Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
| Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens | |
|---|---|
| University | University of Delaware |
| NCAA | Division I |
| Conference | CUSA (primary) |
| Location | Newark, Delaware |
| Varsity teams | 22 |
| Football stadium | Delaware Stadium |
| Basketball arena | Bob Carpenter Center |
| Ice hockey arena | Fred Rust Ice Arena |
| Baseball stadium | Bob Hannah Stadium |
| Softball stadium | Delaware Softball Diamond |
| Soccer stadium | Stuart and Suzanne Grant Stadium |
| Volleyball arena | Bob Carpenter Center |
| Other venues | Delaware Field House |
| Nickname | Blue Hens |
| Colors | Royal blue and gold |
| Mascot | YoUDee |
| Fight song | "The Delaware Fight Song" |
| Website | bluehens |
The Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens, alternately the Delaware Blue Hens, are the athletic teams of the University of Delaware (UD) of Newark, Delaware, in the United States. The Blue Hens compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as a member of Conference USA.
On November 28, 2023, UD and Conference USA (CUSA) jointly announced that UD would start a transition to the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) in 2024 and join CUSA in 2025. UD continued to compete in both sides of the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) in 2024–25; it was ineligible for the FCS playoffs due to NCAA rules for transitioning programs, but was eligible for all non-football CAA championships. Upon joining CUSA, UD has become eligible for all conference championship events except the football championship game; it will become eligible for that event upon completing the FBS transition in 2026. At the same time, UD also announced it would add one women's sport due to Title IX considerations, and would also be seeking conference homes for the seven sports that UD sponsors but CUSA does not. The new women's sport would later be announced as ice hockey; UD eventually joined Atlantic Hockey America for its first season of varsity play in 2025–26.