Seattle University - Athletics

Athletics

Between 1950 and 1971, Seattle University competed as a Division I independent school. In the 1950s, the basketball team was a powerhouse with brothers Johnny and Eddie O'Brien, who led Seattle University as the only team in history to defeat the world famous Harlem Globetrotters. In 1958, future NBA Hall of Famer Elgin Baylor paced a men's basketball team that advanced to the Final Four and defeated top-ranked Kansas State University before losing to the University of Kentucky. Seattle University was also a leader in the area of racial diversity, with an integrated squad known as “the United Nations team.”

The success of men's basketball, in addition to men's golf and baseball, continued into to the 1960s with players Eddie Miles, Clint Richardson, and Tom Workman, all of whom went on to successful careers in the NBA. The 1966 basketball squad led Texas Western University to its only defeat in a championship season celebrated in the film Glory Road. In the course of the 1960s, Seattle University produced more NBA players than any other school.

During that time women's tennis star Janet Hopps was the first female to be the top-ranked player for both the men and women nationally. In women's golf, Pat Lesser was twice named to the Curtis Cup in the mid-1950s and was later inducted into the State of Washington Sports Hall of Fame.

Before 1980, more than 25 SU baseball players went on to play professionally in both the major and minor leagues. Men's golf and a Tom Gorman -led tennis team were also very strong national programs. Gorman went on to lead the US Davis Cup team, where he captained a record 18 match wins and one Davis Cup title (1972) as a player and two more Davis Cup championships as a coach (1990 and 1992).

SU joined the West Coast Conference in 1971. In 1980, SU left the West Coast Conference and Division I membership and entered the NAIA, where it remained for nearly 20 years. In the late 1990s, President Fr. Sundborg started restoring the university's NCAA membership. The athletic program moved into Division II in the fall of 2002.

Currently, the school is reclassifying from Division II to Division I. This integration process will take five years and should be complete in 2012–2013. In 2009, the university hired men's basketball coach Cameron Dollar, former assistant at University of Washington, and women's coach Joan Bonvicini, former University of Arizona coach and one of the winningest women's college basketball coaches.

In 1938 the mascot switched from the Maroons to the Chieftains. The name was selected to honor the college's namesake, Chief Seattle. In 2000 the university changed its mascot to the Redhawks.

In June 14, 2011, Seattle U accepted an invitation to join the Western Athletic Conference and will be a full member for the 2012–2013 season.