The Loyola Ramblers men's basketball team represents

Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Chicago (Loyola or LUC) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1870 by the Society of Jesus, Loyola is one of the largest Catholic Church, ...

in Chicago, Illinois. The Ramblers participate as members of the

Atlantic 10 Conference The Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose schools compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. The A-10's member schools are located most ...

. The Ramblers joined the

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the fourth-oldest collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the Midwestern Unite ...

in 2013, and stayed until 2022. Prior to 2013, the team had spent 34 seasons as a charter member of the

Horizon League The Horizon League is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. Headquartered in Indianapolis, the league's eleven member schools are located in ...

. In 1963, Loyola won the

1963 NCAA Division I men's 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 ...

(then the "NCAA University Division") men's basketball national championship under the leadership of All-American Jerry Harkness, defeating two-time defending champion

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

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 The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

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 The National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Kansas City, Missouri, is a hall of fame and museum dedicated to men's college basketball. The museum is an integral portion of the College Basketball Experience created by the Nation ...

. As of 2025, 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 (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 An underdog is a person or group in a competition, usually in sports and creative works, who is largely expected to lose. The party, team, or individual expected to win is called the favorite or top dog. In the case where an underdog wins, the ...

-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 Jean Dolores Schmidt, Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, BVM (born August 21, 1919), better known as Sister Jean, is an American religious sister of the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary and chaplain for the Loyola Ramble ...

. As of February 17, 2021, the team had achieved its highest

Kenpom Ken Pomeroy is the creator of the college basketball website and statistical archive KenPom. His website includes his College Basketball Ratings, statistics for every NCAA men's Division I basketball team, with archives dating back to the 2002 ...

ranking ever, at number nine in the country, with the number one ranked defense.

History

Racial integration

The Loyola University Chicago teams of the early 1960s, coached by

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 Uni ...

, 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 A gentlemen's agreement, or gentleman's agreement, is an informal and legally non-binding wikt:agreement, agreement between two or more parties. It is typically Oral contract, oral, but it may be written or simply understood as part of an unspok ...

(not to play more than three black players at any given time), 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 Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

on December 29, 1962. In that season's NCAA tournament, Loyola defeated the all-

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

team of then-segregated

Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, United States. It is classified among "R ...

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 The Game of Change was a college basketball game played between the 1962–63 Loyola Ramblers men's basketball team, Loyola Ramblers and the Mississippi State Bulldogs men's basketball, Mississippi State Bulldogs on March 15, 1963, during ...

" 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

, 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.

Home venues

The team's original home venue was the on-campus Alumni Gym. However, Loyola later moved to play their games at

DePaul University DePaul University is a private university, private Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission, Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from ...

's Alumni Hall, and subsequently moved around, with stints at

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

's McGaw Memorial Hall (today known as Welsh Ryan Arena), the

University of Illinois at Chicago The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is a public research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, adjacent to the Chicago Loop. The second campus established under the Universi ...

's Illinois-Chicago Pavilion, and the

Chicago Stadium Chicago Stadium was an indoor arena in Chicago from 1929 to 1995. When it was built, it was the largest indoor arena in the world with a maximum seating capacity of 26,000. It was the home of the National Hockey League's Chicago Blackhawks and ...

. * * From 1987 until 1989, Loyola played at the

International Amphitheatre The International Amphitheatre was an indoor arena located in Chicago, Illinois, that opened in 1934 and was demolished in 1999. It was located on the west side of Halsted Street, at 42nd Street, on the city's south side, in the Canaryville neig ...

, but suffered poor attendance at that venue. From 1989 until 1994, the team played at the

Rosemont Horizon Allstate Arena is a multi-purpose arena in Rosemont, Illinois, United States, northwest of Chicago, located at the corner of Mannheim Road and Lunt Avenue, just north of Mannheim Road's interchange with the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (I-90) ab ...

(today known as the "Allstate Arena"), but suffered low attendance at the venue and moved back to the on-campus Alumni Gym in 1994. In 1996, the team moved into their current on-campus home, the Joseph J. Gentile Arena, which replaced Alumni Hall.

Postseason

NCAA tournament results

The Ramblers have appeared in eight NCAA tournaments. Their combined record is 15–7. They were National Champions in 1963. On March 24, 2018, the Ramblers defeated

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 inst ...

78–62 to advance to play in their second Final Four in school history.

NIT results

The Ramblers have appeared in seven

National Invitation Tournament The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is an annual men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Since 2023, all rounds of the tournament are played at various sites across the country whi ...

s. They reached the championship game twice, and won the third place consolation game once. Their combined record is 9–6.

CBI results

The Ramblers have appeared in 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 sel ...

(CBI) once, winning it in 2015. Their record is 5–0.

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 LaRue Martin (born March 26, 1950) is an American former professional basketball player. Martin was drafted first overall out of Loyola University Chicago by the Portland Trail Blazers in the National Basketball Association's (NBA) controversy r ...

*1982 – Wayne Sappleton *1985 –

Alfredrick Hughes Alfredrick Hughes (born July 19, 1962) is an American former professional basketball player who was selected by the San Antonio Spurs in the first round (14th pick overall) in the 1985 NBA draft. He played college basketball for the Loyola Rambl ...

*2006 –

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 National Basketball League (Czech Republic), NBL. Standing , he plays the point forward po ...

''(Honorable Mention)'' *2018 – Clayton Custer ''(Honorable Mention)'' *2021 –

Cameron Krutwig Cameron David Krutwig (born December 21, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for Força Lleida CE of the Spanish Liga Española de Baloncesto. Nicknamed "King Krut", he played college basketball for the Loyola Ramblers. Krutwig d ...

''(Third Team)'' Academic All-Americans *2013 – Ben Averkamp ''(Second Team)'' *2019 – Clayton Custer ''(Third Team)'' *2021 – Cameron Krutwig ''(Second Team)'' MCC/Missouri Valley Coach of the Year *1985 – Gene Sullivan *2018 – Porter Moser MCC/Horizon League/Missouri Valley Player of the Year *1981 – Darius Clemons *1982 – Wayne Sappleton *1983, 1984, 1985 – Alfredrick Hughes *1987 – Andre Moore *2018 – Clayton Custer *2019 – Marques Townes *2021 – Cameron Krutwig MCC/Horizon League/Missouri Valley First Team *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 – *2004 – Paul McMillan *2005, 2006, 2007 – Blake Schilb *2017 – Milton Doyle *2018 – Clayton Custer *2019 – Marques Townes *2019, 2020, 2021 – Cameron Krutwig * MCC/Horizon League/Missouri Valley Second Team *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 David Royston Bailey (born 2 January 1938) is an English photographer and director, most widely known for his fashion photography and portraiture, and role in shaping the image of the Swinging Sixties. Bailey has also directed several televisio ...

*2012, 2013 – Ben Averkamp *2018 – Donte Ingram *2021 – Lucas Williamson Missouri Valley Conference Third Team *2017 – Donte Ingram *2018 –

*2019 – Clayton Custer *2020 – Tate Hall *2021 – Aher Uguak MCC/Horizon League/Missouri Valley All-Defensive Team *1998, 2000 – Earl Brown *2004 – Demetrius Williams *2006, 2007 – Majak Kou *2018 –

Ben Richardson Benjamin T. Richardson, (born 21 September 1975) is an English cinematographer, television producer and director. He is best known for his work on the films '' Beasts of the Southern Wild'' (2012), '' The Fault in Our Stars'' (2014), '' Wind ...

*2020 – Lucas Williamson *2021 – Aher Uguak *2021 – Lucas Williamson MCC/Horizon League/Missouri Valley Newcomer of the Year *1984 – Carl Golston *1986 – Bernard Jackson *1988 – Kenny Miller *1989 – Keith Gailes *2003 – Paul McMillan *2014 – Milton Doyle MCC/Horizon League/Missouri Valley All-Newcomer Team *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 *2020 – Tate Hall *2021 – Braden Norris Missouri Valley Freshman of the Year *2014 – Milton Doyle *2018 – Cameron Krutwig Missouri Valley All-Freshman Team *2014 – Milton Doyle *2018 – Cameron Krutwig *2018 – Lucas Williamson *2019 – Cooper Kaifes *2020 – Marquise Kennedy Missouri Valley Sixth Man of the Year *2017 – Aundre Jackson Missouri Valley Defensive MVP *2018 – Ben Richardson *2021 – Lucas Williamson MCC/Horizon League/Missouri Valley Tournament MVP *1983, 1985 – Alfredrick Hughes * 2018 – Donte Ingram *2021 – Cameron Krutwig MCC/Horizon League/Missouri Valley All-Tournament Team *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 –

*2002 – Ryan Blankson *2005, 2007 – Blake Schilb * 2018 – Donte Ingram, Ben Richardson,

Marques Townes Marques Rashaad Townes Villar (born September 3, 1995) is a Dominican-American basketball player. He played college basketball for the Loyola Ramblers, after beginning his career with Fairleigh Dickinson. He drew national attention after help ...

*2021 – Cameron Krutwig, Braden Norris

Ramblers in the NBA draft

Ramblers players in the NBA/ABA

* Wilbert Kautz (1947) * Mickey Rottner (1947–1948) * Jack Dwan (1949) * Mike Novak (1949–1950) * Jerry Nagel (1950) * Jack Kerris (1950–1953) * Don Hanrahan (1953) * Ed Earle (1954) * Jerry Harkness (1964–1969) * Les Hunter (1965–1973) *

(1973–1976) * Andre Wakefield (1979–1980) * Wayne Sappleton (1985) *

(1986) * Andre Moore (1988) * Milton Doyle (2017–2018)

References

External links

* {{Atlantic 10 Conference men's basketball navbox