| Loyola Ramblers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
 | |||
| University | Loyola University Chicago | ||
| First season | 1914 | ||
| All-time record | 1,317–1,151 (.534) | ||
| Head coach | Drew Valentine (4th season) | ||
| Conference | Atlantic 10 | ||
| Location | Chicago, Illinois | ||
| Arena | Joseph J. Gentile Arena (capacity: 4,486) | ||
| Nickname | Ramblers | ||
| Student section | The Pack | ||
| Colors | Maroon and gold[1] | ||
| Uniforms | |||
| |||
| NCAA tournament champions | |||
| 1963 | |||
| NCAA tournament Final Four | |||
| 1963, 2018 | |||
| NCAA tournament Elite Eight | |||
| 1963, 2018 | |||
| NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen | |||
| 1963, 1964, 1985, 2018, 2021 | |||
| NCAA tournament round of 32 | |||
| 1985, 2018, 2021 | |||
| NCAA tournament appearances | |||
| 1963, 1964, 1966, 1968, 1985, 2018, 2021, 2022 | |||
| Conference tournament champions | |||
| 1985, 2018, 2021, 2022 | |||
| Conference regular season champions | |||
| 1980, 1983, 1985, 1987, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2024 | |||
The Loyola Ramblers men's basketball team represents Loyola University Chicago in Chicago, Illinois. The Ramblers participate as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference.[2] The Ramblers had joined the Missouri Valley Conference in 2013,[3] and stayed until 2022. Prior to 2013, the team had spent 34 seasons as a charter member of the Horizon League.[4]
In 1963, Loyola won the 1963 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament (then the "NCAA University Division") men's basketball national championship under the leadership of All-American Jerry Harkness, defeating two-time defending champion Cincinnati 60–58 in overtime in the title game. All five starters for the Ramblers played the entire championship game without substitution.
Surviving team members were honored on July 11, 2013, at the White House to commemorate the 50th anniversary of their victory. The entire team was inducted in November of that year in the College Basketball Hall of Fame. As of 2023, Loyola remains the only school from the state of Illinois to win a men's Division I basketball NCAA tournament.[5] Loyola's first-round regional victory over Tennessee Tech on March 11, 1963, remains a record for margin of victory (69 points) for any NCAA men's basketball tournament game.
The team gained national publicity again in 2018, as a result of both their Cinderella Story-esque performance in the tournament, in which they upset numerous teams to reach the Final Four as an 11-seed, tying for the lowest seed ever to do so, and the cultural popularity of their team chaplain, the then-98-year-old nun Sister Jean.[6]
As of February 17, 2021, the team had achieved its highest Kenpom ranking ever, at number nine in the country, with the number one ranked defense.[7]
- ^ Loyola Chicago Athletics Style Guide (PDF). July 23, 2019. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
- ^ "Atlantic 10 Conference Accepts Loyola University Chicago as Full Member Institution" (Press release). Atlantic 10 Conference. November 16, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
- ^ "Loyola Joins Missouri Valley Conference Loyola University Chicago Official Athletic Site". Loyolaramblers.com. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
- ^ "Horizon League Men's Basketball Record Book" (PDF). amazonaws.com. Amazon sports Record books. Horizon League. Retrieved August 23, 2011.
- ^ "Loyola to celebrate 50th anniversary of title". ESPN.com. February 16, 2013. Retrieved March 8, 2013.
- ^ Kenyon, David (March 24, 2018). "Loyola-Chicago Earns Place Among All-Time Cinderellas with Trip to Final Four". Bleacher Report. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
- ^ "2021 Pomeroy College Basketball Rankings". February 17, 2021. Retrieved February 17, 2021.