|
These are the glory days of Loyola basketball. Back in the early 60s, there were only something like 125 major colleges (what is now Division I), the games weren't on tv, most big football schools didn't care much at all about basketball, and many of the head coaches were basically gym teachers with a specialization.
We didn't have a home gym on campus that seated more than 3000 until 1996, long after nearly every other "major" basketball school built a facility to host revenue-generating games against other major teams. We squandered much of our good basketball reputation by being mostly terrible from 1969 to 1983, and again from 1988 to 2018. We had ONE (1) NCAA appearance from 1968 to 2018. The 1963 National Championship game was shown on tape delay in Chicago so they could show the high school state championship game live.
We're in a much better, competent conference now. We've won two conference tournaments and 3 of the last 4 regular season championships. We've expanded our fan base nationally and locally past any peak since the 1963 title. No one knew about Loyola's contributions because it happened before the TV contracts of the late 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s made men's college basketball a high-stakes, big money endeavor. The D1 ranks grew to 200 or so in the late 70s, 270 or so in the mid 80s, and topped 300 in the 1990s. Now there are 350+. When Loyola won the '63 championshp, Illinois State, Evansville, Southrrn Illinois, Valparaiso, Missouri State (Southwest Missouri State) and Northern Iowa weren't yet major college teams. The MVC of 1963 was Cincinnati, Wichita State, Bradley, St. Louis, Drake, North Texas, and Tulsa. Loyola, DePaul, Northwestern, Bradley, and Illinois were I think the only major college schools in Illinois. NIU joined in 1968; Illinois State in 1971; SIU in 1967; UIC, Western Illinois, and Eastern Illinois in 1981; Chicago State in 1984.
Yes, a National Championship in 1963, a #1 ranking to start the 1963-64 season, a Sweet Sixteen (and a regional third place win) in 1964, a 1966 bid, and a 1962 NIT 3rd place finish is a really fantastic run, but it came 8-12 years before college hoops became 1/10 as emormous as it is now. The main aspect of Loyola's early 60s success was the integration aspect, far more than the on court success.
|
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
