HIGH POINT – Editor's Note: 2016 marks the 50th anniversary of the Panther Club. In celebration of that, the athletic department, with help from alumni, coaches and donors, has compiled a list of the top 50 moments in HPU athletics over the past 50 years. Every Wednesday for five weeks we will release 10 moments starting with the formation of the Panther Club and moving forward chronologically.
1999 – High Point transitions to NCAA Division I
The transition to NCAA Division I began in the summer of 1997 and High Point was granted NCAA Division I status on September 1, 1999.
2003 – High Point men's tennis wins first Big South Conference championship
High Point went 14-2 and defeated Winthrop, 4-0, in the Big South Championship to earn HPU's first-ever NCAA Div. I postseason bid. The Panthers played Duke in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
2003 – High Point women's soccer wins HPU's first Big South Conference women's championship
The women's soccer team clinched High Point first Big South Championship by a women's team by advancing past UNC Asheville on penalty kicks, 3-2. High Point went on to face top-seeded North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament.
2004 – Danny Gathings becomes the first HPU men's basketball player to be named honorable mention AP All-American
Gathings '05 was named the Big South Player of the Year and an honorable mention AP All-American after averaging 15.8 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. He had 12 double-doubles on the season and helped lead the Panthers to the Big South Championship where the team fell to Liberty.
2004-05 – Women's basketball wins the Big South regular season championship and earns first big to the WNIT
High Point finished the 2004-05 season with a 17-12 overall record and an 11-3 record in the Big South to claim the regular season title. The Panthers went on to the WNIT where they lost to Charlotte in the first round.
2007 – The Jerry and Kitty Steele Sports Center for athletic administration opens
The Steele Center provided HPU athletics with administrative offices, locker rooms and coaches offices for men's and women's soccer, baseball and men's and women's track, a weight room, an athletic training room and an academic study hall. The building was opened in May of 2007 and dedicated in 2007. The building was named after donors Jerry and Kitty Steele.
2007 – Vert Track and Soccer Stadium opens
The new Vert Track and Soccer stadium featured brand new stands and concourse area, a press box, a donor box and a new track and soccer field. It opened in the fall of 2007 and was the home stadium for men's and women's soccer and men's and women's track & field. The stadium was dedicated in August of 2007 and named for donor Richard "Dick" Vert.
2008 – Williard Baseball Stadium opens
The new Williard Stadium featured new stands and concourse area, a new press box and donor box as well as updated dugouts. The building was opened in the spring of 2008 and named for donor and former HPU baseball player Coy Williard.
2008 – Ann Marie Dalton wins the Big South Women's Golf Championship
Ann Marie Dalton '08 became High Points first individual Big South Champion with a win in the Big South Women's Golf Championship in 2008. Dalton won the title on the fifth playoff hole to claim the Individual Medal after shooing 229 through three rounds, including a final-round 73.
2008 – High Point adds Women's Lacrosse
Women's lacrosse became High Point's 15th Div. I sport when it was added in 2008. The team was announced on Sept. 16, 2008 and began play in the spring of 2011. HPU went on to become the winningest first-year program in NCAA Div. I women's lacrosse history, going 15-4 overall.
Previous Top 50 Moments
Part One: 1966-79
Part Two: 1979-97
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