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The Seattle Redhawks men's basketball team represents
Seattle University Seattle University (Seattle U or SU) is a private Jesuit university in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the largest independent university in the Northwestern United States, with over 7,500 students enrolled in undergraduate and grad ...
in
NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
Division I
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
competition. Established in 1946, the team was previously known as the Seattle Chieftains. The program experienced success during the 1950s and 1960s, reaching the NCAA Division I tournament eleven times. Led by
Elgin Baylor Elgin Gay Baylor ( ; September 16, 1934 – March 22, 2021) was an American professional basketball player, coach, and executive. He played 14 seasons as a forward in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lak ...
(the future
1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the thir ...
number one draft pick), Seattle finished as the runner-up in the
1958 NCAA University Division basketball tournament The 1958 NCAA University Division basketball tournament involved 24 schools playing in Single-elimination tournament, single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball in the United States. I ...
. Seattle was a member of
NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...
from 1946 to 1980 before budget problems led them to reclassify to NAIA in 1980. They eventually rose to
NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is the intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environment ...
before rejoining the Division I level in 2008. They are a member of the
Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the Western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, Texas, Utah and Washington (state), Washington. Due to ...
, which they joined in 2012. They were previously a member of the
West Coast Conference The West Coast Conference (WCC) — known as the California Basketball Association from 1952 to 1956 and then as the West Coast Athletic Conference until 1989 — is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I consisting o ...
(1971–1980). The current head coach is Chris Victor, who was previously the associate head coach.


History


1950s and 1960s: National prominence

Established in 1946, the program experienced a period of success during the 1950s and 1960s. Seattle produced more NBA players than any other school from 1960 to 1969. From
1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito ...
to
1969 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...
, the Seattle Chieftains reached the NCAA tournament 11 times. On January 21, 1952, the Seattle Chieftains beat the
Harlem Globetrotters The Harlem Globetrotters is an American Exhibition game, exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, entertainment, and comedy in their style of play. Over the years, they have played more than 26,000 exhibition games in 124 ...
in a stunning 84–81 upset, led by Johnny O'Brien. Six years later,
Elgin Baylor Elgin Gay Baylor ( ; September 16, 1934 – March 22, 2021) was an American professional basketball player, coach, and executive. He played 14 seasons as a forward in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lak ...
led the Chieftains to the championship game of the 1958 NCAA tournament, but fell to the
Kentucky Wildcats The Kentucky Wildcats are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky (UK), a founding member of the Southeastern Conference. The Kentucky Wildcats is the student body of the University of Kentucky. 30, ...
at
Freedom Hall Freedom Hall is a multi-purpose arena in Louisville, Kentucky, on the grounds of the Kentucky Exposition Center, which is owned by the Kentucky State Fair Board. It is best known for its use as a basketball arena, previously serving as the home ...
in
Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...
on March 22. Despite finishing runner-up, Baylor was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player and was the first selection of the 1958 NBA draft in April. Notable
alumni Alumni (: alumnus () or alumna ()) are former students or graduates of a school, college, or university. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for groups of women, and alums (: alum) or alumns (: alumn) as gender-neutral alternatives. Th ...
of Seattle University basketball include
Elgin Baylor Elgin Gay Baylor ( ; September 16, 1934 – March 22, 2021) was an American professional basketball player, coach, and executive. He played 14 seasons as a forward in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lak ...
, Johnny O'Brien, Eddie O'Brien,
Charlie Brown Charles "Charlie" Brown is the Protagonist, principal character of the comic strip ''Peanuts'', syndicated in daily newspaper, daily and Sunday newspapers in numerous countries all over the world. Depicted as a "lovable loser", Charlie Brown ...
, Eddie Miles, Clint Richardson, John Tresvant, Tom Workman, Frank Oleynick, Charlie Williams, Jawann Oldham, Charles Garcia, and Plummer Lott. The decline of local businesses such as Boeing (the largest employer in the region) in the late 1970s led to drastic cuts to keep the program steady, which included moving down to NAIA in 1980.


Cameron Dollar (2009–2017)

Seattle discontinued its men's basketball at the Division I level for some time, initially moving to NAIA in 1980. Seattle rejoined the NCAA as a Division III member and then as a Division II member in 2002; they joined the
Great Northwest Athletic Conference The Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. It has historically operated in the northwestern United States, but a ...
that year. In 2007, they won a share of the regular season title with Seattle Pacific. They were then invited to the
2007 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament The 2007 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament was the 51st annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division II college basketball in the United States. Officially culminating the 2006–07 ...
, their first tournament appearance as a program in decades. In 2008, the program rejoined the Division I level. In 2009, Cameron Dollar was hired as the new men's basketball head coach to replace Joe Callero. Seattle University and University of Washington agreed to renew their rivalry by playing annually from 2009 to 2017 while rotating sites. In 2017, the two schools played in the 2K Sports Classic. The Redhawks played as an independent for the next three years before seeking a conference. Seattle first applied to the
West Coast Conference The West Coast Conference (WCC) — known as the California Basketball Association from 1952 to 1956 and then as the West Coast Athletic Conference until 1989 — is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I consisting o ...
, where they played between 1971 and 1980, but were turned down. After declining an invitation to the now-defunct
Great West Conference The Great West Conference (GWC) was an NCAA college athletic conference in the continental United States. Originally a football-only league, it became an all-sports entity during the 2008–09 season. The GWC stopped sponsoring football following ...
, Seattle applied for membership in the
Big Sky Conference The Big Sky Conference is a List of NCAA conferences, collegiate athletic conference, affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I with college football, football competing in the Football Cha ...
and
Big West Conference The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's NCAA Division I, Division I. The conference was origina ...
but were again turned down. During the
2010–14 NCAA conference realignment 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...
, the
Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the Western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, Texas, Utah and Washington (state), Washington. Due to ...
saw 12 of its members leave. In 2012, the WAC invited Seattle to join and Seattle accepted soon after. Seattle began the 2012–13 season in the WAC, and for the 2013–14 season only three members from the prior year remained in the conference (Seattle,
New Mexico State New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a Public university system, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1888, it is the state's oldest public institution ...
, and
Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...
). The WAC added six new members for 2013–14, and once Idaho left for the Big Sky Conference in 2014–15, Seattle became the second-longest tenured WAC school after just three seasons in the league. Seattle won their first WAC tournament game in the 2014–15 season, beating Chicago State and UMKC en route to the WAC tournament finals where they lost to
New Mexico State New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a Public university system, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1888, it is the state's oldest public institution ...
. The Redhawks finished the regular season 16–15, and earned an invite to 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 ...
. It was the Redhawks' first appearance in a Division I postseason tournament since 1969. Seattle beat Pepperdine and
Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
in the first two rounds in the Connolly Center, before losing to Loyola (Ill.) in the semi-finals. Loyola (Ill.) would go on to win the tournament. In the 2015–16 season, Seattle was invited to the CBI again and hosted their first two games. After beating Idaho in the first round, the Redhawks fell to Vermont. On March 13, 2017, Cameron Dollar was fired after compiling a 107–138 record and two CBI appearances at Seattle.


Jim Hayford (2017–2021)

On March 29, 2017, Jim Hayford was hired as the new men's basketball head coach to replace Dollar, coming from rival
Eastern Washington University Eastern Washington University (EWU) is a public university in Cheney, Washington, United States. It shares its satellite campus in Spokane, Washington with Washington State University. Founded in 1882, the university is academically divided in ...
. In his first year as head coach, Hayford compiled a 20–14 record, the Redhawks' first 20-win season since 2008 and first 20-win season in Division I play since the 1960s. The Redhawks fell to
Central Arkansas Central Arkansas, also known as the Little Rock metro, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway Metropolitan Statistical Area, is the most populous metro area in the U.S. state ...
in the first round of the 2018 CBI tournament. In his second year as head coach, Hayford compiled an 18–15 record, marking the Redhawks' first back-to-back 18+ win seasons since 2008–09 and 2009–10. The Redhawks fell to
Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...
in the first round of the 2019 CIT tournament.


Chris Victor era (2021-present)

Chris Victor was hired to coach the 2021-22 season. They went 14–4 in the WAC to finish in a tie for 1st place (with Stephen F. Austin and New Mexico State) for their first regular season championship in Division I play in school history. They lost in the first round of the WAC Tournament. Seattle won the 2024 College Basketball Invitational over High Point for their first basketball championship.


Home court

Seattle moved to KeyArena, just a few miles from campus, for men's basketball in 2009 when the Redhawks moved to Division I. KeyArena opened on October 26, 1995, and plays host to other sporting events, family events, and other entertainment. Despite seating just over 17,000 people, Seattle curtains off the upper deck and only sells tickets for the lower bowl and luxury boxes, making the official capacity for Redhawks games 8,901. 1,160 of that is luxury boxes. Seattle has played a game at the ShoWare Center in
Kent, Washington Kent is a city in King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. It is part of the Seattle metropolitan area, Seattle–Tacoma–Bellevue metropolitan area and had a population of 136,588 as of the 2020 Unit ...
on select years since moving back to D1. The games are referred to as the "ShoWare Classic". The Redhawk Center on the campus has been seldom used by the men's team as it only seats 999. Seattle U hosted their College Basketball Invitational games at the Redhawk Center in 2015 because KeyArena was in use for the
NCAA men's basketball tournament The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as March Madness, or The Big Dance, is a single-elimination tournament played in the United States to determine the men's college basketball national champion of the NCAA Division I, Di ...
. The Redhawk Center hosted six Seattle U home games in 2016–2017, and ten the next season (2017–2018).
Climate Pledge Arena Climate Pledge Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is located north of downtown Seattle in the entertainment complex known as the Seattle Center, the site of the 1962 World's Fair, for which it was ...
continues to be considered the program's primary home court; however, it is scheduled to be closed from 2018 to 2021 while being totally rebuilt. Two early-season home games were played at the ShoWare Center in November 2018, but the rest of the 2018–2019 home schedule is being played on campus at the Redhawk Center.


Rivalries

Seattle U has two recognized rivals:
Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...
and
Eastern Washington Eastern Washington is the region of the U.S. state of Washington located east of the Cascade Range. It contains the city of Spokane (the second largest city in the state), the Tri-Cities, the Columbia River and the Grand Coulee Dam, the H ...
.


Washington

The two schools are only 2.8 miles apart and have met 33 times. Cameron Dollar came from Washington as an assistant under
Lorenzo Romar Lorenzo Romar (born November 13, 1958) is an American basketball coach and former player. He currently serves as an assistant coach for the Loyola Marymount Lions men's basketball, Loyola Marymount Lions, a position he has held since 2024. He pre ...
, which helped restart the rivalry when the Redhawks returned to Division I. The schools first met in 1952, then played every season from 1969 to 1979 when Seattle U left the NCAA. Washington leads the series 29–4. They have played every season since 2009 on a rotating home-court basis.


Eastern Washington

Seattle U and
Eastern Washington Eastern Washington is the region of the U.S. state of Washington located east of the Cascade Range. It contains the city of Spokane (the second largest city in the state), the Tri-Cities, the Columbia River and the Grand Coulee Dam, the H ...
have met 14 times since they first played in 2009. The "Intrastate Battle" rivalry game between them is sometimes played twice a season in a rotating home court basis, though sometimes is only played once. The series is currently tied 7–7. An establishing chapter began in 2017 when Jim Hayford left his head coaching position EWU for the same job at Seattle U. Hayford's assistant, Shantay Legans, was hired as his successor. On December 3, 2017, in Hayford's first game against his former team and assistant, Seattle U won 85–64


Season-by-season records


Postseason appearances


NCAA Division I tournament

The Redhawks have made the NCAA Division I tournament 11 times. They have not reached the NCAA Division I Tournament since 1969, which is the fifth longest drought between appearances in NCAA Division I Tournament history, although they were not in Division I for 29 years of the drought. The combined record for the Redhawks is 10–13.


NCAA Division II

In their time in
NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is the intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environment ...
, Seattle made the tournament once. They had a record of 1–1.


NIT appearances

Seattle has made two appearances in the
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 ...
(NIT). They have a combined record of 0–2.


CBI appearances

Seattle has made four appearances 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). They have a combined record of 7–3. They won the championship in 2024.


CIT appearances

Seattle made their first appearance in the CIT tournament in 2019. They have a combined record of 0–1.


Retired numbers

Seattle U has retired six jersey numbers, with the most recent being Tom Workman on February 5, 2011.


References


External links

* {{Western Athletic Conference men's basketball navbox 1946 establishments in Washington (state) Basketball teams established in 1946