| Loyola Marymount Lions | |
| University | Loyola Marymount University |
|---|---|
| Conference(s) | West Coast Conference |
| NCAA | Division I |
| Athletics director | Dr. William Husak |
| Location | Los Angeles, CA |
| Varsity teams | 18 |
| Basketball arena | Gersten Pavilion |
| Baseball stadium | George C. Page Stadium |
| Mascot | Iggy the Lion |
| Nickname | Lions |
| Fight song | "Fight on Loyola" |
| Colors | Crimson and Navy Blue
|
| Homepage | Loyola Marymount Athletics |
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, with its primary affiliation in the West Coast Conference, an organization consisting solely of religiously-affiliated schools.
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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).[1] LMU's 122.4 point per game in 1990 was still a record as of October 2010.[2] 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.[3]
LMU's current men's head coach is Max Good.
Hank Gathers and Bo Kimble were recruited to the University of Southern California by Head Coach Stan Morrison and his top assistant, David Spencer. They were joined by high school All-American, Tom Lewis, and Rich Grande as the "Four Freshmen" star recruiting class.[4][5] Following an 11-17 season coaching USC, Morrison and Spencer were fired after the 1985-86 season was over, despite winning the PAC-10 the previous year. It was reported that the players would not remain unless certain conditions were met, including having a say in the next coaching staff.[4] USC hired George Raveling as the next head coach of the Trojans.[6] Raveling gave the players a deadline to respond whether they would remain on the team. When they did not respond, he revoked the scholarships of Gathers, Kimble, and Lewis.[7] Raveling's controversial[8] statement was, "You can't let the Indians run the reservation," he said. "You've got to be strong, too. Sometimes you have to tell them that they have to exit."[4] Kimble and Gathers transferred together from USC to Loyola Marymount. Lewis transferred to Pepperdine. Grande remained at USC.
In the 1988–89 season, Gathers became the second player in NCAA Division I history to lead the nation in scoring and rebounding in the same season, averaging 32.7 points and 13.7 rebounds per game.[9][10] In the 1989–90 season, Kimble led the nation in scoring averaging 35.3 points per game. Both Gathers and Kimble were consensus second team All-American selections in 1990.[11][12]
The Loyola Marymount men's basketball team will forever be remembered for the death of star player Hank Gathers (#44), who collapsed during the second round of the WCC tournament on March 4, 1990, and for the team's subsequent run to the Elite Eight in the 1990 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. Gathers and teammate Bo Kimble (#30) had their jerseys retired by LMU.
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 (USC), 10-8, in the NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship game at Stanford University's Avery Aquatic Center.
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