The San Diego Conquistadors were a professional basketball team based in San Diego, California, that competed in the American Basketball Association (ABA). The "Q's", as they were popularly known, played from 1972 to 1975. As the Sails, they played an incomplete season only, beginning the 1975–1976 season but folding after only 11 games with 3 wins and 8 losses.
K.C. Jones was an American professional basketball player and coach. He is best known for his association with the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA), with whom he won 11 of his 12 NBA championships. As a player, he is tied for third for most NBA championships in a career, and is one of three NBA players with an 8–0 record in NBA Finals series. He is the only African-American coach other than Bill Russell to have won multiple NBA championships. Jones was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1989.
Viejas Arena is an indoor arena in San Diego, California, located on the campus of San Diego State University. It is the home of the San Diego State Aztecs men's and women's basketball teams. The Aztecs compete in NCAA Division I as a member of the Mountain West Conference (MW). The arena is also the home of the San Diego Mojo of the Pro Volleyball Federation (PVF).
E. A. Diddle Arena is a 7,326-seat multi-purpose arena in Bowling Green, Kentucky, United States. The arena, built in 1963, is home to the Western Kentucky University Hilltoppers men's basketball team and Lady Toppers basketball and volleyball teams. It is also known as Academic-Athletic Building #1. It also holds Military Science and Physical Education & Recreation classes and offices.
Alex John Groza was an American professional basketball player from Martins Ferry, Ohio. Resulting from the CCNY point shaving scandal, Groza was banned from the National Basketball Association (NBA) for life in 1951. In college, he won two NCAA championships as captain of the University of Kentucky Wildcats, and was a two-time All-NBA player for the Indianapolis Olympians before his career abruptly ended.
The Robert A. Mott Athletics Center is a 3,032-seat, indoor multi-purpose arena on the campus of California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California.
Charles Stanley Albeck was an American professional basketball coach. Albeck coached for several teams in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA), including the Denver Rockets, the San Diego Conquistadors,, the Cleveland Cavaliers, the San Antonio Spurs, the New Jersey Nets, and the Chicago Bulls.
Dwight "Bo" Lamar is a former professional American basketball player. Born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, he graduated from the University of Southwestern Louisiana, now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Lamar was a leading NCAA scorer and was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1973 American Basketball Association Draft.
ChristianMarlowe is an American professional sportscaster who resides in Denver, Colorado. He currently is the play-by-play announcer for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association in the fall, winter and spring, and in the summer he is a play-by-play announcer for the Association of Volleyball Professionals. He is a former collegiate basketball and volleyball player and played on the US National Men's Volleyball Team. He played beach volleyball extensively and won numerous tournaments on the Open beach circuit. He also was a captain of the US men's volleyball team that won the gold medal at the 1984 Olympic Games.
The San Diego State Aztecs are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent San Diego State University (SDSU). The Aztecs compete in NCAA Division I (FBS) as a member of the Mountain West Conference (MW); they will become a member of the Pac-12 Conference in 2026. The university currently fields 17 varsity teams. The team's nickname is derived from the Aztecs; colors are scarlet (red) and black.
Jerome Purcell "Jerry" Chambers is a retired American professional basketball player. At 6'5" and 185 pounds, he played as a forward.
The San Diego State Aztecs men's basketball team is the men's college basketball program that represents San Diego State University. The Aztecs compete in NCAA Division I as a member of the Mountain West Conference (MW). The team plays its home games at Viejas Arena.
The 1972–73 ABA season was the sixth season of the American Basketball Association. The Pittsburgh Condors and Miami Floridians had folded, leaving the league with nine teams. However, the ABA decided to award an expansion franchise to Dr. Leonard Bloom for $1 million to play in San Diego, California, named the San Diego Conquistadors. Subsequently, this meant that the Memphis Tams would move to the Eastern Division. Once again, the best regular season team did not win the ABA Finals, with the Indiana Pacers, led by playoff MVP George McGinnis, winning the ABA championship, 4 games to 3 over the Kentucky Colonels.
Sports in San Diego includes major professional league teams, other highest-level professional league teams, minor league teams, and college athletics. San Diego hosts one team of the major professional leagues, the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). San Diego FC of Major League Soccer (MLS) begins play in 2025. The city is home to several universities whose teams compete in various NCAA Division I sports, most notably the San Diego State Aztecs. The Farmers Insurance Open, a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, is played annually at Torrey Pines Golf Course.
Gregory Scott Lee was an American professional basketball and volleyball player. He played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins, winning back-to-back national championships as their starting point guard in 1972 and 1973. He had short stints in the original American Basketball Association (ABA) and the National Basketball Association (NBA) before playing four seasons in West Germany. As a volleyball player, Lee teamed with Jim Menges to set a record with 13 consecutive professional beach volleyball titles. He was inducted into the California Beach Volleyball Association's (CBVA) hall of fame.
Golden Hall is an indoor arena in San Diego, California. It was built in 1964. Golden Hall is located within the San Diego Concourse complex at 1 Civic Center Plz San Diego, CA 92101. It is primarily utilized as a homeless shelter today.
The City Championship is an American men's college basketball rivalry game between the Aztecs of San Diego State University and the Toreros of the University of San Diego. The winner of the game becomes City Champions.
The 1972–73 San Diego Conquistadors season was the 1st season of the San Diego Conquistadors in the American Basketball Association. The Conquistadors were the first and only expansion team of the ABA, made to make the league have 10 teams, with Dr. Leonard Bloom granted a team for $1 million. But a feud with Peter Graham, proprietor of the San Diego Sports Arena due to Graham being bitter for not being granted the team meant that the team would play their games in the 3,200 capacity Peterson Gym. The first game was a Friday night on October 13, 1972, versus the Denver Rockets, which they lost 100–109. The Conquistadors had a 16–26 first half of the season, with a ten-game losing streak in that half. In the second half, they went 21–21, with a nine-game losing streak in there, though they have a five-game winning streak near the end of the season that rose their win total from 25 to 30. The Q's managed to get into the playoffs due to the Dallas Chaparrals losing to the Denver Rockets on March 25. They finished 9th in points scored with 109.0 points per game and 7th in points allowed with 113.2 points per game. They faced off against the Utah Stars in the playoffs, but they were swept in four games.
The National Basketball Association has undergone several rounds of expansion in the league's history, since it began play in 1946, to reach 30 teams. The most recent examples are the additions of the Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat in 1988; the Minnesota Timberwolves and Orlando Magic in 1989; the Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies in 1995 ; and the Charlotte Bobcats in 2004. In September 2024, Commissioner Adam Silver stated that the NBA would have discussions about a potential expansion of the league sometime during the 2024–25 season though not during the league's 2024 fall meetings, with an ESPN article stating that a number of factors including the potential sale of the Boston Celtics has led the league to go slower with the expansion process. In addition, the article stated that the potential expansion teams may begin play in the 2027–28 season should one occur.
The 1926 San Diego State Aztecs football team represented San Diego State Teachers College during the 1926 NCAA football season. San Diego State competed as a member of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) in 1926. They had played as an Independent the previous year.
