Loyola Ramblers men's basketball
The Loyola Ramblers men's basketball team represents Loyola University Chicago in Chicago, Illinois. The Ramblers joined the Missouri Valley Conference on July 1, 2013, ending a 34-season tenure as charter members of the Horizon League.
In 1963, Loyola won the 1963 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament 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 2019, Loyola remains the only school from the state of Illinois to win a men's Division I basketball NCAA tournament. Loyola's first-round regional victory over Tennessee Tech on March 11, 1963, remains a record for margin of victory 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.
Racial integration
The Loyola University Chicago teams of the early 1960s, coached by George Ireland, are thought to be responsible for ushering in a new era of racial equality in the sport by shattering all remaining color barriers in NCAA men's basketball. Beginning in 1961, Loyola broke the longstanding gentlemen's agreement, putting as many as four black players on the court at every game. For the 1962–63 season, Ireland played four black Loyola starters in every game. That season, Loyola also became the first team in NCAA Division I history to play an all-black lineup, doing so in a game against Wyoming on December 29, 1962. In that season's NCAA tournament, Loyola defeated the all-white team of then-segregated Mississippi State by a score of 61–51, a game especially notable because the Bulldogs defied a state court order prohibiting them from playing against a school with black players. The game has since been dubbed the "Game of Change" in popular culture.In 1963, Loyola shocked the nation and changed college basketball forever by starting four black players in the NCAA Championship game. Loyola's stunning upset of two-time defending NCAA champion Cincinnati, in overtime by a score of 60–58, was the crowning achievement in the school's nearly decade long struggle with racial inequality in men's college basketball, highlighted by the tumultuous events of that year's NCAA Tournament. Loyola's 1963 NCAA title was historic not only for the racial makeup of Loyola's team, but also due to the fact that Cincinnati had started three black players, making seven of the 10 starters in the 1963 NCAA Championship game black.
Postseason
NCAA Tournament results
The Ramblers have appeared in six NCAA Tournaments. Their combined record is 13–5. They were National Champions in 1963. On March 24, 2018, the Ramblers defeated Kansas State 78–62 to advance to play in their second Final Four in school history.| 1963 | – | Round of 25 Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Final Four National Championship | Tennessee Tech Mississippi State Illinois Duke Cincinnati | W 111–42 W 61–51 W 79–64 W 94–75 W 60–58 |
| 1964 | – | Round of 25 Sweet Sixteen Regional 3rd Place Game | Murray State Michigan Kentucky | W 101–91 L 84–80 W 100–91 |
| 1966 | – | Round of 22 | Western Kentucky | L 105–86 |
| 1968 | – | Round of 23 | Houston | L 94–76 |
| 1985 | #4 | Round of 64 Round of 32 Sweet Sixteen | #13 Iona
| W 59–58W 70–57 L 65–53 |
| 2018 | #11 | Round of 64 Round of 32 Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Final Four | #6 Miami #3 Tennessee
| W 64–62 W 63–62 W 69–68 W 78–62 L 69–57 |
NIT results
The Ramblers have appeared in five National Invitation Tournaments. They reached the championship game twice, and won the third place consolation game once. Their combined record is 6–5.| 1939 | Semifinals Championship Game | St. John's Long Island | W 51–46 L 32–44 |
| 1949 | First Round Quarterfinals Semifinals Championship Game | CCNY Kentucky Bradley San Francisco | W 62–47 W 61–56 W 55–50 L 47–48 |
| 1962 | Quarterfinals Semifinals Third Place | Temple Dayton Duquesne | W 75–64 L 82–98 W 95–84 |
| 1980 | First Round | Illinois | L 87–105 |
| 2019 | First Round | Creighton | L 61–70 |
CBI results
The Ramblers have appeared in the College Basketball Invitational once, winning it in 2015. Their record is 5–0.| 2015 | First Round Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals Game 1 Finals Game 2 | Rider Oral Roberts Seattle Louisiana–Monroe Louisiana–Monroe | W 62–59 W 86–78 W 63–48 W 65–58 W 63–62 |
Yearly records
Retired numbers
Eight players have had their jerseys retired by the school.Awards
All-Americans- 1929, 1930 – Charlie “Feed” Murphy
- 1937 – Marv Colen
- 1938, 1939 – Mike Novak
- 1938, 1939 – Wibs Kautz
- 1948 – Jack Kerris
- 1952 – Nick Kladis
- 1962, 1963 – Jerry Harkness
- 1967 – Jim Tillman
- 1970, 1972 – LaRue Martin
- 1982 – Wayne Sappleton
- 1985 – Alfredrick Hughes
- 2006 – Blake Schilb '
- 2018 – Clayton Custer
- 2013 – Ben Averkamp
- 1985 – Gene Sullivan
- 2018 – Porter Moser
- 1981 – Darius Clemons
- 1982 – Wayne Sappleton
- 1983, 1984, 1985 – Alfredrick Hughes
- 1987 – Andre Moore
- 2018 – Clayton Custer
- 2019 – Marques Townes
- 1981 – Darius Clemons
- 1981, 1982 – Wayne Sappleton
- 1983, 1984, 1985 – Alfredrick Hughes
- 1984, 1986 – Carl Golston
- 1985 – Andre Battle
- 1986, 1987 – Andre Moore
- 1987 – Bernard Jackson
- 1988 – Gerald Hayward
- 1990, 1991 – Keith Gailes
- 1992 – Keir Rogers
- 1998, 1999 – Javan Goodman
- 2001, 2002 – David Bailey
- 2004 – Paul McMillan
- 2005, 2006, 2007 – Blake Schilb
- 2017 – Milton Doyle
- 2018 – Clayton Custer
- 2019 – Marques Townes
- 2019 – Cameron Krutwig
- 1980, 1982 – Darius Clemons
- 1983 – Andre Battle
- 1985 – Carl Golston
- 1985 – Andre Moore
- 1988 – Kenny Miller
- 1989 – Keith Gailes
- 1994 – Vernell Brent
- 1996, 1997 – Derek Molis
- 2000 – Earl Brown
- 2003 – David Bailey
- 2012, 2013 – Ben Averkamp
- 2018 – Donte Ingram
- 2017 – Donte Ingram
- 2018 – Cameron Krutwig
- 2019 – Clayton Custer
- 1998, 2000 – Earl Brown
- 2004 – Demetrius Williams
- 2006, 2007 – Majak Kou
- 2018 – Ben Richardson
- 1984 – Carl Golston
- 1986 – Bernard Jackson
- 1988 – Kenny Miller
- 1989 – Keith Gailes
- 2003 – Paul McMillan
- 2014 – Milton Doyle
- 1988 – Kenny Miller
- 1993 – Vernell Brent
- 1996 – Derek Molis
- 1999 – Chris Williams
- 2003 – Paul McMillan
- 2003 – Demetrius Williams
- 2006 – Leon Young
- 2014 – Milton Doyle
- 2017 – Aundre Jackson
- 2018 – Cameron Krutwig
- 2014 – Milton Doyle
- 2018 – Cameron Krutwig
- 2014 – Milton Doyle
- 2018 – Cameron Krutwig
- 2018 – Lucas Williamson
- 2019 – Cooper Kaifes
- 2017 – Aundre Jackson
- 2018 – Ben Richardson
- 1983, 1985 – Alfredrick Hughes
- 2018 – Donte Ingram
- 1980, 1982 – Darius Clemons
- 1982 – Wayne Sappleton
- 1983, 1985 – Alfredrick Hughes
- 1984, 1985 – Carl Golston
- 1985 – Andre Battle
- 1986 – Carl Golston
- 1987 – Bernard Jackson
- 1987 – Andre Moore
- 1989, 1990, 1991 – Keith Gailes
- 1992 – Keir Rogers
- 2002 – David Bailey
- 2002 – Ryan Blankson
- 2005, 2007 – Blake Schilb
- 2018 – Donte Ingram, Ben Richardson, Marques Townes
Ramblers in the NBA Draft
Ramblers players in the NBA/ABA
- Jack Dwan
- Ed Earle
- Don Hanrahan
- Jerry Harkness
- Alfredrick Hughes
- Les Hunter
- Wilbert Kautz
- Jack Kerris
- LaRue Martin
- Andre Moore
- Jerry Nagel
- Mike Novak
- Mickey Rottner
- Wayne Sappleton
- Andre Wakefield
- Milton Doyle