Hope College

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About Hope College

Hope College, a member of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association since 1926, successfully balances highly regarded academic and intercollegiate programs.

Since its founding, Hope College has been affiliated with the Reformed Church in America. The student body represents a broad cross section of faiths. Hope College occupies a special place in the vast array of higher education opportunities offered in the United States. The college makes its contribution through the distinctiveness of its educational philosophy and program.

Undergraduate research in all disciplines is a nationally recognized hallmark of the Hope academic experience. The faculty takes its teaching through active learning seriously. As a liberal arts college offering an education within the context of the historic Christian faith, Hope is a place of open inquiry, acceptance of intellectual challenge, rigorous engagement with hard questions, and vigorous but civil discussion of different beliefs and understandings.

Hope is among a select group of colleges highlighted in the book "Putting Students First: How Colleges Develop Students Purposefully." The institutions were included specifically for being "individually and collectively distinguished and distinctive in fostering holistic student development."

In 2012-13 Hope serves over 3,200 undergraduate students who come from 42 states and 28 foreign countries. The curriculum offers courses in 90 majors, leading to a Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of Science, or Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree.

Hope College was founded in 1866 by settlers from the Netherlands. Its athletic teams have a distinct Dutch-touch, the women's teams known as the Flying Dutch and the men as the Flying Dutchmen. The Dutch roots also led to the selection of orange and blue as the school's colors.The athletic mascot is known as "Dutch."

Hope has been a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) since 1956. Hope has crowned 29 individual and team Division III national champions. Fielding 20 intercollegiate sports, ten for men and ten for women, Hope has received the Commissioner's Cup of the MIAA twelve consecutive years thru 2011-12 for having the best cumulative finish in league-sponsored sports. Hope also sponsors a club team in men's ice hockey.

The college has engaged in an ambitious campus development program in recent years with a focus on the facilities serving the intercollegiate program. A new 12-court outdoor tennis stadium opened in the summer of 2012 and the nearby football stadium underwent a major restoration, including the installation of an articificial turf playing surface. New baseball and softball stadiums opened in 2008 and a new soccer stadium made its debut in 2009. The Richard and Helen DeVos Fieldhouse, which will be the site of the Division III women's volleyball and basketball championships in 2012-13, is a state-of-the-art venue.

The Facts

Location: Holland, Michigan 49423
MIAA Member: from fall of 1926 to date
Athletic Office phone:  (616) 395-7070
FAX:  (616) 395-7175

Enrollment: 3,230
Colors: Blue (PMS295) & Orange (PMS166)
Nickname: Flying Dutchmen (Men), Flying Dutch (Women)

Office: (616) 395-7860
FAX: (616) 395-7991

The Coaches