St. Mary's University, Texas - Athletics

Athletics

Interscholastic athletics competition began with baseball in 1902. Before St. Mary’s was recognized as a senior college in 1925, there was no formal conference competition, so the rivalry between the downtown and Woodlawn campuses was fierce.

The colorful history of St. Mary’s athletics includes a stellar 1910 baseball team, which lost only to Ty Cobb’s Detroit Tigers in an exhibition game, and a stint by future President Eisenhower as coach of the 1916 football team.

St. Mary’s was an all-male school for more than a century, so it’s not surprising that its two longest-running sports are baseball and men’s basketball. But from 1925 until 1941, football – with its flashy uniforms and players, and even more flamboyant managers and coaches including head coach Lloyd Russell and assistant coach Alvah "Hunky" Boggs – captured the imaginations of fans everywhere. Unfortunately the football team had to be disbanded due to World War II.

Records show the 1902 baseball team went 6–0, and the 1910 squad also went undefeated except for the aforementioned game against the Tigers. With the onset of the Depression, intercollegiate baseball disappeared only to be resurrected in 1947 by then-athletics director Brother Bill Siemer, S.M.

Over the years, St. Mary’s baseball has won local, regional and national fame. Accomplishments include 24 conference championships, four NAIA College World Series appearances and, most recently, the 2001 NCAA Division II conference, regional and national championships.

The St. Mary’s University basketball program also has enjoyed success over many years. In 1926, the school’s first intercollegiate basketball team posted a 12–7 record. In the late 1930s and early ’40s, the Rattlers, with their big man Ken “Arky” Croswell (B.A. ’42), dominated the short-lived Alamo Conference.

Since 1951, men’s teams have captured 26 Big State and Heart of Texas conference championships and made 16 NAIA National Tournament appearances. After entering NCAA Division II competition, the Rattlers won the Heartland Conference co-championship and advanced to the regional tournament in 2001, the team’s first year of post-season competition eligibility.

Women’s intercollegiate athletics, begun in 1968, also have enjoyed many triumphs. The softball team has led the way, winning several conference titles, appearing in 12 NAIA national tournaments and two NCAA Division II national tournaments and winning the 2002 Division-II National Championship.

The St. Mary's University Mens Colligate Rugby team is a new program that started in the Fall of 2010. The Rattler Rugby team is the first full contact sport on the campus since the football program back in the 1940s. The Rattlers compete in the Texas Rugby Union Division III and are coached by Mark Chacon. The Rattlers are rivals with the Roadrunners of the crosstown University of Texas at San Antonio, both St. Mary's and UTSA are the only colleges in the city with Rugby programs.

The school hosted the NCAA Women's Division II Basketball Championship at Bill Greehey Arena in 2009 and will host again in 2012.