Loyola Marymount Lions | |
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University | Loyola Marymount University |
Conference | West Coast Conference (primary) Western Water Polo Association (men's) GCC (women's water polo) |
NCAA | Division I |
Athletic director | Craig Pintens |
Location | Los Angeles, California |
Varsity teams | 18 |
Basketball arena | Gersten Pavilion |
Baseball stadium | George C. Page Stadium |
Softball stadium | Smith Field |
Soccer stadium | Sullivan Field |
Other venues | Burns Aquatics Center Jane Browne Bove Boathouse LMU Tennis Center |
Mascot | Iggy the Lion |
Nickname | Lions |
Fight song | "Fight on Loyola" |
Colors | Crimson and blue [1] |
Website | www |
The Loyola Marymount Lions are the athletic teams that represent Loyola Marymount University, a Jesuit institution in Los Angeles, California. The school competes in NCAA Division I and the West Coast Conference.
In January 2024, the university announced that it would cut six athletic programs at the end of the 2023–24 season: men’s cross-country, men’s rowing, men’s track and field, women’s rowing, women’s swimming, and women’s track and field. [2]
Men's sports | Women's sports |
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Baseball | Basketball |
Basketball | Beach volleyball |
Cross country | Cross country |
Golf | Rowing |
Rowing | Soccer |
Soccer | Softball |
Tennis | Swimming and diving |
Track and field† | Tennis |
Water polo | Track and field† |
Volleyball | |
Water polo | |
† – Track and field includes both indoor and outdoor |
The Lions have produced 30 future Major Leaguers, [3] including Billy Bean, MLB's Vice President and Special Assistant to the Commissioner, First-Team All-American and West Coast Conference Player of the Year Billy Traber, two-time Major League Baseball All-Star CJ Wilson, and David Fletcher.
The Lions have been to the College World Series once, in 1986, and also recorded 9 NCAA appearances, and 10 West Coast Conference Championships (three Championship Series and seven regular season).
The Lions play home games at George C. Page Stadium, a 1,200 seat stadium which has been home to the program since 1983.
The Lions burst onto the national basketball scene in the late 1980s under coach Paul Westhead. His teams led Division I in scoring in 1988 (110.3 points per game), 1989 (112.5) and 1990 (122.4). [4] LMU's 122.4 point per game in 1990 was still a record as of October 2010. [5] As of October 2010, Loyola Marymount held the five highest combined scoring games in Division I history. Four of the five occurred during Westhead's career, including a record 331 in the 181–150 win over United States International University on January 31, 1989. [6]
The team's last appearance in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament was in 1990, where they advanced to the Elite Eight. They would lose to eventual national champion UNLV. Prior to the tournament, Lions star player Hank Gathers died during the WCC conference tournament from a heart condition.
LMU's current men's head coach is Stan Johnson.
The Lions won their first ever West Coast Conference title in 2004, going 24-6 (13-1) while beating Gonzaga to go to the NCAA tournament.
Michael Erush was a Loyola Marymount University Lions men's soccer standout, a four-time All-West Coast Conference (WCC) selection (2000, 2001, 2002), was named First Team in 2003, and served as team captain during his junior and senior seasons. [7] He was named First Team National Soccer Coaches Association of America All Far West Selection in 2002, and was named First Team All-America by the Jewish Sports Review in 2003. [7] [8] During his last three years, he helped the Lions advance to the NCAA Tournament, and in 2003 finished in a first-round bye and national seeding (#13) in the postseason. He was inducted into the Loyola Marymount Athletics Hall of Fame in 2017. [9]
The Lions fielded their first beach volleyball team during the 2012 season. The Lions won their first WCC Championship in 2019, which they defended in 2021 and 2022 (championships were not held in 2020 due to COVID-19). [10] [11] In 2021, the Lions were selected for their first NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship in Gulf Shores, Alabama, where they became the first team since the inaugural season to win its first two matches. [12] The team entered the field of eight as the number five seed and finished the 2021 NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship in third place. [13]
The women's water polo team was the WWPA Champion in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2007.
At the conclusion the 2004 season, Loyola Marymount's women's water polo team lost to the University of Southern California, 10-8, in the NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship game at Stanford University's Avery Aquatic Center.
In January 2024, Loyola Marymount announced that it would cut six athletic programs after the 2023–24 season: men's cross-country, men's rowing, men's track and field, women's rowing, women's swimming, and women's track and field.
The West Coast Conference (WCC) — known as the California Basketball Association from 1952 to 1956 and then as the West Coast Athletic Conference until 1989 — is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I consisting of nine member schools across the states of California, Oregon, and Washington.
Eric Wilson "Hank" Gathers Jr. was an American college basketball player for the Loyola Marymount Lions in the West Coast Conference (WCC). As a junior in 1989, he became the second player in NCAA Division I history to lead the nation in scoring and rebounding in the same season. Gathers was a consensus second-team All-American as a senior in 1990. His No. 44 was retired by the Lions, who also placed a statue of him in his honor outside their home arena Gersten Pavilion.
Gregory Kevin "Bo" Kimble is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Loyola Marymount Lions. As a senior in the 1989–90 season, Kimble was named a consensus second-team All-American as well as the conference player of the year in the West Coast Conference (WCC). He led the 11th-seeded Lions to the regional finals of the NCAA tournament after the death of teammate Hank Gathers. Kimble was selected by the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round of the 1990 NBA draft with the eighth overall pick. He played three seasons in the NBA with the Clippers and the New York Knicks.
The Gersten Pavilion is a 3,900-seat multi-purpose arena in Los Angeles, California. It is the home of the Loyola Marymount University Lions. It was built in 1981 and has been used for home games by the university's men's basketball, women's basketball, and volleyball teams since January 1982.
Paul William Westhead is an American retired basketball coach. He was the head coach for three National Basketball Association (NBA) teams and an assistant for four others, and also coached in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), American Basketball Association (ABA), and Japan Basketball League (JBL). In his first year as an NBA head coach, he led a rookie Magic Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers to the 1980 NBA Finals, which they won in six games for the team's first title in eight years. Westhead won titles in both the NBA and WNBA, and he is also remembered as the coach of the Loyola Marymount University (LMU) men's basketball team. Westhead is known for an unorthodox, run-and-gun style called "The System.” He was nicknamed "The Professor" due to his former career as an English teacher prior to coaching and his tendency to quote Shakespeare and other literary sources while coaching. He attended Saint Joseph's University.
The Pepperdine Waves are the athletics teams of Pepperdine University, located outside the city of Malibu, California. They compete at the Division I level of the NCAA. The school is a member of the West Coast Conference for the majority of its programs. Pepperdine University was recently ranked by the Sears Cup as having the most successful athletic program for non-football Division I schools. Pepperdine University sponsors seventeen NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletics teams. There are also several intercollegiate sports clubs such as men's soccer, men's and women's lacrosse, surf team, Ultimate Frisbee and men's rugby.
Max Good is an American basketball coach. He is the former head men's basketball coach at Loyola Marymount University. He was promoted from his assistant's job to replace Bill Bayno, who resigned due to illness after three games into the 2008–09 season, his first and only season with the Lions. Good also replaced Bayno for the 2000–01 season at UNLV after Bayno was dismissed as head coach.
The Pepperdine Waves men's basketball team is an American college basketball team that represents Pepperdine University in NCAA Division I, the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Waves compete in the West Coast Conference and are coached by Lorenzo Romar. The Waves have competed in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament 13 times and are 3rd all-time in WCC Tournament wins and championships. Thirty-eight former Waves have been drafted or played in the NBA including Doug Christie and Dennis Johnson, an inductee of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. The most recent Waves drafted into the NBA are Kessler Edwards (2021) and Maxwell Lewis (2023).
The Loyola Marymount Lions men's basketball team represents Loyola Marymount University in men’s college basketball. The team competes in the West Coast Conference. The team has played its home game at Gersten Pavilion since 1981.
Jay Hillock is an American former college basketball coach. He was the head coach for six seasons in the West Coast Conference, four at Gonzaga in Spokane and two at Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles. Hillock was an assistant on staff at both programs before the respective promotions to head coach. His career record as a head coach was 91–78 (.538), and an even 39–39 in league play.
The 2011–12 West Coast Conference men's basketball season begins with practices in October 2011 and ends with the 2012 West Coast Conference men's basketball tournament from February 29- March 5, 2012 at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. The regular season begins on the weekend of November 11, with the conference schedule starting on December 29.
The Cal Baptist Lancers are the athletic teams that represent California Baptist University, located in Riverside, California, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the Division I level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). The men's water polo team competes in the West Coast Conference (WCC), the women's water polo team competes in the Golden Coast Conference (GCC), and the men's wrestling team competes in the Big 12 Conference.
The 2014–15 Loyola Marymount Lions women's basketball team represented Loyola Marymount University in the 2014–15 college basketball season. The Lions, members of the West Coast Conference, are led by head coach Charity Elliott, in her third season at the school. The Lions play their home games at the Gersten Pavilion on the university campus in Los Angeles, California. They finished the season 7–24, 4–14 in WCC play to finish in eighth place. They advanced to the quarterfinals of the WCC women's tournament where they lost to Gonzaga.
The 2017–18 Loyola Marymount Lions women's basketball team represented Loyola Marymount University in the 2017–18 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Lions, led by sixth year head coach Charity Elliott, played their homes games at the Gersten Pavilion and were members of the West Coast Conference. They finished the season 19–11, 11–7 in WCC play to finish in a tie for third place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the WCC women's tournament to San Francisco. Despite having 19 wins, they were not invited to a postseason tournament.
The 1989–90 Loyola Marymount Lions men's basketball team represented Loyola Marymount University during the 1989–90 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Lions were led by fifth-year head coach Paul Westhead. They played their home games at Gersten Pavilion in Los Angeles, California as members of the West Coast Conference.
The 1988–89 Loyola Marymount Lions men's basketball team represented Loyola Marymount University during the 1988–89 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Lions were led by fourth-year head coach Paul Westhead. They played their home games at Gersten Pavilion in Los Angeles, California as members of the West Coast Conference.
The 1987–88 Loyola Marymount Lions men's basketball team represented Loyola Marymount University during the 1987–88 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Lions were led by third-year head coach Paul Westhead. They played their home games at Gersten Pavilion in Los Angeles, California as members of the West Coast Conference.
The 2019–20 Loyola Marymount Lions men's basketball team represented Loyola Marymount University during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Lions were led by sixth-year head coach Mike Dunlap. They played their home games at Gersten Pavilion in Los Angeles, California as members of the West Coast Conference. They finished the season 11–21 overall and 4–12 in WCC play to finish in eighth place. They defeated San Diego in the first round of the WCC tournament before losing in the second round to San Francisco.
The 2020–21 West Coast Conference men's basketball season began with practices in September 2020 and ended with the 2021 West Coast Conference men's basketball tournament in March 2021. This was the 70th season for WCC men's basketball, and the 32nd under its current name of "West Coast Conference". The conference was founded in 1952 as the California Basketball Association, became the West Coast Athletic Conference in 1956, and dropped the word "Athletic" in 1989.
The 2020–21 Loyola Marymount Lions men's basketball team represented Loyola Marymount University during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Lions were led by first-year head coach Stan Johnson. They played their home games at Gersten Pavilion in Los Angeles, California as members of the West Coast Conference