proud to adhere to the philosophy of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, Division III. Hood College is a member of the Middle Atlantic Conferences, competing in the MAC Commonwealth. The MAC sponsors 23 conference sports that include student-athletes from 17 schools spanning two leagues – the MAC Commonwealth and the MAC Freedom. As a member of the MAC Commonwealth, Hood will compete against Albright College, Alvernia University, Arcadia University, Lebanon Valley College, Lycoming College, Messiah College, Stevenson University and Widener University in the sports of baseball, basketball, field hockey, lacrosse, men’s golf, soccer, softball, tennis and volleyball. The sports such as cross country, women’s golf, swimming and track and field, will compete against both the MAC Commonwealth schools as well as the MAC Freedom schools. The MAC Freedom is comprised of Delaware Valley College, DeSales University, Eastern University, Florham Campus – Fairleigh Dickinson University, Kings College, Manhattanville College, Misericordia University and Wilkes University.
Hood College athletics are designed to contribute to the student’s overall educational experience. Each athletic program is conducted in a manner designed to protect and enhance the physical, educational and spiritual well-being of the student-athlete.
Those interested in women’s intercollegiate competition can compete in basketball, cross country, field hockey, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, indoor and outdoor track and field and volleyball. Men’s intercollegiate sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, swimming, soccer, lacrosse, indoor and outdoor track and field and tennis. An equestrian team is also offered as a club sport.
Two full-time certified athletic trainers work with athletes and coaches in all phases of sports medicine including off-season and in-season strength and conditioning. The intercollegiate athletic program at Hood College complements and enhances the learning experience inherent in a liberal arts education. The program provides the opportunity for athletes to excel physically, emotionally and spiritually. Each athlete is challenged to appreciate and respect individual differences, to work collaboratively to achieve a common goal and to strive for excellence.
To be eligible to participate in intercollegiate sports, a student must be enrolled for at least 12 credits, be in good academic standing and maintain a cumulative 2.0 G.P.A. Students on academic or social probation are not permitted to participate in varsity or club sports.
Hood College athletics began in 1898 with the first basketball team. In the early 1900s, field hockey, tennis, archery and swimming were among the sports added to the athletics program. Gambrill Gymnasium was constructed in 1949 and served as the main athletic facility for the campus until the dedication of the new Athletic Center in November 2011. In March 2015 it was renamed the Ronald J. Volpe Athletic Center in honor of the former president. In 1984, Hood College became a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and joined the Division III Chesapeake Women’s Athletic Conference. When the CWAC disbanded, Hood joined the Atlantic Women’s Colleges Conference in 1990. In 2006, Hood joined the Capital Athletic Conference (CAC).
Hood presently offers intercollegiate varsity teams in men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, men’s and women’s cross country, field hockey, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s lacrosse, men’s and women’s soccer, softball, men’s and women’s swimming, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s and women’s track and field, and women’s volleyball. The college also offers club level equestrian and cheer programs.[36]
The men’s teams began competition in the Capital Athletic Conference for the 2006–2007 academic year along with women’s cross country and track and field. All other women’s sports remained in the AWCC for the 2006–2007 year and moved to the CAC in 2007–2008. Hood joined the 17-member Middle Atlantic Conferences in July 2012. Hood College student-athletes train in the Ronald J. Volpe Athletic Center, which includes the BB&T arena.
The nickname for Hood athletics is the Blazers. This dates back to the 1920s when the campus elected a rising senior as the “White Sweater” girl as someone who possessed the most sportsmanship and school spirit. In 1928, the sweater was changed to a blazer and the tradition continued through the mid-1900s. Today, the nickname is represented by a thoroughbred horse with a “blaze” mark on its forehead.
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