History of the Spiders
The Richmond Spiders represent the University of Richmond in Richmond, Virginia. The Spiders compete in the Division I FCS of the National Collegiate Athletic Association as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference for most sports.
College Sports Established
1840
Location
Richmond, Virginia
College Name
University of Richmond
Collegiate History
1986 - Present / NCAA Division I
Conference History
2001 - Present / Atlantic 10 Conference
1986 - 2001 / Yankee Conference
Nickname
Spiders - From 1876 through the early 1890s, Richmond's sports teams were known as the "Colts", reportedly for their play as an "energetic group of young colts." At some point variously reported as 1892, 1893, or 1894, the school's athletic teams took on the "Spiders" name. The origins of the name are somewhat uncertain, an apocryphal version describes a baseball team composed of Richmond students and city residents that was said to have taken on the "Spiders" name after Ragland Chesterman of the Richmond Times-Dispatch used the term to refer to pitcher Puss Ellyson's lanky arms and stretching kick. This story is not true, as the Richmond Times-Dispatch did not exist until 1903. And while Ragland Chesterman did write for the Richmond Times, he wrote a society column, not sports news. It is most likely the team took the nickname from the Cleveland Spiders who, at the time, we're highly successful. To this day, Richmond is the only university in the United States with the spider as its official nickname.
NCAA Championships
Baseball 0
Men's Basketball 0
Women's Basketball 0
Football 0
Soccer 0
To qualify as the greatest player for this team, the player must have played one season for this team. If not, we will remove the player.
* verifies that player has played for this team as an added player by a fan.