On April 26, 2012, the Drake University rowing team captured the 2012 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship held on Lake Mercer in Windsor, N.J. The Bulldogs scored 33 points to edge Marist by two points to win their first MAAC championship in school history. Results from three races (Varsity 8, Varsity 4 and second Varsity 8) were used to calculate the overall winner.
The win was even more impressive for the program, which had only joined the MAAC as an associate member in 2009 and first competed in the championship in 2010, because it was just its second appearance in the championship.