The Loyola Ramblers (also called the Loyola Chicago Ramblers) are the varsity sports teams of Loyola University Chicago. Most teams compete in the

Atlantic 10 Conference The Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division I. The A-10's member schools are located in states mostly on the United States Easter ...

, which the school joined in 2022 after leaving the

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the third-oldest collegiate athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the midwest. History The MVC was established ...

. They previously played in the Horizon League. Notable athletes from Loyola have included middle-distance runner

Tom O'Hara Tom O'Hara (July 5, 1942 – August 27, 2019) was an American middle-distance runner. He was the first native of the state of Illinois to break the four-minute barrier for the mile run when he ran 3:59.4 in 1963. O'Hara was born in Chicago, Illi ...

, volleyball player

Thomas Jaeschke Thomas John Jaeschke (born September 4, 1993) is an American professional volleyball player who plays as an outside hitter for the U.S. national team. He won a bronze medal at the Olympic Games Rio 2016. Personal life He is the son of John a ...

, and basketball players

Mike Novak Michael Donald Novak (April 23, 1915 – August 15, 1978) was an American professional basketball player. He played in the NBL, BAA, and NBA from 1939 to 1954. A 6'9" center from Loyola University Chicago, he was one of the first prominent "big m ...

Jerry Harkness Jerald B. Harkness (May 7, 1940 – August 24, 2021) was an American professional basketball player. He played for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Indiana Pacers of the American Basketball Association (ABA ...

, Les Hunter,

Wayne Sappleton Wayne B. Sappleton (born November 17, 1960) is a retired Jamaican professional basketball player, formerly of the NBA's New Jersey Nets. A 6'9 forward, Sappleton was a star at Loyola University Chicago from 1978-82. Collegiate career Sappleton gr ...

Alfredrick Hughes Alfredrick Hughes (born July 19, 1962) is a retired American professional basketball player who was selected by the San Antonio Spurs in the first round (14th pick overall) in the 1985 NBA draft. Loyola career After graduating from Chicago's Rob ...

LaRue Martin LaRue Martin (born March 30, 1950) is an American former professional basketball player. Martin was drafted first overall by the National Basketball Association's (NBA) Portland Trail Blazers in the controversy riddled 1972 NBA draft out of Loyola ...

, and

Blake Schilb Blake Schilb (born December 23, 1983) is an American-born naturalized Czech former professional basketball player who last played for USK Praha of the Czech NBL. Standing , he plays the point forward position. College career Prior to Loyola Uni ...

. The nickname "Ramblers" was first used in 1926. The Loyola Ramblers departed from the

and joined the

effective July 1, 2022.

Conference affiliation history

Loyola Chicago was a charter member of the Midwestern City Conference when it was established on June 16, 1979. The intercollegiate athletic circuit eventually rebranded twice, first as the Midwestern Collegiate Conference in 1985 and then the Horizon League on June 4, 2001. The university announced on April 12, 2013 that it was leaving the Horizon League to replace Creighton as the tenth member of the

(MVC) beginning months later on July 1. Prior to the conclusion of its nine years in the MVC, the Ramblers were accepted by the

(A-10) on November 16, 2021 as its 15th member beginning July 1, 2022. The women's golf team competes in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC).

Sports sponsored

A member of the

, Loyola University Chicago sponsors teams in seven men's and eight women's NCAA sanctioned sports. Football was discontinued at Loyola after the

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be ...

season.

National championships

* Men's basketball 1963 * Men's volleyball 2014, 2015

Men's baseball

Phil Weintraub Philip Weintraub (October 12, 1907 – June 21, 1987) was an American professional baseball first baseman and outfielder. Weintraub played for 13 minor league teams, for whom he had an aggregate batting average of .337, as well as for the New Yo ...

, later a Major League Baseball player, played for the Loyola baseball team.

Men's basketball

Loyola Ramblers men's basketball The Loyola Ramblers men's basketball team represents Loyola University Chicago in Chicago, Illinois. The Ramblers participate as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. The Ramblers joined the Missouri Valley Conference from 2013 to 2022, endi ...

has played at the Joseph J. Gentile Arena since 1996; before then they played home games at Alumni Gym. The 1962–1963 team, led by coach

George Ireland George Ireland (June 15, 1913 – September 14, 2001) was an American basketball coach who led the Loyola Ramblers to the 1963 NCAA championship. Background Born in Madison, Wisconsin, Ireland was an All-American basketball player at the Univer ...

, won the

1963 NCAA University Division basketball tournament The 1963 NCAA University Division basketball tournament involved 25 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball in the United States. It began on March 9, 1963, and e ...

(predecessor to the current Division I men's tournament), defeating the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44, ...

60–58 in the title game. Vic Rouse tipped in the winning bucket in overtime to win the game. During their tournament run, the Ramblers also won a historically notable game against

Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It ...

, an all-white team that defied a state court order in order to play said game. The Ramblers made it back to the regional semifinals the following year and qualified for the tournament in

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

and

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

. They would not make the national tournament again until

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

, in which they lost to eventual tournament runner-up Georgetown in the Sweet Sixteen. In

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

, the Ramblers returned to the tournament for the first time in 33 years. As a No. 11 seed, they upset No. 6 seed

Miami (FL) Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at th ...

and No. 3 seed Tennessee to qualify for the Sweet Sixteen. They faced Nevada in the regional semifinal and defeated the Wolf Pack 69-68 to advance to the Elite 8 against

Kansas State Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

. They advanced to the Final Four by beating Kansas State 78-62. In the Final Four, they lost to Michigan 69-57. Loyola made it to the finals of the

National Invitation Tournament The National Invitational Tournament (NIT) is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Played at regional sites and traditionally at Madison Square Garden (Final Four) in New York Cit ...

1939 This year also marks the start of the Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Third Reich *** Jews are forbidden to ...

and

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022. * January 2 – ...

and qualified for

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...

and

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – In ...

tournaments. They won the

College Basketball Invitational The College Basketball Invitational (CBI) is a men's college basketball tournament created in 2007 by The Gazelle Group. The inaugural tournament occurred after the conclusion of the 2007–08 men's college basketball regular season. The CBI s ...

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

Men's volleyball

Loyola Ramblers men's volleyball The Loyola Ramblers men's volleyball team (also Loyola Chicago Ramblers) represents Loyola University Chicago in NCAA competition as a member of the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA), one of the seven conferences that compet ...

was coached by Loyola alumnus Shane Davis. His record through twelve seasons is 265–88 (). Now they are coached by Mark Hulse. In 2013, the Ramblers were defeated by the UCI Anteaters 0–3 (24–26, 18–25, 27–29) in the first semifinal of the

NCAA championships The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

on May 2, 2013 at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

Pauley Pavilion Edwin W. Pauley Pavilion, commonly known as Pauley Pavilion, is an indoor arena located in the Westwood Village district of Los Angeles, California, on the campus of UCLA. It is home to the UCLA Bruins men's and women's basketball teams. The me ...

. This was the team's first appearance ever in an NCAA men's collegiate volleyball tournament. On May 3, 2014, Loyola, playing host to the 2014 Championships, defeated the Stanford Cardinal 3-1 to win the program's first-ever

NCAA Men's National Collegiate Volleyball Championship The NCAA men's volleyball tournament, officially titled the NCAA National Collegiate Men's Volleyball Championship, is an annual competition that determines the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championship in American college me ...

. Loyola successfully defended their championship in 2015, defeating

Lewis Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * " Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohe ...

3-2 at Stanford's

Maples Pavilion Maples Pavilion is a 7,392-seat multi-purpose arena on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford, California. Opened in 1969, Maples underwent a $30 million renovation in March 2004 and reopened ahead of schedule, in time for conference play ...

Facilities

Loyola does not have local competition sites for cross country, golf, or track and field.

References

External links

* {{Navboxes , titlestyle = {{CollegePrimaryStyle, Loyola Ramblers, color=white , list = {{Atlantic 10 Conference navbox {{Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association navbox {{Chicago sports {{Illinois Sports