Winston-Salem State Rams
# Winston-Salem State Rams

The Winston-Salem State Rams are the athletic teams that represent Winston-Salem State University, located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. The Rams compete as members of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association for all sports.

Winston-Salem State has been a continuous member of the CIAA since 1945, with the exception of a three-year hiatus between 2007 and 2010 when they competed provisionally at the Division I level with the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Financial difficulties, however, prevented the Rams from beginning full membership and they returned to the CIAA and Division II.

## National championships

### Team

| Association | Division | Sport | Year | Runner-up | Score |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| NCAA | College | Men's Basketball (1) | 1967 | Southwest Missouri State | 77–74 |

## Individual sports

### Men's basketball

In 1967, Winston-Salem State became the first Historically Black College to win an NCAA Basketball Championship. The Rams won the College Division Championship (now Division II) with a 31–1 record. They were led by high-scoring guard Earl Monroe, who averaged an amazing 41.5 points per game that season before being selected second overall in the 1967 NBA draft by the Baltimore Bullets (now the Washington Wizards).

### Baseball

In August 2010, Winston-Salem State University reinstated their baseball program after a 37-year hiatus. Despite only being the first year of the program, the baseball team managed to win the CIAA Conference Championship and move on to the Atlantic Regional. The team again won the CIAA Conference Championship in 2012, 2013, and 2014, making that four consecutive conference championships in the first four years of the program. The team also achieved success in the 2013 season by earning the program's first ever national ranking of No. 23 in the country while also hosting the 2013 NCAA Atlantic Regional.

### Football

Winston-Salem State played in the 2012 Division II National Championship football game on December 15, 2012. They lost, 35–7, to Valdosta State University, finishing the season, 14–1, the best of any historically black college/university. The team was led by head coach Connell Maynor and All-American quarterback Kameron Smith.

The current home of the Winston-Salem State football team is Bowman Gray Stadium, which is also home to the NASCARs "longest-running weekly race track", as the stadium is a dual-use complex for both sports.

