The Loyola Greyhounds (also called the Loyola Maryland Greyhounds) are the athletic teams that represent Loyola University Maryland. The teams include men and women's basketball, cross country, lacrosse, rowing, soccer, swimming & diving, and tennis. Men's sports also include golf, while women's sports also include track and field and volleyball. The Greyhounds compete in NCAA Division I and have been a member of the Patriot League for all sports since July 1, 2013.

Loyola's fight song, "Howl for the Hounds," was written by Andrew R. Grillo and Michael R. Sellitto and unveiled in November 2003.Wilson, Sydney. "Loyola fight song unveiled," The Greyhound, Monday, March 22, 2004.

History Conference affiliations Loyola's athletic programs made the transition to NCAA Division I from Division II when it became a charter member of the ECAC-Metro Conference in 1981.Ventre, Ralph. "Back to the Beginning: NEC Celebrates 30 Years," Northeast Conference, Thursday, March 3, 2011. Retrieved August 1, 2012. The circuit's name was changed to the Northeast Conference on August 1, 1988.Official press release issued Tuesday, August 2, 1988 announcing name change from ECAC-Metro Conference to Northeast Conference. Retrieved August 1, 2012.

Loyola was a full member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) in all but two sports from July 1, 1989 to June 30, 2013."MAAC Chronology," MAAC Sports, August 25, 2008. The exceptions were the men's and women's lacrosse teams which were in the ECAC Lacrosse League and the Big East Conference respectively. The move to the Patriot League as its tenth member was announced on August 29, 2012 and became official on July 1, 2013.

Athletic directors NameYearsHighlightsNotesLefty Reitz1938–1973Reitz Arena named in his honorTom O'ConnorJune 1974–June 1986Move to NCAA Division I Tom O'Connor (profile) – LinkedIn.Tom BrennanJuly 1986–October 1990 Dr. Tom Brennan (profile) – LinkedIn.Joe BoylanFebruary 1991–June 2010Ridley Athletic Complex opens Henneman, Jim. "Boylan comes home to accept Loyola post," The Baltimore Sun, Friday, December 21, 1990."Joe Boylan to Retire as AD after 19 Years in July 2010," Loyola University Maryland Athletics, Thursday, October 8, 2009.Jim PaquetteJuly 2010–June 2017Move to Patriot League "Loyola Names Jim Paquette Director of Athletics," Loyola University Maryland press release, Wednesday, February 17, 2010."Loyola Athletic Director/Asst. VP Jim Paquette to Step Down in June," Loyola University Maryland Athletics, Friday, March 24, 2017.Donna WoodruffJuly 2017– "Donna Woodruff Named Assistant Vice President and Director of Athletics at Loyola," Loyola University Maryland Athletics, Tuesday, May 23, 2017.

Teams Basketball Basketball Cross Country Cross Country Golf Lacrosse Lacrosse Rowing Rowing Soccer Soccer Swimming & Diving Swimming & Diving Tennis Tennis Track and Field Volleyball

Basketball

The Loyola men's basketball team has a long history and has been playing since the 1908-1909 season. In all that time, the team has appeared twice, 1994 and 2012, in the NCAA tournament. The team plays its games in Reitz Arena and is coached by Tavaras Hardy.

Skip Prosser spent one season as head coach of the Greyhounds, leading them to their first-ever Division I Tournament appearance in 1994. In 2012, as winners of the MAAC tournament, Loyola earned its second trip to the NCAA tournament under then-head coach Jimmy Patsos.

Lacrosse

The Loyola men's lacrosse team has played since 1938, with a two-year break in 1944 and 1945, winning over 400 games in that time. They won its first championship in the sport, the first national title in the university's Division I history, in 2012."NCAA CHAMPS! Loyola Wins First NCAA Lacrosse Title, 9–3, Over Terps," Loyola University Maryland Athletics, Monday, May 28, 2012. The Loyola women's lacrosse program is fifth all-time among NCAA Division I women's lacrosse teams with 362 wins. The Greyhounds maintain several annual rivalries, headlined by Johns Hopkins (series page) and Towson (series page).

Men's soccer

The Loyola Men's Soccer team has consistently proven to be one of the most successful teams in the athletic department. Since 1965, the team has suffered only four losing seasons. The team is a perennial power in the MAAC and has reached the NCAA Division I National Tournament seven times since joining Division I in 1979, including quarterfinal appearances in 1986 and 1987 and a Sweet 16 appearance in 2001. Loyola enjoyed an undefeated regular season in 2008 before being upset in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Former Greyhounds include the 2009 Major League Soccer Goalkeeper of the Year, Zach Thornton as well as many others who have played in the MLS and other professional leagues.

Golf The men's golf team has won 22 conference titles: Northeast Conference (4): 1986–89 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (15): 1990, 1992–93, 1995–96, 1998, 2003–05, 2008–13 Patriot League (2): 2014–15, 2017 Note: 1992 co-champions with Siena 2 GCAA Academic All-Americans: Patrick McCormick and Ryan McCarthy

Rugby

The Loyola University Rugby Football Club is the men's rugby union team that represents Loyola in the National Small College Rugby Organization. The club is composed of over 50 student-athletes, alumni volunteers, and professional trainers. Founded in 1976 by a group of Loyola students, LURFC continues to be the oldest and most active club sport at the college. LURFC and its players have achieved many All-American titles and U.S. Rugby rankings, currently ranked #20 in the country and in the NSCRO "Sweet 16" in 2017.

The Greyhound ruggers have also traveled abroad to play Irish teams, including teams in Limerick, Dublin, and Cork. Loyola plays on Lugano Field, located on the grounds of the Ridley Athletic Center. Lugano Field is a state of the art turf pitch that, while used by the university as a whole, is a "rugby first" pitch, regulation size, lined and with limited grandstands. It is named in honor of the most decorated player in Loyola history, Sean Lugano, who died serving others in the World Trade Center attacks of September 11, 2001.

Media Loyola launched in the autumn of 2011 Hounds Unleashed, a free streaming media service for its live events."Colonials, Stags & Gaels On Tap For Volleyball," Loyola University Maryland Athletics, Monday 26 September 2011. Retrieved 4 January 2026. As a result of the university's transition to a new athletic conference, it was incorporated into the Patriot League Network (PLN) upon the latter's creation on 29 July 2013."Patriot League Launches Digital Network With Free Streaming," Patriot League, Monday 29 July 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2026. The network was absorbed into ESPN+ on 16 September 2020."Patriot League Reaches Multi-Year Rights Agreement With ESPN+ For Live Game Coverage Starting This Fall," Patriot League, Wednesday 16 September 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2026.

Former teams Football Loyola's football program has been defunct since 1933.

Wrestling Loyola's wrestling program was discontinued in 1987.

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