This week we put a new university in the spotlight: St. Bonaventure University. A beautiful, small-scale university in New York state. Two of our student athletes are active here, both on the tennis teams. Stijn Paardekooper has been part of the men’s tennis team since the 2020-2021 season and Floor Lissone joined the university’s women’s tennis team last January. Both are also among the best 20 Dutch tennis players at the moment, Stijn among the men and Floor among the women.
In april last year, we spoke to Stijn Paardekooper about his time at the University of St. Bonaventure, check it out here. Before he left for America, Stijn achieved several results at youth National Championships in The Netherlands. This year he already booked six wins in the doubles and he also already won three matches in singles.
After graduating from high school, Floor Lissone left for St. Bonaventure last January. She did this not only with a high school diploma, but also with the necessary tennis achievements and several (international) tournament wins to her name. And Floor has also started well in America right away, and she has immediately won several single and doubles matches.
These two Slamstox student-athletes already chose for St. Bonaventure University. But this University has a lot more to offer, so it’s a nice addition to our list of University Spotlights. Curious? Then read on quickly.
Campus
St. Bonaventure University is located in… St. Bonaventure. The University is located in the middle of nature, in western New York state. If you want to be in a real big city, you will have to drive for a while. For example, do you want to spend a day in New York City? Then you will be on the road for more than 5 hours. At an hour and a half drive you will have the city of Buffalo and the Niagara Falls. Although the University is beautifully situated in nature, it is also an excellent starting point from which to explore the state of New York. Need inspiration? Then quickly check this article!
Almost all students live on campus, the campus has various shops, you can even find a Starbucks there. So a real village. You can find everything there, so you really don’t have to leave the campus.
As we told you before, St. Bonaventure is a private university. The founders were Nicholas Devereux, merchant, and John Timon, Bishop of Buffalo. The two invited a group of the Franciscan order to come to the area in 1855, and a few years later the first class was a fact. Today, the school continues to operate as a Franciscan Catholic university. In tribute, the largest residence on campus is named after its founder, Devereux Hall.
Sport
The University of St. Bonaventure’s sports teams compete at the highest college sports level in America, Division I in the Atlantic 10 conference. The University has ten men’s sports teams and eight women’s sports teams.
The sports teams are known as St. Bonaventure Bonnies. All teams are encouraged under the slogan ”go bonnies”! The University also has its own mascot, the Bona Wolf. Since 1998, the Bona Wolf has been the mascot of St. Bonaventure, the wolf refers to the Wolf of Gubbio a story of St. Francis (a Catholic monk). The colors also refer back to the religion of the school, the color brown and white reflect the robes of the Franciscans.
The most successful team in recent years is the men’s basketball team. Last year they won the Conference Championships. Extra fun, since this school year there are also two Dutch boys playing in the basketball team of the Bonnies. Which brings the total number of Dutch student-athletes at the University to four.
The most famous sports complex on campus is the basketball stadium, Reilly Center, the complex offers home to nearly 5,500 people and is the home to both the men’s and women’s basketball team. Fun fact, Reilly Center is considered one of the five toughest places to play in college basketball. That must have something to do with the great support of all students.
In addition to basketball, the University is also successful in men’s tennis, with St. Bonaventure winning the Conference Championship in both 2001 and 2003. The men’s swimming and diving team is even more successful, winning the Conference Championship no fewer than five times.
Study
As mentioned, St. Bonaventure University is a private University, so there are ‘only’ about 2,000 students studying at the University. The University offers more than 50 different academic programs. Below are the most popular majors:
- Accounting
- Finance
- Marketing
- Sport management
- Digital communication and media
83% of students agree that teachers put a lot of effort into teaching their class. Not for nothing that St. Bonaventure University was ranked sixth in education value in an annual list for best regional universities in 2021.
Several well-known (former) basketball players have studied at St. Bonaventure University, including Bob Lanier who led the Bonnies to the final four in 1970. Go Bonnies!
Hopefully you have now gotten to know St. Bonaventure a little better. Do you also want to become a student-athlete, just like Stijn and Floor? And maybe even walk around here someday? Then contact us quickly!
