History & Traditions

Loyola University Chicago athletics enjoys a rich history of more than a century of competitive success, academic excellence, and community engagement. The athletic department was established in 1923 to organize intercollegiate athletic activities, while the construction of Alumni Gym in the same year provided athletics a home on campus. We invite you to explore these tabs to learn more about the national championships, conference titles, All-Americans, and special performances that have built the Loyola Ramblers into a nationally-renowned Division I athletic department.

Men's Basketball
+ 20 All-America selections
+ 66 all-conference selections
+ Nine (9) conference Player of the Year selections
+ Six (6) conference Newcomer of the Year selections
+ Two (2) conference Freshman of the Year selections
+ Three (3) conference Defensive Player of the Year selections
+ Three (3) Academic All-America selections
+ Eight (8) regular-season conference championships (1980, 1983, 1985, 1987, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2024)
+ Eight (8) NCAA Tournament appearances (1963, 1964, 1966, 1968, 1985, 2018, 2021, 2022)
+ Seven (7) NIT appearances (1939, 1949, 1962, 1980, 2019, 2024, 2025)
+ One (1) CBI championship (2015)
+ One (1) NCAA championship (1963)
+ Two (2) Final Four appearances (1963, 2018)
+ Five (5) Sweet 16 appearances (1963, 1964, 1985, 2018, 2021)
Women's Basketball
+ One (1) All-America selection
+ 34 all-conference selections
+ One (1) conference Player of the Year selection
+ Two (2) conference Newcomer of the Year selections
+ One (1) conference Freshman of the Year selection
+ One (1) Women's National Invitational Tournament (NIT) appearance
+ One (1) Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI) appearance
Women's Volleyball
+ Two (2) All-America selections
+ 10 AVCA All-Region selections
+ One (1) Academic All-America selection
+ 83 all-conference selections
+ Five (5) conference Player of the Year selections
+ Three (3) conference Setter of the Year selections
+ Four (4) conference Newcomer of the Year selections
+ One (1) conference Freshman of the Year selection
+ 11 conference championships (1983, 1984, 1992, 1995, 1999, 2000, 2004, 2005, 2022, 2024, 2025)
+ Eight (8) NCAA Tournament appearances (1995, 1999, 2000, 2004, 2005, 2022, 2024, 2025)
Men's Volleyball
+ 52 AVCA All-America selections
+ 102 All-MIVA selections
+ Eight (8) regular-season conference championships (2002, 2005, 2006, 2013, 2014, 2018, 2023, 2025)
+ Five (5) NCAA Championship appearances (2013, 2014, 2015, 2025, 2026)
+ Seven (7) MIVA Player of the Year selections
+ Nine (9) MIVA Freshman/Newcomer of the Year selections
+ One (1) MIVA Libero of the Year selection
+ Three (3) Academic All-America selection
+ One (1) AVCA National Player of the Year selection
+ Two (2) AVCA National Newcomer of the Year selection
+ Two (2) NCAA championships (2014, 2015)
Men's Soccer
+ Three (3) NSCAA All-America selections
+ 131 all-conference selections
+ 33 NSCAA/United Soccer Coaches All-Region selections
+ One (1) conference Newcomer of the Year selection
+ Five (5) conference Goalkeeper of the Year selections
+ Six (6) Academic All-America selection
+ Five (5) conference championships (2006, 2008, 2011, 2016, 2019)
+ Five (5) NCAA Tournament appearances (2006, 2008, 2011, 2016, 2019)
Women's Soccer
+ 17 NSCAA/United Soccer Coaches All-Region selections
+ One (1) Soccer Buzz Freshman All-America selection
+ 105 all-conference selections
+ Five (5) conference Player of the Year selections
+ Three (3) conference Newcomer of the Year selections
+ Four (4) conference Defensive Player of the Year selections
+ Five (5) conference Freshman of the Year selections
+ One (1) Academic All-America selection
+ Seven (7) conference championships (2003, 2006, 2007, 2018, 2019, 2020-21, 2021)
+ Seven (7) NCAA Tournament appearances (2003, 2006, 2007, 2018, 2019, 2020-21, 2021)
Track and Field
+ 22 All-America selections
+ One (1) conference Athlete of the Year selection (Men's Outdoor)
+ Two (2) Outstanding Running Performer (Men's Outdoor)
+ One (1) Outstanding Field Performer (Men's Outdoor)
+ Three (3) Running Newcomer of the Year selections (Men's Outdoor)
+ 47 Men's Outdoor event titles
+ One (1) women's outdoor track & field conference championship (2013)
+ One (1) Running Newcomer of the Year selection (Women's Outdoor)
+ Two (2) Field Newcomer of the Year selection (Women's Outdoor)
+ Two (2) Athlete of the Year selections (Women's Outdoor)
+ One (1) Outstanding Running selection (Women's Outdoor)
+ 52 Women's Outdoor event titles
+ Two (2) men's indoor track & field conference championship (1980, 2013)
+ Four (4) Outstanding Performer selections (Men's Indoor)
+ Two (2) Outstanding Running Performer selection (Men's Indoor)
+ Two (2) Outstanding Field Performer selection (Men's Indoor)
+ Two (2) Male Track Athlete of the Year selection (Men's Indoor)
+ Two (2) Male Field Athlete of the Year selection (Men's Indoor)
+ Four (4) Running Newcomer of the Year selections (Men's Indoor)
+ One (1) Field Newcomer of the Year selection (Men's Indoor)
+ 87 Men's Indoor Event titles
+ One (1) women's indoor track & field conference championship (2013)
+ Three (3) Outstanding Performer selections (Women's Indoor)
+ Two (2) Outstanding Running Performer selections (Women's Indoor)
+ Six (6) Running Newcomer of the Year selections (Women's Indoor)
+ Three (3) Field Newcomer of the Year selections (Women's Indoor)
+ One (1) Co-Athlete of the Year selection (Women's Indoor)
+ 88 Women's Indoor Event titles
Cross Country
+ 10 men's conference championships (1986, 1987, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2012, 2022, 2023, 2025)
+ Six (6) men's individual conference champions
+ Five (5) Men's Newcomer of the Year selections
+ 48 men’s all-conference selections (1987-2001)
+ 45 first team men’s all-conference selections (2002-present)
+ 16 second team men’s all-conference selections (2002-present)
+ Three (3) honorable mention all-conference selections (2013-present)
+ One (1) Men's NCAA Tournament appearance (2005)
+ 13 women's conference championships (1991, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2008, 2012, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025)
+ 12 women's individual conference champions
+ Four (4) Women's Newcomer of the Year selections
+ 37 all-conference selections (1987-2001)
+ 44 first team all-conference selections (2002-present)
+ 20 second team all-conference selections (2002-present)
+ Seven (7) honorable mention all-conference selections (2013-present)
Softball
+ 124 all-conference selections
+ Six (6) conference Pitcher of the Year selections
+ One (1) Conference Player of the Year selections
+ Four (4) conference Newcomer of the Year selections
+ 14 NFCA All-Region selections
+ One (1) Academic All-America selection
+ 27 academic all-district selections
+ Seven (7) regular-season conference titles (2001, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2013, 2026)
Men's Golf
+ Two (2) NCAA regional appearances (2012, 2021)
+ Two (2) conference championships (2012, 2021)
+ 18 all-conference selections
+ One (1) conference Newcomer of the Year selection
Women's Golf
+ 20 all-conference selections
+ One (1) conference championship (2004)
+ Two (2) conference Player of the Year selection
+ One (1) conference Newcomer of the Year selection
+ One (1) conference Rookie of the Year

Updated through 2025-26 season
MEN'S BASKETBALL (8)
+ 1963, National Champions
+ 1964, Regional Semifinals
+ 1966, First Round
+ 1968, First Round
+ 1985, Sweet 16
+ 2018, National Semifinals
+ 2021, Sweet 16
+ 2022, First Round
WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL (8)
+ 1995, First Round
+ 1999, First Round
+ 2000, First Round
+ 2004, First Round
+ 2005, First Round
+ 2022, First Round
+ 2024, Second Round
+ 2025, First Round
MEN'S VOLLEYBALL (5)
+ 2013, National Semifinals
+ 2014, National Champions
+ 2015, National Champions
+ 2025, First Round
+ 2026, Second Round
MEN'S SOCCER (5)
+ 2006, First Round
+ 2008, First Round
+ 2011, First Round
+ 2016, Second Round
+ 2019, First Round
WOMEN'S SOCCER (7)
+ 2003, First Round
+ 2006, First Round
+ 2007, First Round
+ 2018, First Round
+ 2019, First Round
+ 2020, First Round
+ 2021, First Round
CROSS COUNTRY (1)
+ 2005 (Men's)
MEN'S GOLF (2)
+ 2012, NCAA Regional
+ 2021, NCAA Regional
The Loyola Athletics Hall of Fame was established in 1971 to recognize individuals and teams who achieved outstanding careers in the maroon and gold, exhibited sportsmanship as student-athletes, and have been exemplary individuals of character at Loyola and later in life. Student-athletes must have been graduated five or more years before the date of their selection. Coaches, administrators and others close to the program are also considered for induction.

Click here to browse Hall of Fame members.
Long time team chaplain, Sister Jean, passed away Oct. 9, 2025 at the age of 106. Sister Jean’s run with the Ramblers tipped off in 1996 when she became the official chaplain for the men’s basketball team.

The program honored her with her first ever bobblehead night on Feb. 10, 2011. She was further enshrined by athletics in January 2017 with her induction into the Ram- blers’ Athletics Hall of Fame and just a year later her fame went international.

Sister Jean became a celebrity during the 2018 NCAA March Madness tournament, accompanying the Loyola Ramblers as they reached the Final Four for the first time since their historic 1963 national championship season.

Her pregame prayers, post-game notes, and love for Loyola basketball made her an icon across the globe. Sister Jean's pregame prayers became a trademark for Loyola home crowd, each one unique, sometimes drawing laughs from fans and even players on the opposing team. She would then turn her attention to the crowd, riling them up and getting them to cheer on the Ramblers.

Sister Jean went dancing with the Ramblers two more times, had a Red Line stop named after her, became a New York Times Bestseller, threw out the first pitch at several Chicago Cubs games, and celebrated one final birthday on campus when she turned 105 in August 2024.

Her accomplishments were vast and her presence within the Loyola community is unforgettable, but Sister Jean will be most remembered for who she was: an energetic woman who loved life and spread joy wherever she went.

Remembering Sister Jean, opens in new tab
Sister Jean's Lasting Legacy, opens in new tab
Sister Jean Timeline, opens in new tab
Sister Jean Legacy Collection, opens in new tab
Sister Jean Tribute Video, opens in new tab
The World Remembers Sister Jean, opens in new tab
On Saturday, March 23, 1963, the odds were stacked against the Loyola Ramblers. Despite being the top offensive team in the nation -- scoring 100 or more points 11 times during the regular season -- the Ramblers were labeled as underdogs as they faced the two-time NCAA champion Cincinnati Bearcats.
Cincinnati's slow, controlled style of play combined with the best defense in the country was predicted to be the antidote to Loyola's up-tempo scoring machine which averaged 93 points per game. The tip-off would be the final chapter of a storybook season.
The road to that championship game had been long and winding. The Ramblers lost two of their best bench players to academic ineligibility, giving rise to the five Iron Men -- so nicknamed by sportswriters because coach George Ireland rarely took his starters out of games.
After starting the season ranked third by the Associated Press, the Ramblers won their first 20 games and finished the regular season with a 24-2 record. Loyola kicked off the NCAA Tournament by trouncing first-round opponent Tennessee Tech, 111-42, a NCAA record for margin of victory that stands to this day.
Its second-round opponent, Mississippi State, was a late addition because sports programs representing Mississippi schools were not allowed to play integrated teams. Coach Babe McCarthy stole his team to the tournament under the cover of darkness before an injunction could be served prohibiting the Maroons from playing the Ramblers. Loyola won the historic contest, 61-51, with a 20-point effort by All-America forward Jerry Harkness. That contest would prove to be a landmark event in the civil rights movement.
The Ramblers then dropped Illinois, 79-64 in the Mideast Regional, which pushed them to the Final Four in Louisville, Ky. In the national semifinal, Loyola beat Duke, 94-75 behind a 29-point, 18-rebound game by Les Hunter. Thus, the stage was set for one of the most thrilling championship games in NCAA history.
As predicted, Cincinnati's style of play caused problems for the Ramblers from the tip-off. By the second half, with 13:56 left on the clock, Loyola was trailing by 15 points, 45-30. The Ramblers were so out of their normal rhythm that their star, Harkness, had not yet scored a single point.
"It was my first time on national television and all my friends and relatives were seeing me," Harkness would say later. "All I was thinking was, let's get the score close. But I didn't think we could against Cincinnati because the deficit was 15 and going up."
Against all odds, Loyola's Iron Men stormed back to pull within two points. Harkness gave the TV audience a treat, scoring 11 of his 14 points in the final five minutes. His 12-foot jumper with four seconds remaining in regulation tied the score at 54 and forced overtime.
As the compelling story of the strong-willed underdogs unfolded in Freedom Hall, the Ramblers were cheered on by fans from Duke and Oregon State, who had lost their Final Four games. Ireland later recalled, "We didn't have a band, but the Duke band got behind us."
As the game went into overtime, a Harkness layup gave the Ramblers a quick lead, but the Bearcats answered with a basket to tie the game at 56. A 20-foot jump shot by Ron Miller gave Loyola the lead. With 1:49 remaining and the game tied at 58, Ireland called a time-out to set up a play, which was forced into a jump ball by Cincinnati's Larry Shingleton.
Loyola's shortest man, John Egan squared-off against the taller Shingleton to see who would play for the last shot in the pre-shot clock era of college basketball. To the amazement of the fans and his own teammates, Egan leapt at just the right moment to tip the ball to Miller who moved the ball upcourt for the last shot.
Ireland wanted his All-American, Harkness, to take the last shot, but the Bearcats' Tom Thacker was not going to let Harkness near the basket. With time running out, Harkness fed the ball to Les Hunter at the foul line. Hunter's shot spun around the rim and bounced out, but Vic Rouse, fighting through Bearcat defenders, emerged. With one second remaining, Rouse tipped the ball through the basket as the clock struck zero.
"I knew I was going to get the ball and I took my time once I was in the air," Rouse told reporters after the title game. "I never thought we'd lose it. We came too far to lose it."
The screeching buzzer ended the overtime drama and Rouse was mobbed by screaming fans and teammates. Red Rush, the voice of Ramblers radio could only scream, "We Won! We Won! We Won!" into his overworked microphone. Loyola University Chicago upset Cincinnati 60-58 in overtime and became the 1963 National Basketball Champions.
Even today, Loyola remains the only school in Illinois to have won a Division I National Championship in basketball. The five Iron Men -- Jerry Harkness, Les Hunter, Vic Rouse, John Egan and Ron Miller -- have each had their jersey numbers retired. On Sunday, March 24, the front-page headline of the Chicago Tribune provided the perfect footnote to the magical season: "Loyola Rules U.S."
A documentary on the accomplishments of the team chronicling several of the racial obstacles it faced, was produced as part of ESPN's SportsCenter Flashback series and originally aired in February of 2002.
Perhaps no game affected college basketball more than a 1963 contest between Loyola University Chicago and Mississippi State University. The historic game, which would later come to be known as the “Game of Change,” was a NCAA Regional semifinal game played between the Ramblers and Maroons on March 15, 1963 in East Lansing, Mich., and was recently named the No. 12 moment in NCAA Tournament history by ESPN.com.

That contest between Loyola and Mississippi State, forever changed college basketball and civil rights. Loyola head coach George Ireland started four African-Americans and his Rambler team faced discrimination and racism during its national championship run in 1963. A win over Tennessee Tech in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament set Loyola up for a scheduled showdown with Mississippi State in the regional semifinals.

However, the all-white MSU squad was frequently denied participation in the postseason due to an unwritten Mississippi law that prohibited competition against integrated teams. Despite facing the prospect of losing their jobs, Mississippi State's head coach and president challenged the system, snuck out of town under the cover of darkness before an injunction could be served by Mississippi Gov. Ross Burnett, and allowed the team to face Loyola at Jenison Field House, in a game won by the Ramblers, 61-51.

In December 2012, Loyola and Mississippi State faced one another at Gentile Arena for the first time since that historic game 50 years ago. Several members of both the Loyola and Mississippi State teams from that 1963 season gathered in Chicago for that game.

"Now, they call it the `Game of Change.' Then, Mississippi State's 1963 game against Loyola in the Mideast semifinals was historically insignificant. In between, it lost its place, overrun by the more Hollywood-adaptable games between Texas Western and Kentucky. But the significance of the '63 game can't be overlooked. Bulldogs players and staff sneaked out of Mississippi under the threat of a state injunction to play the integrated team from Chicago. The players simply wanted to play a game, but when flashbulbs popped at the historic handshake between African-American player Jerry Harkness from Loyola and Mississippi State's Joe Dan Gold, everyone realized that their March moment was far bigger than a basketball game," ESPN.com reporter Dana O'Neil wrote.
The 1995-96 marked the Loyola Ramblers final campaign in tradition-rich Alumni Gym. The team will now compete in the Joseph J. Gentile Center, which is located just east of the gym. The Ramblers finished their tenure in Alumni Gym with an all-time record of 484-136, which translates into an impressive .781 winning percentage. Alumni Gym no longer stands on campus.
Everyone at one stage of his or her career played in a gym such as this one," said the Bill Jauss of the Chicago Tribune. "Cozy, personal, intimate, fans in your lap. Home court advantage? Sure. But even visiting players enjoyed the trip back to a time when playing hoops was such sheer fun.
The Gym underwent a major renovation in recent years, adding new locker rooms for both men's and women's basketball, a reception lounge for post and pre-game functions as well as additional office space. The weight room was expanded greatly, and now contains brand new free weights and machines for use by all Loyola student-athletes. Additionally, a study area was created along with an office for learning assistance.
An edition of the Loyola Quarterly from 1923 described the newly designed Alumni Gym as, "A very good gymnasium, quite the equal of anything in this part of the country. It will be two hundred twelve by ninety, and will house, besides a large playing floor, bowling alleys, billiard rooms, various club rooms, locker compartments and a swimming pool."
Although the billiard rooms and bowling alleys are long gone, the "Big Brown Box That Rocks," as it is nicknamed today, still stands on the Northwest side of the Lake Shore Campus. The gym is still the home of Loyola's Department of Intercollegiate Athletics.
Designed by Paul V. Hyland and built by George W. Stiles Company of Chicago, Illinois in 1924, the construction was partly financed by a group of twelve Loyola alumni, who referred to themselves as the "Bugs."
The "Bugs" gave a dinner party on November 16, 1923 at Chicago's Hotel La Salle for 175 other Loyola graduates. The group was able to raise an impressive $31,000 which was used to cover a portion of the $500,000 cost of construction.
George Ireland's 1962-63 squad, which went on to win the NCAA National Championship, went undefeated in Alumni Gym during their title season. Additionally, the all-time Rambler record for points in a game, 133, was set by the home team vs. Loras College in Alumni Gym on November 22, 1979.
"I always loved Alumni Gym," said Ireland. "I still do. Friends told me I couldn't win there. I used to laugh to myself when I'd hear people say, 'This can't be the place where the NCAA Champions played, can it?'"
"It's unbelievable, the advantage that Loyola had in Alumni Gym with the closeness of the crowd and the excitement of the fans," said Jerry Harkness a 1963 Loyola All-American. "I remember chasing a ball out of bounds and falling into the crowd as I flipped the ball behind my back to Les Hunter. Les dunked the ball and I can picture the crowd exploding with excitement and pushing me back onto the court. We had such a feeling of confidence in Alumni Gym. We felt it was our house and we weren't going to be beaten there."
Alumni Gym has seen more than its share of exciting games over the years. During the 1977-78 season, Jerry Lyne's Ramblers won nine games in Alumni Gym, including victories over Larry Bird's Indiana State Sycamores team, 79-76; Kevin McHale's Minnesota squad, 70-66; and a Georgetown team led by first-year head coach John Thompson, 68-65 in overtime.
Beating Indiana State in Alumni Gym meant the most, because I regard Larry Bird as the greatest college player I ever saw," said Lyne.
Besides becoming the home of the Ramblers, Alumni Gym also hosted the National Catholic Interscholastic Basketball Tournament, beginning in 1923. Teams representing Catholic high schools from across the nation all came to Chicago to square off in Alumni Gym for the coveted Cardinal Mundelein Cup, which was a silver regulation size basketball on a revolving stand, was awarded every year to the champion. Loyola hosted the tournament until 1941.
The final game in Alumni Gym certainly did justice to the tradition and excitement that had occurred in the previous 72 season. Loyola hosted cross-town rival UIC in the farewell game, and the Ramblers came out on top by an 89-85 final. With that win, the Ramblers closed Alumni Gym by winning their last four games there.
The final game was a "who's who" of Loyola basketball, with alumni and coaches from almost every team from the last 50 years in attendance. The ceremonial jump ball was thrown out by coach George Ireland, with assistance from Jerry Harkness, 1972 all-American LaRue Martin and 1952 All-American Nick Kladis.
Hail Loyola!
Cheer for old Loyola, fight for victory
Spread her fame and her fair name
With constant loyalty
U. Rah! Rah!
Cheer for Alma Mater
Laud her sons so true
Onward to victory, Loyola U.
Loyola Chicago is the only NCAA Division I program with the nickname "Ramblers" for its teams. The unusual moniker originated when football was a common and popular sport at Loyola.
Before the 1920s, all college athletics teams were merely assigned their school colors, instead of a nickname. All Loyola teams were known as the "Maroon and Gold."
In 1925, the football coach, along with the student newspaper, conducted a contest to name the football team. The winning entry was "Grandees," tying into the Spanish origins of St. Ignatius of Loyola. However, the name "Grandees" failed to catch on.
In 1926, a more informal, but much more binding process, finally yielded the nickname: "Ramblers." That year, because the football team traveled so extensively across the United States, "rambling from state to state," the media dubbed Loyola as "the Ramblers."
Despite dropping football as a varsity sport in 1930, the nickname "Ramblers" is still proudly carried by today's athletics teams at Loyola.

LU Wolf has been the official mascot since 1990. LU is inspired by St. Ignatius of Loyola, whose family was known to feed family, friends, neighbors, and soldiers in the Basque country of Spain. Their generosity was so abundant, they even would feed the wild animals. A carving of two wolves eating over a cauldron was placed over the family's home and became a symbol of the Jesuit order.