Miami Hurricanes
The Miami Hurricanes, known informally as The U, 'UM, or The 'Canes', are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The Hurricanes compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the highest level of collegiate athletics. The University of Miami's football team has won five national championships and its baseball team has won four national championships. Across all sports, the Hurricanes have won 21 national championships and 83 individual national championships.
The Miami Hurricanes field 16 total teams, including 7 men's and 9 women's athletic teams. Men's teams include baseball, basketball, cross-country, diving, football, tennis, and track and field. Women's teams include: women's basketball, cross-country, golf, rowing, soccer, swimming and diving, tennis, track and field, and volleyball. The University of Miami has approximately equal participation by male and female varsity athletes in these sports.
The athletic department's colors are orange, green, and white. The school mascot is Sebastian the Ibis. The ibis was selected as the school's mascot because it is typically the last animal to flee an approaching hurricane and the first to reappear after the storm, making it a symbol of leadership and courage. The school's logo is the letter "U." Its marching band is the Band of the Hour.
Aside from being an independent in baseball, the Hurricanes were a full member of the Big East Conference from 1991 to 2004. In 2004, the Hurricanes left the Big East Conference to join the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Nearly 400 Miami Hurricanes football players have gone on to excel in the NFL, and eleven to date have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame: Jim Otto in 1980, Ted Hendricks in 1990, Jim Kelly in 2002, Michael Irvin in 2007, Cortez Kennedy in 2012, Warren Sapp in 2013, Ray Lewis in 2018, Ed Reed in 2019, Edgerrin James in 2020, and Devin Hester and Andre Johnson in 2024.
Teams
Baseball
The University of Miami has won four national championships and reached the College World Series 22 times in the 34 seasons since 1974. Multiple players for the Hurricanes baseball team have gone on to careers in Major League Baseball.The team plays its games on the University of Miami campus at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field. The team mascot is the Miami Maniac. The team is currently coached by J.D. Arteaga. In 2006, former Hurricanes baseball coach Ron Fraser was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame.
The University of Miami baseball team holds the NCAA record for the most consecutive post season appearances. This streak is the longest of any major NCAA Division I men's sport, topping NCAA football's post-season streak of 35 seasons and the NCAA basketball streak of 27 seasons.
Basketball
Men's basketball
The University of Miami's men's basketball team has produced several players who have gone on to play professionally in the NBA. Rick Barry, who played his collegiate basketball at the University of Miami, is a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame. Barry is the Hurricanes' only consensus All-American in basketball and led the nation in scoring his senior year with a 37.4 average during the 1964–65 season.The University of Miami men's basketball team was launched in 1926. In the middle of the 1970 season, the university's board of trustees attempted to shut the program down, which forced Will Allen to organize his teammates and strike because it was not sufficient notice for the players to transfer schools. They held a press conference, which caught the attention of national media. In 1971, the university dropped the program, with the board citing inadequate facilities, sagging attendance, and serious financial losses as justifications for the decision. Prior to the 1985–86 season, however, the program was revived, though the University of Miami would be minimally competitive over the next several years. The program's fortunes turned around in 1990 when Miami hired Leonard Hamilton as head basketball coach and accepted an invitation to join the Big East. By the end of the decade, Hamilton had turned the University of Miami into one of the better basketball programs in the Big East and guided the team to three straight NCAA tournament appearances, including a second seed in the 1999 tournament and a Sweet 16 appearance in 2000. The 1998 tournament appearance was the University of Miami's first since 1960.
Hamilton left at the end of the 2000 season to become head coach of the NBA's Washington Wizards and was replaced by Perry Clark. During Clark's second season the team won 24 games and was seeded fifth in the NCAA tournament. With the 2002–03 season, the team moved into its newly completed on-campus arena, the Watsco Center. Despite a win over powerhouse North Carolina to christen the new arena, Clark's teams performed woefully over the next two seasons. Clark was dismissed as head coach following the 2003–04 season, the University of Miami's last season in the Big East, and replaced by Frank Haith.
In the 2007–08 season, after being picked to finish last in the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Hurricanes finished the year 23–11 and reached the second round of the NCAA tournament before falling to second seeded Texas. This was the team's first NCAA tournament bid since the 2001–2002 season.
For the 2009–10 season, Miami had a winning record overall, but finished last in the ACC with a record of 4–12.
In the 2012–2013 season, the University of Miami defeated first-ranked Duke 90–63, won their first 13 ACC games, and attained the highest Associated Press ranking in school history. However, the Hurricanes lost to Wake Forest 80–65, which ruined their perfect record in ACC play that season. Miami went on to clinch the 2012–13 ACC regular season title with a home triumph over Clemson. Miami entered the ACC Tournament as the top seed and won the tournament with a win over North Carolina. Multiple UM members were recognized that season, including starting point guard Shane Larkin, senior shooting guard Durand Scott, and Jim Larranaga. Miami was selected as the second overall seed in East Region of the NCAA Tournament. In the tournament, they defeated Pacific University 78-49 and then defeated the University of Illinois 63–59, which advanced the team to the regional semifinals where they lost to Marquette.
Both the University of Miami men's and women's basketball teams play their home games at the Watsco Center on the University of Miami's Coral Gables campus. On April 22, 2011, George Mason Patriots head coach Jim Larranaga accepted the head coaching position after coaching the Patriots for 14 seasons.
Women's basketball
In 2009, University of Miami women's basketball forward Shenise Johnson competed on the gold medal-winning USA Team at the 2009 U19 World Championships.In 2009–10, Miami finished last in the ACC. A year later, in the 2010–11 season, however, they went 26–3 in the regular season to finish alongside Duke as regular season ACC champions. That season, Miami went undefeated at the Watsco Center, extending their home winning streak to 24 straight games. Despite a quarterfinal exit in the ACC Tournament, Miami's performance was enough to merit the program's first NCAA tournament bid since 1992. After cruising past Gardner–Webb in the first round, they lost to Oklahoma in the second. Head coach Katie Meier won National Coach of the Year, along with Connecticut's Geno Auriemma and Stanford's Tara VanDerveer. Junior guards Shenice Johnson and Riquana Williams were named to the All-ACC first team, sophomore forward Morgan Stroman was named to the all-conference third team, and Johnson was a third-team All-American.
The 2011–12 team returned every player from the 2010–11 squad and was picked in the preseason to win the ACC, though they finished 2nd. In the past seasons, they have made the NCAA Tournament five times.
Like the University of Miami's men's basketball team, its women's basketball team plays their home games at the Watsco Center on the University of Miami's Coral Gables campus.
Football
The University of Miami is one of the most predominant college football programs in the nation. They have won five NCAA Division I national football championships, in 1983, 1987, 1989, 1991, and 2001, and are currently tied for fourth on the list of all-time Associated Press National Poll champions. The Hurricanes have the 16th-highest winning percentage in NCAA Division I history as of 2018, at.635, and hold the second longest streak of weeks ranked first in the nation's Top 20 from October 14, 2001, to October 28, 2002., the University of Miami has produced two Heisman Trophy winners, Vinny Testaverde in 1986 and Gino Torretta in 1992. Twelve members of the College Football Hall of Fame either played or coached at the University of Miami: Bennie Blades, Don Bosseler, Hendricks, Don James, Russell Maryland, Ed Reed, Testaverde, Toretta, Arnold Tucker, and coaches Andy Gustafson, Jack Harding and Jimmy Johnson.
, at least one University of Miami player has been selected in each of 49 consecutive NFL drafts, dating back to 1975. Among all colleges and universities, as of 2022, the University of Miami holds the all-time record for the most defensive linemen and is tied with USC for the most wide receivers to go on to play in the NFL.
To date, eleven Miami Hurricanes have been inducted into the NFL's Pro Football Hall of Fame: Jim Otto in 1980, Ted Hendricks in 1990, Jim Kelly in 2002, Michael Irvin in 2007, Cortez Kennedy in 2012, Warren Sapp in 2013, Ray Lewis in 2018, Ed Reed in 2019, Edgerrin James in 2020, and Devin Hester and Andre Johnson in 2024. Two former University of Miami players, Ottis Anderson and Lewis, have been named Super Bowl MVPs in Super Bowl XXV and Super Bowl XXXV, respectively.
Since 2008, the University of Miami has played its home games at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, roughly north of the university's Coral Gables campus. Prior to this, from 1937 until 2007, Miami played their home games at the Miami Orange Bowl in Little Havana, which was demolished in 2008.
One of the remarkable highlights of the team is the 2001 season where they finished with a perfect 12-0 record. They also went undefeated in the Big East Conference and capped off their amazing season by winning the Rose Bowl, which served as the BCS National Championship Game, defeating Nebraska 37-14.