The Loyola Ramblers men's basketball team represents Loyola University Chicago in Chicago, Illinois. The Ramblers participate as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. The Ramblers joined the Missouri Valley Conference in 2013, and stayed until 2022. Prior to 2013, the team had spent 34 seasons as a charter member of the Horizon League.

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 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-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 religious sister Jean Dolores Schmidt ("Sister Jean").

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.

History

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 (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 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.

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's Alumni Hall, and subsequently moved around, with stints at Northwestern University's McGaw Memorial Hall (today known as Welsh Ryan Arena), the University of Illinois at Chicago's Illinois-Chicago Pavilion, and the Chicago Stadium. From 1987 until 1989, Loyola played at the International Amphitheatre, but suffered poor attendance at that venue. From 1989 until 1994, the team played at the Rosemont Horizon (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 78–62 to advance to play in their second Final Four in school history.

1963 – Round of 25Sweet SixteenElite EightFinal FourNational Championship Tennessee TechMississippi StateIllinoisDukeCincinnati W 111–42W 61–51W 79–64W 94–75W 60–58 1964 – Round of 25Sweet SixteenRegional 3rd Place Game Murray StateMichiganKentucky W 101–91L 80–84W 100–91 1966 – Round of 22 Western Kentucky L 86–105 1968 – Round of 23 Houston L 76–94 1985 #4 First RoundSecond RoundSweet Sixteen #13 Iona#5 SMU#1 Georgetown W 59–58W 70–57L 53–65 2018 #11 First RoundSecond RoundSweet SixteenElite EightFinal Four #6 Miami (FL) #3 Tennessee#7 Nevada#9 Kansas State#3 Michigan W 64–62 W 63–62W 69–68W 78–62L 57–69 2021 #8 First RoundSecond RoundSweet Sixteen #9 Georgia Tech#1 Illinois#12 Oregon State W 71–60W 71–58L 58–65 2022 #10 First Round #7 Ohio State L 41–54

NIT results The Ramblers have appeared in seven National Invitation Tournaments. They reached the championship game twice, and won the third place consolation game once. Their combined record is 9–6. 1939 SemifinalsChampionship Game St. John'sLong Island W 51–46L 32–44 1949 First RoundQuarterfinalsSemifinalsChampionship Game CCNYKentuckyBradleySan Francisco W 62–47W 61–56W 55–50L 47–48 1962 QuarterfinalsSemifinalsThird Place TempleDaytonDuquesne W 75–64L 82–98W 95–84 1980 First Round Illinois L 87–105 2019 First Round Creighton L 61–70 2024 First Round Bradley L 62–74 2025 First RoundSecond RoundQuarterfinalsSemifinals San Jose StateSan FranciscoKent StateChattanooga W 73–70W 77–76W 72–62L 73–80

CBI results The Ramblers have appeared in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) once, winning it in 2015. Their record is 5–0.

2015 First RoundQuarterfinalsSemifinalsChampionship Game 1Championship Game 2 RiderOral RobertsSeattleLouisiana–MonroeLouisiana–Monroe W 62–59W 86–78W 63–48W 65–58W 63–62

Retired numbers

, eight players have had their jerseys retired by the school.

Loyola Ramblers retired numbers No.PlayerCareerRef. 3 Nick Kladis 1949–52 1963 NCAA Champions on Loyola RamblersNick Kladis - Hall of Fame at Loyola Ramblers 11 John Egan 1961–64 15 Jerry Harkness 1960–63 20 LaRue Martin 1969–72 LaRue Martin - Hall of Fame at Loyola Ramblers 21 Alfredrick Hughes 1981–85 Alfredrick Hughes - Hall of Fame at Loyola Ramblers 40 Vic Rouse 1961–64 41 Les Hunter 1961–64 42 Ron Miller 1961–64 Ron Miller - Hall of Fame at Loyola Ramblers

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 (Honorable Mention) 2018 – Clayton Custer (Honorable Mention) 2021 – Cameron Krutwig (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 2012, 2013 – Ben Averkamp 2018 – Donte Ingram 2021 – Lucas Williamson

Missouri Valley Conference Third Team 2017 – Donte Ingram 2018 – Cameron Krutwig 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 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 – David Bailey 2002 – Ryan Blankson 2005, 2007 – Blake Schilb 2018 – Donte Ingram, Ben Richardson, Marques Townes 2021 – Cameron Krutwig, Braden Norris

Ramblers in the NBA draft YearPlayerTeamRound1949 Jack KerrisChicago Second 1952 Nick Kladis Philadelphia Third1962 Jerry Harkness Syracuse Eighth1963 Jerry Harkness New York Second1964 Les HunterDetroit Second1964 Vic Rouse Cincinnati Seventh1964 Ron Miller Baltimore Seventh1966 Billy Smith Cincinnati Ninth1968 Jim Tillman Chicago Fifth1968 Corky Bell Chicago Ninth1970 Wade Fuller Cincinnati Fourth1970 Walter Robertson Cleveland Eighth1972 LaRue Martin Portland First1976 Ralph Vallot Washington Seventh1978 Andre Wakefield Phoenix Fifth1979 Larry KnightUtah First1980 LeRoy Stampley Phoenix Fourth1981 Kevin Sprewer Utah Sixth1982 Wayne Sappleton Golden State Second1982 Darius Clemons San Diego Fourth1985 Alfredrick Hughes San Antonio First1985 Andre Battle Boston Third1987 Andre Moore Denver Second1987 Bernard Jackson Portland Sixth

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) LaRue Martin (1973–1976) Andre Wakefield (1979–1980) Wayne Sappleton (1985) Alfredrick Hughes (1986) Andre Moore (1988) Milton Doyle (2017–2018) Lucas Williamson (2026-)

References

External links