The Horizon League is a collegiate athletic conference in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Headquartered in Indianapolis, the league's eleven member schools are located in and near the Great Lakes region.
Allstate Arena is a multi-purpose arena in Rosemont, Illinois, United States, northwest of Chicago, located at the corner of Mannheim Road and Lunt Avenue, just north of Mannheim Road's interchange with the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (I-90) about 3 miles (4.8 km) north of O'Hare International Airport. The facility opened in 1980 as the Rosemont Horizon and seats 17,500 for basketball and 16,692 for ice hockey.
The UIC Flames are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Illinois Chicago, located in Chicago, Illinois, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the Division I level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) since the 2022–23 academic year. The Flames previously competed in the D-I Horizon League from 1994–95 to 2021–22; in the D-I Mid-Continent Conference from 1982–83 to 1993–94; as an NCAA D-I Independent during the 1981–82 school year; and in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) from 1949–50 to about 1980–81. Michael Lipitz joined UIC in October 2019 as the athletic director.
The Loyola Ramblers are the varsity sports teams of Loyola University Chicago. Most teams compete in the Atlantic 10 Conference, which the school joined in 2022 after leaving the Missouri Valley Conference. They previously played in the Horizon League. Notable athletes from Loyola have included middle-distance runner Tom O'Hara, volleyball player Thomas Jaeschke, and basketball players Mike Novak, Jerry Harkness, Les Hunter, Wayne Sappleton, Alfredrick Hughes, LaRue Martin, and Blake Schilb. The nickname "Ramblers" was first used in 1926. The Loyola Ramblers departed from the Missouri Valley Conference and joined the Atlantic 10 Conference effective July 1, 2022.
The Horizon League Men's Basketball Player of the Year is a basketball award given to the Horizon League's most outstanding player. The award was first given following the 1979–80 season, the first year of the conference's existence. Seven players have won the award multiple times: Byron Larkin, Brian Grant, Rashad Phillips, Alfredrick Hughes, Keifer Sykes, Loudon Love, and Antoine Davis. Hughes, unlike the other four who each won twice, was awarded the player of the year on three occasions.
The Loyola Ramblers men's basketball team represents Loyola University Chicago in Chicago, Illinois. The Ramblers participate as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. The Ramblers had joined the Missouri Valley Conference in 2013, and stayed until 2022. Prior to 2013, the team had spent 34 seasons as a charter member of the Horizon League.
Loyola University Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1870 by the Society of Jesus, Loyola is one of the largest Catholic universities in the United States. Its namesake is Saint Ignatius of Loyola. Loyola's professional schools include programs in medicine, nursing, and health sciences anchored by the Loyola University Medical Center. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity".
Porter Andrew Moser is a college basketball coach who is the current head coach of the University of Oklahoma men's basketball team. Moser spent 10 years (2011–2021) at Loyola University Chicago, helping lead the Ramblers to the Final Four in 2018.
The Loyola Ramblers women's basketball team represents Loyola University Chicago, located in Chicago, Illinois, United States, in NCAA Division I basketball competition. They currently compete in the Atlantic 10 Conference.
David Bailey is an American professional basketball player. He is most notable for his time spent as point guard for the Loyola Ramblers men's basketball team from 1999 to 2003. He was a three-time All-Horizon League selection, a Horizon League scoring champion, a Horizon League assists champion and Horizon League All-Tournament team selection. He is the older brother of crosstown Horizon League foe and former George Westinghouse College Prep teammate Martell Bailey. The brothers' tenure in the league overlapped for two seasons, including one in which they were both All-League honorees. They played head-to-head several times, including a Horizon League men's basketball tournament championship game in which both were key performers.
Martell Bailey is an American basketball player who is most notable for his time spent as point guard for the UIC Flames men's basketball team from 2001 to 2004. He was the 2002–03 NCAA Division I men's basketball season assists leader and holds the Horizon League records for single-season and career assists in conference games. He was a two-time second team All-Horizon League selection, and he led the Flames to three of the four post season tournaments they have ever participated in, including two of their three NCAA Division I men's basketball tournaments. Bailey's three seasons at UIC are the school's only consecutive 20-win seasons and culminated with a school record 24 wins. He was not accorded a fourth year of eligibility for academic reasons.
Darius Clemons is a retired American basketball player. He is known for his standout college career at Loyola University in Chicago, where he was named Midwestern City Conference Player of the Year in 1981. He remains the school's all-time leader in assists.
The 2012–13 Loyola Ramblers men's basketball team represented Loyola University Chicago during the 2012–13 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Ramblers, led by second year head coach Porter Moser, played their home games at the Joseph J. Gentile Arena and were members of the Horizon League. They finished the season 15–16, 5–11 in Horizon League play to finish in seventh place. They lost in the first round of the Horizon League tournament to Youngstown State.
The Loyola Ramblers softball team represents Loyola University Chicago in the NCAA Division I college softball. The team participates in the Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10). From 1987 until 2013, the team was a member of the Horizon League (HL). From 2014 until 2021, the team was a member of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC). The Ramblers are currently led by head coach Alicia Abbott. The team plays its home games at Loyola Softball Park located on the university's campus.
The Loyola Ramblers men's volleyball team represents Loyola University Chicago in NCAA competition as a member of the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA), one of the seven conferences that compete at the National Collegiate level of NCAA men's volleyball. The Ramblers are coached by John Hawks, who replaced Mark Hulse after the 2022 season. Hulse had spent the previous seven seasons at Loyola, having been let go after seven seasons and an overall record of 120–61 (.663). Before Hulse, the Ramblers were coached by Loyola alumnus Shane Davis. His record through 12 seasons was 265–88 (.751), and he led the Ramblers to back-to-back NCAA championships.
Donte Ingram is an American basketball player for Al Bataeh Club of the UAE National Basketball League. He played college basketball for the Loyola Ramblers. Before Loyola, he attended Simeon Career Academy and was teammates with NBA player Jabari Parker. Ingram drew national attention after helping the 2017–18 Ramblers reach the Final Four round of the 2018 NCAA tournament. He was named to the second-team All-Missouri Valley Conference as a senior.
Ben Richardson is an American former professional basketball player. He spent four seasons with the Loyola Ramblers at the college level, winning Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Defensive Player of the Year as a senior. In his final season at Loyola, he also helped his team reach the Final Four round of the 2018 NCAA Division I tournament. Richardson played professionally for four teams in Europe.
The 2019 Missouri Valley Conference men's soccer tournament was the 30th edition of the competition. The tournament was played from November 13 until November 17, 2019.
The 2021 Missouri Valley Conference women's soccer tournament was the postseason women's soccer tournament for the Missouri Valley Conference held from October 31 through November 7, 2021. The First Round was held at campus sites. The semifinals and finals took place at Loyola Soccer Park in Chicago, Illinois. The six-team single-elimination tournament consisted of three rounds based on seeding from regular season conference play. The defending champions were the Loyola Ramblers, who successfully defended their title by defeating Evansville 4–0 in the final. The conference tournament title was the fourth for the Loyloa women's soccer program, all of which have come under head coach Barry Bimbi. The championship was also the fourth in a row for the Loyola program. As tournament champions, Loyola earned the Missouri Valley's automatic berth into the 2021 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament.
