Miami RedHawks The Miami RedHawks are the college athletics teams of Miami University , in Oxford , Ohio , in 18 different varsity - level sports for men and women . All teams play in NCAA Division I and compete in the Mid - American Conference , with the exception of the RedHawks hockey team , which played in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association until it disbanded in 2013 . The hockey team will play in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference starting in the 2013 - 14 season . The Redhawks are arch - rivals with the Ohio Bobcats . NCAA sports . Football . The Miami University RedHawks football team is one with a rich tradition of history . The school boasts the longest continuous college football rivalry West of the Allegheny Mountains against the Cincinnati Bearcats , and has one of the oldest football programs in the country , dating to the year 1888 . Cradle of Coaches . Miami University is most notable for having many quality coaches start their coaching career in some capacity at its school . Some notable college football coaches who coached at Miami University include John Pont , Ara Parseghian , Woody Hayes , Bo Schembechler , Weeb Ewbank , Jim Tressel , and Terry Hoeppner . Baseball . A notable baseball - team alumnus is Walter Alston , who managed the Los Angeles Dodgers . Ice hockey . The RedHawks on ice played in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association ( CCHA ) before its disbanding in 2013 , and fielded one of the best teams in the league in recent years . In 2006 , the RedHawks earned the first # 1 national ranking in school history and were CCHA regular season champs . They made it to the championship game , but lost to Michigan State . Beginning in the 2013 - 2014 season , they will play in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference . Instead of playing in the Mid - American Conference ( " MAC " ) , the mid - major conference most Miami varsity sports play in , the RedHawks compete against the larger schools of the CCHA such as the Michigan Wolverines and the Michigan State Spartans , who normally compete in the Big Ten . In 2006 Miami University replaced the old Goggin Ice Arena from 1976 with the new $ 34 . 8 - million state - of - the - art Goggin Ice Center , with a capacity of around 4 , 000 . Both buildings are named for former University vice - president Lloyd Goggin . In 2008 the RedHawks set team records for winning percentage and wins with . 797 and 33 respectively . That year the RedHawks captured their first # 1 seed in school history and advanced to the quarterfinals in the NCAA tournament , losing to Boston College . The team was lead that year by All - Americans Ryan Jones and Alec Martinez . The 2009 RedHawks became the first Miami team to reach the Frozen Four in the history of the program . The team made it to the championship game and carried a 3 - 1 lead into the final minute before giving up 2 extra attacker goals and ultimately losing in overtime , 4 - 3 to college hockey powerhouse Boston University . Synchronized skating . Miami ' s synchronized skating team began in August 1977 as a " Precision Skating Club " at Goggin Ice Center . The program achieved varsity status by 1996 , and is also home to one of the first varsity synchronized skating teams in the country . They are the 1999 , 2006 , and 2009 U . S . national champions . Miami won a silver medal at the 2007 International Skating Union World Synchronized Skating Championships . This is the highest finish for any US skating team and the first medal ever won by Team USA for synchronized skating . Miami created a junior - varsity level team beneath the senior level . After serving as the coach of Miami ' s program for 25 years , Vicki Korn announced her retirement in May 2009 . Golf . The men ' s golf team has won 12 Mid - American Conference championships : 1948 , 1950 , 1970 , 1974 , 1981 , 1987 , 1988 , 1989 , 1990 , 1991 , 1992 ( co - champions ) , 1996 . RedHawks who have had success at the professional level include : Bob Lohr ( one PGA Tour win ) and Brad Adamonis ( one Nationwide Tour win ) . Club sports . Men ' s lacrosse . The men ' s lacrosse team represents Miami University and currently competes in non - varsity lacrosse in the Men ' s Collegiate Lacrosse Association ( MCLA ) Division I level as a member of the Great Rivers Lacrosse Conference ( GRLC ) . The RedHawks lacrosse team plays home games in Yager Stadium located in Oxford , Ohio . The team is coach Chuck Wilson . Miami finished the 2010 season second place in the CCLA and won its first CCLA play off game in over ten years . Miami boasted a 9 - 4 record , including 5 - 0 at home . Team name . Before the early 1930s , the Miami University nicknames were interchangeable , including the Miami Boys , the Big Reds , and the Reds and Whites . The first glimpse of the Miami University Redskins was in 1928 , when a Miami student referred to their team as the Big Red - Skinned Warriors . By 1931 , the Redskins had stuck as the Miami University nickname , and was the official nickname of the Miami University athletics program for nearly seventy years . In mid - 1997 , at the urging from Dr . Myrtis Powell who went to the Oklahoma - based Miami Tribe for support , the Miami University Redskins officially changed their names to the RedHawks , which they remain today . The mascot of the Miami Redhawks is Swoop the Redhawk .