SUNY Potsdam’s 17 intercollegiate athletic teams represent the maroon and gray for the Potsdam Bears.
Making us #PotsdamProud
To learn more about current teams, events, athletes, history, highlights, and live streaming video, visit the home of the Potsdam Bears:
www.potsdambears.com
As charter members of the Division III SUNYAC conference, the SUNY Potsdam Bears have a long history of competition. Our current intercollegiate teams include:
- Basketball: Men’s & Women’s Teams
- Cross Country: Men’s & Women’s Teams
- Ice Hockey: Men’s & Women’s Teams
- Lacrosse: Men’s & Women’s Teams
- Soccer: Men’s & Women’s Teams
- Softball: Women’s Team
- Swimming & Diving: Men’s & Women’s Teams
- Track & Field: Men’s & Women’s Teams
- Volleyball: Men's & Women’s Teams
Interested in playing a division III sport at SUNY Potsdam?
Request Division III Sport Information
Hockey with a Heart
SUNY Potsdam women’s hockey player Elise Clifford ’26 is making a difference in the North Country—reading to local elementary students, hosting community skating events, and showing young learners what it means to be a good human. Discover how Potsdam student-athletes are giving back to the community.
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Nourishing the North
From lifelong friends to moms and entrepreneurs, Murphy (Newman) Liggio ’17 and McKaylee (Boak) Knight ’19—former members of the College’s women’s lacrosse team—have launched Harvest House, a new juice and smoothie shop in Canton, N.Y.
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‘Human-First Approach’
A standout hockey player in her youth, Olivia Cook ’24 went on to achieve great success as a Division I athlete and make a significant impact in both her Mohawk community of Akwesasne and in remote First Nation communities throughout Canada. Now, she’s a leader at SUNY Potsdam as head coach of the women’s hockey team where she mentors student-athletes, while simultaneously completing her degree in public health.
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Bouncing Back from Adversity
One of the most talented athletes to ever play on the women’s basketball team, Jakia Howard ’24 wrapped up her final season with 1,192 points, third-most in the history of the program. She led the team with a career-high 17 points per game and 9.1 rebounds per game this year—all despite sustaining a slew of injuries and illnesses over the past four years, including recently being diagnosed with Celiac disease.
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Destined for Coaching
As a young hockey player, Travis Crickard ’11 dreamed of one day becoming a head coach in the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). Years later, after completing his undergraduate degree at SUNY Potsdam, a master’s degree at the University of Ottawa, and working for numerous hockey organizations around Canada, he has reached his goal. Last year, Crickard landed a job as the head coach for the Saint John Sea Dogs, one of 60 junior hockey programs in the CHL that regularly funnels athletes directly into the NHL.
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Realizing His Dreams
When Wilber Parada ’20 arrived at SUNY Potsdam his freshman year, he already had a vision for his future. His plans to one day become a Doctor of Physical Therapy would involve years of hard work, completing undergraduate and graduate degrees, and passing the National Physical Therapy Examination. Seven years later he has made his dream a reality. Parada is now working at Mount Sinai Hospital in NYC, one of the top-rated hospitals in the country, where he’s conducting research on exoskeletons and robotics, and helping to rehabilitate patients suffering from chronic illnesses.
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