2007 LMU
VOLLEYBALL
buildingchampions LMU has grown considerably over the years and offers a diverse range of 21 varsity sports, 18 of which compete at the Division I level within the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Twelve sports, including baseball, men's and women's basketball, women's crew, men's and women's cross country, men's golf, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's tennis and women's volleyball, compete in the prestigious West Coast Conference. In addition, women's swimming participates in the Pacific Collegiate Swimming Conference and men’s and women's water polo compete in the Western Water Polo Association. Women's softball competes in the Pacific Coast Softball Conference BO KIMBLE while the men’s and women’s track program (added in 2006) is an independent to round out the 18 programs competing at the NCAA D-I level. Men's crew is affiliated with the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association and the LMU cheer program was added as a varsity sport in 2005. The success of Lion Athletics has never been stronger, claiming some of its crowning moments since 2000. Since Athletics Director Dr. William Husak took the reigns of the program in 1998, the Lions have sent 32 teams to the NCAA tournament while winning 22 conference championships in the process. With the success, 52 individual student-athletes have earned AllAmerica honors since 2000.
1986 COLLEGE WORLD SERIES
Traditions of championships has been set from the beginning. One of the most memorable runs in NCAA history was that of the Paul Westhead lead men's basketball programs from 1985-1990. The Lions won two WCC tournament titles and two regular season titles. As the Lions set the all-time NCAA Division-I record with 122.4 points per game in 1990, it was the people that made the Lions special. What Bo Kimble, Hank Gathers, Jeff Fryer and the rest of the up-tempo Lions did for the men's basketball team continued a long-standing tradition of a basketball legacy at LMU. Two Loyola basketball alumni, Pete Newell and Phil Woolpert, have been inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts. Newell coached the 1960 U.S. Olympic basketball team to a gold medal and led California to the 1959 NCAA Championship. Woolpert coached the University of San Francisco to the 1955 and 1956 NCAA Championships and a 60-game win streak, the second longest in college basketball history. Speaking of championships, Bob Boyd, former Loyola football and track great, captured the 1950 NCAA men's track championship in the 100-yard dash. He later played seven seasons as a tight end for the NFL's Los Angeles Rams, and led them to the 1951 World Title. The 1980s saw LMU's athletic success propel to the national and international level. Just four years after pitching the LMU baseball team to the 1986 College World Series, Tim Layana was a vital member of the 1990 World Series Champion Cincinnati Reds. Five members from the 1986 LMU team eventually played in the major leagues. Like Boyd in the NFL and Layana in MLB, many former LMU student-athletes have gone on to the next level in their respective sports. Entering the 2007-08 season, 14 Lions currently play professional baseball with an MLB organization, including current major leaguers C.J. Wilson with the Texas Rangers and Billy Traber with the Washington Nationals. Additionally, four men's soccer players have played in the MLS the last four years, including Arturo Torres playing for Chivas USA. Over the years, nine former women's volleyball players have played professionally, including 2000 Olympian Sarah Noriega. The 1996 first-team All-American was just one Lion to make an appearance in the Olympics. This past 2004 Summer Olympics former and three-time men's volleyball All-American Reid Priddy burst on the international scene and led the U.S. Men's Volleyball team. Women's water polo players Rachel Riddell and Christine Robinson both played for the Canadian National Team in the Olympics and fellow water polo player Katie Hicks made the U.S. National Team roster in 2006. Nearly 100 years ago, the Lions began Building Champions.The work continues in 2007-08.