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Bears Enjoyed Outstanding Athletics Seasons in 1980s
October 20, 2015
The NYIT men's basketball team kicked off 1980 by reaching the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II championship finals. It was just the beginning of a decade when the Bears would show their prowess as top contenders in many athletics programs. The same year, the baseball team competed in the NCAA Division II playoffs.
By 1983, the baseball team qualified to move into Division I of the NCAA, considered the highest caliber of intercollegiate athletics. In 1988, a member of NYIT's former track team—Howard Burnett (B.S. '91, M.S. '94, M.S. '02)—made it to the Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, where he won a silver medal as part of the Jamaican national 4x400-meter race team.
Rounding out the decade was a successful women's volleyball program. NYIT's team took home New York Collegiate Athletic Conference championship honors for the 1989-90 season.
This content is part of The Box's "60 Years in 60 Days" series in celebration of NYIT's 60th anniversary in 2015.
