Competing in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), the university sponsors 16 NCAA Division I athletic programs. All of the athletic teams are now known as the Peacocks. Until recently, the women's teams were known as the Peahens; Saint Peter's is the only NCAA Division I institution with this mascot.
The Victor R. Yanitelli, S.J. Recreational Life Center
Home site of men’s basketball, women’s basketball, swimming & diving, and women's volleyball
The Victor R. Yanitelli, S.J. Recreational Life Center (RLC) is the home of the Peacocks men’s and women’s basketball teams, men’s and women’s swimming teams, and women’s volleyball team. The $6 million complex opened in 1975 and the white, air-supported roof is recognized from miles around. The RLC basketball court seating capacity is 3,200. The Victor R. Yanitelli, S.J. Recreational Life Center hosted its first men’s basketball game on November 29, 1975. The RLC houses three gymnasia, an Olympic-sized swimming pool and diving facility, a fitness center, a free weight room, racquetball and squash courts, multi-purpose rooms for such activities as dance, yoga and martial arts and five indoor tennis courts and a jogging track underneath the air-supported Bubble.
The tennis nets can be taken down to convert the space inside the Bubble into a multi-purpose indoor field for athletic practices and intramural games. The gymnasia are converted into an arena for activities such as varsity basketball games and special events such as the University’s Baccalaureate Mass.
The offices for the Department of Recreation and Intramural Sports, as well as the University’s Department of Athletics, are housed in the RLC. During the summer of 2020, it was announced that Thomas P. Mac Mahon ’68, member of the Saint Peter’s University Board of Trustees and retired chairman and chief executive officer of LabCorp, committed a $5 million lead gift to launch the phased renovation of The Victor R. Yanitelli, S.J. Recreational Life Center. In celebration of the proud legacy of Peacock basketball, Mac Mahon made the decision to honor his former 1967-68 men’s basketball teammates and name the transformed space the “Run Baby Run Arena.”
Joseph J. Jaroschak Field
Home site of baseball, men’s soccer, women’s soccer, and softball
Joseph J. Jaroschak Field is Saint Peter's first athletic field. The field was dedicated in 1990 by Mary Lou Jaroschak, and named after her husband, the late Joseph J. Jaroschak. The field is located on the west side of Lincoln Park, operated by Hudson County.
Serving as the home field for both men's and women's soccer, baseball and softball, the soccer pitch became the site for the 2019 MAAC Men's Soccer Championship semifinal and championship rounds, marking the first ever postseason tournament to be hosted at the field. Jaroschak Field followed up with a quarterfinals round game the next season at the 2020-21 Men's Soccer MAAC Championship.
Men's Basketball
Men's basketball has long been the most popular sport at the Jersey City campus. Under coach Don Kennedy, the men's team gained national attention by defeating heavily favored and nationally ranked Duke University in the 1968 NIT quarterfinals, en route to a fourth-place finish.
A charter member of the MAAC, Saint Peter's has won the conference tournament championship and the accompanying automatic bid to the NCAA tournament three times (1991, 1995, and 2011) and has claimed the regular season championship twice (1982 and 1987). The team has appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) 12 times (1957, 1958, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1975, 1976, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1987, and 1989). In 2017, Saint Peter's participated in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) for the first time and compiled an unblemished 4-0 record, leading to the program's first national postseason championship crown in school history. The team capped off the championship by defeating Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the tournament final.
On the individual front, in 2004 and 2005, Keydren "Kee-Kee" Clark '05 led the nation in points scored per game, becoming just the eighth player to repeat as NCAA Division I scoring champion. On March 4, 2006, Clark became only the seventh NCAA player to score more than 3,000 points in his career; on the next day, he passed Hersey Hawkins to become the sixth-leading scorer of all time. At the time of his final game on March 6, 2006, Clark held the NCAA all-time record for 3-point shots, with 435.
Women's Basketball
The women's basketball team has been a staple on the campus of Saint Peter's throughout the years. By far the most successful athletic team at Saint Peter's and one of the most successful programs in the MAAC, Saint Peter's women's basketball has accumulated 19 combined MAAC titles.
The women's basketball team has won 10 MAAC regular season crowns (1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1990, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997) and nine MAAC tournament championships (1982, 1983, 1984, 1992, 1993, 1997, 1999, 2000, and 2002). The team has also earned automatic bids to the NCAA tournament seven times (1982, 1992, 1993, 1997, 1999, 2000, and 2002); missed out in 1983 and 1984, years when the MAAC champion did not receive an automatic NCAA tournament berth. Moreover, the women's basketball team ranks second all-time in total MAAC championships (9) and MAAC title game appearances (13), only trailing Marist College by two in both categories.
Hall of Fame head coach Mike Granelli served as the leader of the women's basketball team for 32 years from 1972-2004, retiring with career record of 607-249 -- one of just three coaches in women's college basketball history to win 600 games at the same school at the time of his retirement. Granelli was named as MAAC Coach of the Year five times and he also led the men's soccer team from 1972 to 1989, posting a career mark of 163-110-28. Granelli remains the Saint Peter's all-time winningest coach in both women's basketball and men's soccer.
Baseball
Baseball has been America's pastime for centuries and the sport has been a key fixture for athletics as long as any other sport on campus. Saint Peter's most successful baseball campaign came in 1994, capping off an 11-7 MAAC regular season with a MAAC tournament crown coming behinds wins over Canisius (7-6) and two over LeMoyne (7-1, 6-4). The 1994 lineup was guided by MAAC Player of the Year Drew Brown and set a team record with six all-league selections in Marty Borycewski, Chris Nocera, Brown, Chris Pini, Rick Ranft, and Chris Del Preore.
Head coach and two-time MAAC Coach of the Year, Bruce Sabatini, served as the skipper for the Jersey City team from 1980-1998. He is the all-time career wins leader in school history, assembling 231 wins over 18 seasons. Under his leadership, the school witnessed its most success, winning the program's only MAAC title, having 26 total All-MAAC selections, and earning three major awards.
Men's Cross Country/Track & Field
Men's track and field has been present at Saint Peter's for a long time, as early as the 1930's.
In more recent years, Isaiah Harris '14, finished his four-year career as one of the most decorated Saint Peter's men's track student-athletes of all-time. He is the only Peacock in program history to earn All-American status, achieving the honors at the 2014 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships after finishing 14th in the high jump and at the 2014 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships after finishing 19th in the high jump. In addition to becoming the program's only All-American, Harris was also the first ever Peacock to compete in both the NCAA Indoor Championships and NCAA Outdoor Championships, qualifying for three total NCAA Championships and three NCAA Outdoor Regionals during his career. The 2014 graduate holds Saint Peter's record for the most MAAC Individual Championships medals (18) and he was named as the MAAC Most Outstanding Performer four-times --- twice at the MAAC Indoor Championships and twice at the Outdoor Championships. Moreover, Harris was a seven-time qualifier for the IC4A Championships and only Saint Peter's IC4A Champion, winning the triple jump in 2013.
Women's Cross Country/Track & Field
Boasting the second-most team conference tournament championships at Saint Peter's behind women's basketball, women's track & field had a run for the ages from 2011 to 2013. Competing in both indoor and outdoor meets, the teams claimed five total MAAC crowns over the three season. The Peacocks claimed three indoor titles (2011, 2012, 2013) and two outdoor titles (2011, 2012). At indoor meets, head coach Mike Massone won three MAAC Coach of the Year awards, while Jamela Johnson earned Most Outstanding Track Performer. During outdoor meets, Ronnah Parham was the 2011 Most Outstanding Track Performer, Cristina Vilsaint was the 2012 Most Outstanding Field Performer, while Massone earned two more coach of the year honors, making him a five-time honoree.
Men's Golf
Men's Golf ran into unprecedented fortune from 2010 to present day. After winning no MAAC individual or team championships for the first 30 years of the conference's existence, the team did a full 180 turn, winning three titles in four years, including back-to-back championships in 2014 and 2015 -- 2017 was the third crown. The team was also MAAC runner-ups in 2019. From an individual standpoint, Saint Peter's has had three champions and McLeod Trophy (tournament MVP) winners during the time period: Nick Dilio (2016), Mike Winter (2017), and Jeffrey Peters (2019), and 16 top-10 finishers (All-MAAC Team) since 2010. Four leaders of the team have won Coach of the Year awards: Peter Falloon (2012, 2014, and 2015) and Dilio (2017).
Saint Peter's former coaches Falloon and Dilio not only led the teams to success as coaches, but also as players. Falloon's career at Saint Peter's began as a student-athlete on the men's golf team in 1963. During his playing career from 1963-65, he helped the Peacocks to a 15-1 record in 1963 that included a win against Metropolitan Intercollegiate Champion St. John's followed up the 1963 season with a perfect 16-0 record in 1964 and the MEECA Championship. In 1965, he was named team captain and was awarded the Saint Peter's Athletics Department Student-Athlete of the Year. Falloon also finished second in the MEECA Championship as an individual in 1964. Dilio finished his collegiate career with the Peacocks by claiming the 2016 MAAC individual title. In the process, he participated in NCAA Regional action for three consecutive years making him a three-time NCAA qualifier. He also finished as the MAAC runner-up as a junior and registered four top-15 and three top-10 showings at the MAAC Championships. Dilio also became the first (and only) person in MAAC history to win the MAAC individual championship and the McLeod Trophy (MVP) as a player, and MAAC Coach of the Year as a coach.