Happy 35th Birthday to Viterbo Athletics

The year 1971 is a particular milestone in the annals of ­Viterbo sports history. The Fine Arts Center opened that year and the “V 76” fundraising campaign was launched. The university also decided to create an athletics department.

Originally named the 76ers (an acknowledgement at the time to America’s impending bicentennial celebration), Viterbo’s first sport was men’s basketball, started in 1972. Women’s basketball followed in 1974, volleyball in 1976, and men’s soccer in 1978. Years later, softball (1987), baseball (1988), women’s soccer (1996), men’s golf (2007), women’s golf (2007), men’s cross country (2008), and women’s cross country (2008) were added.

The 76ers were renamed the V-Hawks in 1999, complete with a new mascot, Vic the V-Hawk. The university competes in different venues— the Varsity Athletics Center, the Outdoor Athletics Complex, and the La Crosse Country Club.