With the dawn of a new school year comes the excitement of watching Fordham University sports. As the sports section of The Fordham Ram, we will follow our school’s 22 NCAA Division I sports programs with watchful eyes.
College athletics have changed significantly over the past few years, especially when it comes to offseason roster moves and the transfer portal. With many new faces predicting success or failure is unrealistic at this point. Still, we would like to give overviews for a few of our teams.
Football
Fordham’s Football will open their season on the road against the Boston College Eagles on Aug. 30 at 2 p.m. They’ll look to improve upon a lackluster 2-10 record in 2024, which put them tied for last in the Patriot League with Colgate University.
Returning to the Rams is star linebacker and graduate student James Conway, who was recently named to the 2025 Buck Buchanan Award Preseason Watch List. Conway is the Patriot League career tackles leader with 436, a record he clinched last November in a dominant Rams win over Georgetown University. Conway only appeared in four games in 2024 due to injury, but still received 2024 First Team All-Patriot League honors.
On the offensive side, there will be competition for the Rams’ starting quarterback position following CJ Montes’ transfer to Kent State University. Senior Jack Capaldi and sophomore Tripp Holley each started multiple games for the Rams last year, with Capaldi starting nine and Holley starting two.
The Rams are also welcoming junior transfer Gunnar Smith to the quarterback room, who played at Highland Community College in 2024. These three will lead the starting quarterback competition, with sophomore Thomas Rosso and freshman Matt Ivaldi rounding out the quarterback room.
The Rams will return home to the Bronx’s Moglia Stadium on Sept. 6 to face Monmouth University at 6 p.m.
Water Polo
Expectations are sky-high for Fordham’s Water Polo team who are coming off their best season in program history.
In 2024, the Rams went 32-1 and lost in the semifinals of the national championship to #2 University of Southern California. The team gained national attention as they challenged the narrative of West Coast dominance in the sport.
The Rams will look to earn a fifth consecutive Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) championship in 2025, but it won’t be an easy road. Fordham’s schedule was released in June, and it’s one of their most challenging in recent memory, including 13 matchups with opponents that received votes in the final 2024 poll, and four with teams coming off an appearance in the 2024 National Collegiate Championship.
With their eight-player 2025 recruiting class, Head Coach Brian Bacharach emphasized the need to retain roster depth after athletes at almost all positions graduated following the historic 2024 season.
The Rams will open their season at the Bruno Classic in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Providence, Rhode Island, facing Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, University of the Pacific and Long Island University on Aug. 30 and 31.
Their first home matchup will be Sept. 27 against Princeton University. Fordham will host the MAWPC Championship from Nov. 21 to 23 at the Francis B. Messmore Aquatic Center in the Bronx.
Men’s Basketball
Fordham’s Men’s Basketball will look to bounce back after a poor showing during the 2024-2025 season where they finished 12-21.
After Head Coach Keith Urgo parted ways with the University in March, Fordham hired Mike Magpayo to take over the program. The team will have a new look as they lost their two top scorers from last season, Jackie Johnson III and Japhet Medor.
In search of some players to fill the void, Magpayo and company hit the transfer portal hard. Key acquisitions include Zarique Nutter (Georgia State University), Christian Henry (Eastern Michigan University), Abass Bodija (University of California, Riverside), Jace Howard (University of Michigan) and Dejour Reaves (Iona College). Additionally, they have added Akira Jacobs (University of Hawai’i), and Rikus Schulte (University of California, Riverside).
When The Ram spoke with Magpayo in April he did not promise immediate greatness; something that would have been unrealistic. Instead, he simply encouraged students to come watch the games.
Women’s Basketball
Fordham’s Women’s Basketball showed flashes of excellence during the 2024-2025 season, but sloppy play and inconsistent shooting led to an overall mediocre season at 15-15.
After losing a few key players to the portal including junior Rose Nelson, Head Coach Bridgette Mitchell and staff added a quintet of transfers. The group included Ornella “Lala” Niankan (Wichita State University), Ugne Sirtautaite (Providence College), Lakresha Edwards (Miami University (Ohio)), Alexis Black (Appalachian State University) and Tia Morgan (University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff).
These transfers will bring some much needed experience to an otherwise inexperienced squad. It will be interesting to see how Coach Mitchell chooses to utilize the team’s new talent.
