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104-668: The San Francisco Dons is the nickname of the athletic teams at the University of San Francisco (USF). The Dons compete in NCAA Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as members of the West Coast Conference (WCC), of which USF is a charter member. Athletics at USF dates back to its founding in 1855, when founder Anthony Maraschi , S.J. organized ball games as recreation for

208-826: A Phi Beta Kappa chapter The San Francisco Foghorn is the official student weekly newspaper and is sponsored by ASUSF. The Foghorn was founded in 1903 and was first called The Ignatian . In the 1930s when the college name was changed, the newspaper became the San Francisco Foghorn . The Foghorn notable alumni including Pierre Salinger , editor of the San Francisco Chronicle and Press Secretary for President John F. Kennedy ; well-known author and historian Kevin Starr ; and Leo T. McCarthy , former California Lieutenant Governor. From 1977, USF radio station KUSF broadcast online until 2011 when its license

312-535: A "consolation" fixture has led to something of a stigma in the minds of many fans. When teams with tenuous hopes of an NCAA Tournament berth lose away from home late in the season, opposing fans may taunt the players in the closing seconds with chants of "NIT! NIT!" This is done regardless of whether the home team is headed for the NCAA Tournament or not. Irv Moss, a journalist for the Denver Post , once wrote of such

416-600: A .500 or better overall record to qualify for the NIT was imposed. The NCAA announced a revamped selection process starting with the 2017 tournament. The main highlights are: In addition, the selection process was changed. ESPN no longer had a hand in the selection of the teams. Instead, a committee of former NCAA head coaches, chaired by Newton, and including Gene Keady ( Purdue ), Don DeVoe ( Tennessee ), Rudy Davalos , Les Robinson ( NC State ), Reggie Minton ( Air Force ), John Powers , and Carroll Williams among others, prepared

520-449: A banner for UCLA's 1985 NIT championship until the 1995 NCAA championship banner replaced it. However, during the recent remodeling of Pauley Pavilion a plaque was installed along the concourse of the building commemorating the Bruins' 1985 NIT Championship. For other teams, however, the NIT is perceived as a step up, helping programs progress from mediocrity or obscurity to prominence, and

624-561: A basketball powerhouse into the 1970s and early 80s, holding the distinction of being a "major" program in a " mid-major " conference (the WCC having declined somewhat in stature since the 1960s). It held the number-one spot in the polls on numerous occasions. In 1977, led by All-American center Bill Cartwright , the Dons went 29–0 and were regarded as the #1 team in the nation in both major polls before dropping their last two games. The Dons' prominence in

728-404: A bowl bid would have alleviated, USF's finest football team ever was its last at the major college level (now Division I FBS). Though football made a brief comeback as a Division II sport during the 1960s and 1970s, USF has not fielded a varsity team since. Kuharich, at times, would delegate recruiting responsibilities to his freshman coach, Brad Lynn, who had little to offer prospective players in

832-509: A few have had debuts in the Major Leagues: USF is best known for its basketball program. The men's basketball team have won three national titles: the 1949 NIT under Pete Newell and the 1955 and 1956 NCAA championships under Phil Woolpert . The latter two were led by future National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame members Bill Russell and K.C. Jones . USF retained its status as

936-640: A list of potential teams in advance. Beginning with the 2016 NIT, the committee makeup was restructured; committee members will serve a maximum four-year term, and the committee will feature a mix of current athletics administrators who are actively working at NCAA schools or conferences and former head college basketball coaches. Previously, the NIT Committee had eight members, all of whom had been former head college basketball coaches or athletics directors. The previous structure had no term limits or succession plan. ESPN continues to provide television coverage of

1040-492: A national championship, winning a then-record 60 games in a row from 1954 to 1956 before losing an exhibition game to the USA Men's Olympic Basketball team. Also of note, the 1954-1955 USF basketball teams became the first major college or university basketball team to win a national title with three African American starters (Russell, Jones, and Hal Perry ). Soccer The soccer program began at USF in 1931, and they succeeded from

1144-399: A personal milestone of 800 career coaching victories. At the time, Bob Knight was the only other Division I men's coach to have accomplished the feat. After months of speculation, Evans was finally officially fired by USF on March 20, 2008, and a national coaching search was launched, including the use of an executive search consultant company, DHR International. Rex Walters was named as

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1248-664: A player threatened another student was swept under the rug by school officials. It was also common for "tutors" to take tests and write papers for players. The situation came to a head in December 1981, when All-American guard Quintin Dailey assaulted a female student. During the subsequent investigation, Dailey admitted taking a no-show job at a business owned by a prominent non-sports USF donor. The donor had also paid Dailey $ 5,000 since 1980. Combined with other revelations, school president Rev. John Lo Schiavo announced on July 29, 1982, that he

1352-467: A privately appointed board of trustees , along with the university president, the university chancellor , the university provost and vice-presidents, and the deans . The board currently has 41 voting members who serve three, three-year terms. The board of trustees elects a president to serve as the general manager and chief executive of the university. The university's current president is Paul J. Fitzgerald , S.J. The president, according to USF bylaws,

1456-565: A professor, the college's treasurer , and the first pastor of St. Ignatius Church. Under Maraschi, St. Ignatius Academy received its charter to issue college degrees on April 30, 1859, from the State of California , and signed by governor John B. Weller . In that year, the school changed its name to St. Ignatius College . The original curriculum included Greek, Spanish , Latin , English , French , Italian , algebra , arithmetic , history, geography, elocution , and bookkeeping. A new building

1560-510: A record of 9–0, and produced nine future NFL players. Five became NFL Pro-Bowlers, and Gino Marchetti , Ollie Matson , and Bob St. Clair later were inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame – a record for one college team. Also the team's Burl Toler became the first African American official in the NFL. Future NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle played a role as the Dons' Athletic Publicist. At

1664-505: A respectable attendance for tournament games on their home court. The latter is one reason why New Mexico was invited virtually every year—the Lobos often had a winning season but failed to qualify for the NCAA tournament. Seeding considerations and home court advantage included the number of fans willing to show up to each game. In an effort to maintain some quality, a rule saying that a team must have

1768-538: A return to MSG in 2022 , it was announced that the 2023 and 2024 semis and final would be moved away from New York. On August 12, 2022, the NCAA announced that the final rounds of the 2023 NIT would be held at Orleans Arena in Paradise, Nevada and hosted by nearby UNLV , and the 2024 site would be Butler University 's Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis . The status of the post-season National Invitation Tournament as

1872-529: A taunt to a defeated team, "The three-letter word ... was far more cutting than any four-letter word they could have hollered." Because the post-season NIT consists of teams that failed to receive a berth in the NCAA Tournament, the NIT has been nicknamed the "Not Invited Tournament", "Not Important Tournament", "Never Important Tournament", "Nobody's Interested Tournament", "Needs Improvement Tournament", "No Important Team", "National Insignificant Tournament," or simply "Not In Tournament". It has also been called

1976-488: A tournament to see who the "69th best team" in the country is (since there are now 68 teams in the NCAA Tournament). David Thompson , an All-American player from North Carolina State , called the NIT "a loser's tournament" in 1975. NC State, which had been the previous year's NCAA champion , refused to play in the tournament that year, following the precedent set by ACC rival Maryland the previous season after losing

2080-429: Is USF's most successful program, earning five national titles , including a co-championship with Penn State in 1949. The program's successes came under alumnus Stephen Negoesco , who coached from 1962 to 2000 and led the team to 540 wins and four national championships (1966, 1975, 1976, 1980). Under Negoesco's successor, alumnus Erik Visser, the men's team earned the 2004, 2005 and 2008 WCC titles. Alejandro Toledo ,

2184-455: Is broadcast on Channel 35 in the dormitories and around campus, with news, sports, and cultural programming. In 2008, USFtv students collaborated with Wyclef Jean to create a music video for his song, "If I Was President". The Ignatian is USF's annual literary magazine published every spring, with a wide array of content from philosophical pieces to personal essays, short fiction, poetry, and photography. USF has numerous student clubs for

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2288-527: Is played at regional sites with its Final Four played at Madison Square Garden (MSG) in New York City up until 2022. Starting in 2023, the NIT Final Four began following the format of the NCAA Tournament by having its Final Four at different venues each season. First held in 1938, the NIT was once considered the most prestigious post-season showcase for college basketball before its status was superseded in

2392-684: Is specifically responsible for articulating and advancing the Jesuit Catholic character of the university. USF's faculty and librarians are unionized. The University of San Francisco Faculty Association, a local of the California Federation of Teachers, represents its members in all matters concerning wages, benefits, and enforcing the Collective Bargaining Agreement. The USFFA is consulted by the USF administration on matters affecting

2496-447: Is that a number one-seeded team that goes to the semifinals will have three home games, which helps ticket sales. From 2007 to 2019, the 32-team field used from 1980 through 2001 is the same, eliminating the eight-game "play-in" opening round where teams played to qualify for second round games against the top eight seeds used 2002–2006. The tournament features four eight-team regions. There's one exception: 16 teams competed in 2021 . For

2600-909: Is the Don and its colors are green and gold . Athletics at USF dates back to its founding in 1855, when founder Anthony Maraschi, S.J., organized ball games as recreation for the first students. Intercollegiate competition dates back to 1907, when then St. Ignatius College began playing organized baseball , basketball , and rugby against other local colleges and high schools. Rivalries with neighboring Santa Clara University and Saint Mary's College of California have their origins in this early period. The university's Olympians have included Israeli long-distance runner Maor Tiyouri , American-born Marshallese runner Haley Nemra , Venezuelan-American basketball player John Cox , and synchronized swimmer Mariya Koroleva . The 1951 University of San Francisco Dons football team, coached by Joe Kuharich , went undefeated with

2704-502: The American Red Cross sponsored a postseason charity game between each year's tournament champions to raise money for the war effort. The series was described by Ray Meyer as not just benefit games, but as "really the games for the national championship". The NCAA champion prevailed in all three games. The Helms Athletic Foundation retrospectively selected the NIT champion as its national champion for 1938 ( Temple ) and chose

2808-503: The Atlantic Coast Conference championship game to the top-ranked Wolfpack. In succeeding years, other teams such as Oklahoma State , Louisville , Georgia Tech , Georgetown , and LSU have declined to play in the NIT when they did not make the NCAA tournament. One such team was Maryland ; after being rejected by the NCAA selection committee in 2006, head coach Gary Williams announced that 19–11 Maryland would not go to

2912-809: The NAIA tournament was created by basketball's inventor Dr. James Naismith , and one year before the NCAA tournament . The first NIT was won by the Temple University Owls over the Colorado Buffaloes . Responsibility for the NIT's administration was transferred in 1940 to the Metropolitan Intercollegiate Basketball Committee, a body of local New York colleges: Fordham University , Manhattan University , New York University , St. John's University , and Wagner College . This became

3016-491: The National Collegiate Athletic Association purchased 10-year rights to the NIT from the MIBA for $ 56.5 million to settle an antitrust lawsuit, which had gone to trial and was being argued until very shortly before the settlement was announced. The MIBA alleged that compelling teams to accept invitations to the NCAA tournament even if they preferred to play in the NIT was an illegal use of the NCAA's powers. In addition, it argued that

3120-675: The New York Knicks and United States Senator Bill Bradley stated: In the 1940s, when the NCAA tournament was less than 10 years old, the National Invitation Tournament, a saturnalia held in New York at Madison Square Garden by the Metropolitan Intercollegiate Basketball Association, was the most glamorous of the post-season tournaments and generally had the better teams. The winner of

3224-508: The Syracuse – San Diego State game. Syracuse won the game 80–64 with an attendance total of 26,752. The previous record of 23,522 was set by Kentucky in 1979. On October 27, 2023, the NCAA announced that conference regular season champions that do not win their conference tournaments or otherwise not selected for the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament , will no longer receive an automatic bid. The NIT will now guarantee two teams, based on

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3328-595: The United States Intercollegiate Boxing Association , the first national collegiate tournament in the US to include women's boxing. University of San Francisco Founded by the Jesuits in 1855 as St. Ignatius Academy , USF started as a one-room schoolhouse along Market Street in what later became downtown San Francisco. Father Anthony Maraschi was the college's founder and first president,

3432-494: The Vegas 16 , which both folded after only one edition). St. Bonaventure , a school that, since 2014, has a policy of refusing to play in those newer tournaments, still accepted bids to the NIT, if invited. In 2024, it further began declining bids to the NIT as well, stating that the expense of a road trip of up to five games, the result of if the team were ranked in the lower half of the bracket, could not be justified. St. Bonaventure

3536-497: The "Little Dance" instead of the "loser's tournament". Former NIT Committee chair and former Alabama and Vanderbilt head coach C. M. Newton stated, "What we want to have is a true basketball event, a real tournament, one where there's no preconceived ideas of who gets to New York. We'd love to have great crowds, but this is not a financial consideration. We want good television coverage, but we're not going to play this thing for television and move games around". Another consideration

3640-404: The 1939 national champion by Helms Athletic Foundation, which was made retrospectively in 1943. In 1943 the NCAA tournament moved to share Madison Square Garden with the NIT in an effort to increase the credibility of the NCAA Tournament. In 1945, The New York Times indicated that many teams could get bids to enter either tournament, which was not uncommon in that day. Since the mid-1950s,

3744-400: The 1970s came at a price, however. The NCAA placed the Dons on probation two times in the late 1970s. Head coach Bob Gaillard was fired after the first, and an in-house inquiry after the second resulted in the firing of his successor, Dan Belluomini. It was also well known that basketball players got special treatment; many of them were marginal students at best, and at least one instance where

3848-561: The ASUSF budget. All social sororities and fraternities recognized by the university must participate in the Greek Council, which tends to the development of these organizations and their members. Chapters have some common mixers and socials, Thanksgiving potluck, Christmas clothing drive, Homecoming, and Greek Games. Social fraternities and sororities Service Academic, Honor, and Professional Societies — The university does not have

3952-705: The Bachelor of Science in Nursing, the Master of Public Health, the Master in Counseling with an Emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy, and the Master's in Teaching with the a Teaching Credential. USF also offers programs on the campuses of San Jose City College and Santa Rosa Junior College . The University of San Francisco is chartered as a non-profit organization and is governed by

4056-671: The Bay Area. ASUSF Voices, in collaboration with the Performing Arts Department, contains a variety of choral ensembles, including jazz and popular. The USF Contemporary Mass Ensemble (vocal and instrumental) are USF alumni who perform at Sunday Masses in St. Ignatius Church. The USF dance program is affiliated with the Performing Arts and Social Justice Major. Students can enroll in traditional and modern dance classes and participate in

4160-407: The Dons entered college football lore by going undefeated in 1951 and producing three NFL hall of famers ( Gino Marchetti , Ollie Matson , and Bob St. Clair ). However, they did not receive a bowl invitation, as the team turned down any suggestions that they leave their two black teammates at home at the expense of a much-needed bowl bid. Due to the associated financial burden on the school that

4264-412: The Dons finish with a Top 25 national ranking, a 22–8 record, and five all-WCC players. USF participates in the following club sports: golf, fencing , boxing , rifle , tennis , karate , soccer and lacrosse . Rugby, which was one of the first varsity sports in school history, is currently a club sport. Football is played on the intramural level. In 2013, USF hosted the inaugural championships of

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4368-473: The Dons' head coach on April 14, 2008. On March 9, 2016, after eight seasons during which the Dons were unable to do more than break even (127-127), athletic director Scott Sidwell fired Walters. On March 30, 2016, Kyle Smith was named as the new head coach. Prior to joining USF, Smith had spent the prior six years as head coach of the Columbia University basketball team. For nine years prior to that, he

4472-612: The Intercollegiate Boxing Championship. International students made up 15.5% of the student body in the fall of 2017. International students have a special orientation period and a variety of student groups like the International Student Association, Global Living Community, an International Advisory Council, and an International Network Program. USF sponsors an annual International Education Week with an international fair featuring consulates in

4576-467: The Metropolitan Intercollegiate Basketball Association (MIBA) in 1948. Originally the tournament invited a field of six teams, with all games played at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan. The field was expanded to eight teams in 1941 , 12 in 1949 , 14 in 1965 , 16 in 1968 , 24 in 1979 , 32 in 1980 , and 40 from 2002 through 2006 . From 2007 to 2019 and since 2022 , the tournament reverted to

4680-512: The Metropolitan Intercollegiate Basketball Association (MIBA) until 2005 , when they were purchased by the NCAA, and the MIBA disbanded. Unless otherwise qualified, the terms NIT or National Invitation Tournament refer to the post-season tournament in both common and official use. The post-season National Invitation Tournament was founded in 1938 by the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association, one year after

4784-577: The NCAA Midwest Regional ( Fort Worth, Texas ) instead of closer to home in the Mideast Regional ( Dayton, Ohio ). The team played in the NIT instead, which it won. This led the NCAA to decree in 1971 that any school to which it offered a bid must accept it or be prohibited from participating in postseason competition, reducing the pool of teams that could accept an NIT invitation. As the NCAA tournament expanded its field to include more teams,

4888-424: The NCAA grade. Compounding this, to cut costs, the NIT moved its early rounds out of Madison Square Garden in 1977, playing games at home sites until the later rounds. This further harmed the NIT's prestige, both regionalizing interest in it and marginalizing it by reducing its association with Madison Square Garden. By the mid-1980s, its transition to a secondary tournament for lesser teams was complete. In 2005,

4992-461: The NCAA tournament has been popularly regarded by most institutions as the pre-eminent postseason tournament, with conference champions and the majority of the top-ranked teams participating in it. Nevertheless, as late as 1970, Coach Al McGuire of Marquette , the 8th-ranked team in the final AP poll of the season, spurned an NCAA at-large invitation because the Warriors were going to be placed in

5096-425: The NCAA tournaments in the same season, coincidentally defeating Bradley University in the championship game of both tournaments, and remains the only school to accomplish that feat because of an NCAA committee change in the early 1950s prohibiting a team from competing in both tournaments. The champions of both the NCAA and NIT tournaments played each other for three seasons during World War II . From 1943 to 1945,

5200-401: The NCAA's expansion of its tournament to 65 teams (68 since 2011) was designed specifically to bankrupt the NIT. Faced with the very real possibility of being found in violation of federal antitrust law for the third time in its history, the NCAA chose to settle (the first two violations were related to restrictions on televising college football and capping assistant coach salaries). As part of

5304-475: The NET Rankings from each of six major conferences: ACC , Big East , Big Ten , Big 12 , Pac-12 and SEC . The top two teams in the NET Rankings that do not qualify for the NCAA tournament from each conference, regardless of their record, will be selected for the NIT, and guaranteed the ability to host a game for the first round. After the twelve teams have been selected, the NIT selection committee will select

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5408-410: The NIT but then proceeded to win not only the NCAA tournament, but also the subsequent Red Cross War Charities benefit game in which they defeated NIT champion St. John's at Madison Square Garden . In 1949, some Kentucky players were bribed by gamblers to lose their first round game in the NIT. This same Kentucky team went on to win the NCAA. In 1950, City College of New York won both the NIT and

5512-433: The NIT champion ahead of the NCAA champion twice (1939 and 1941) and the NCAA champion ahead of the NIT champion eight times. Between 1939 and 1970, when teams could compete in either tournament, only DePaul (1945), Utah (1947), San Francisco (1949) and Holy Cross (1954) claim or celebrate national championships for their teams based solely on an NIT championship, although Long Island recognizes its selection as

5616-546: The NIT champion over the NCAA champion once, in 1939 ( Long Island ). More recently, the mathematically based Premo-Porretta Power Poll published in the ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia retrospectively ranked teams for each season prior to 1949, the year in which the Associated Press poll was implemented. For the period when the tournaments overlapped between 1939 and 1948, Premo-Porretta ranked

5720-648: The NIT, only to be told that the university had previously agreed to use Comcast Center as a venue for the NIT. The Terrapins were eliminated in the first round by the Manhattan University Jaspers . In 2008, however, Williams announced that if invited, the Terps would play, because it would serve as a chance to further develop six freshman players on his squad and to give senior forward James Gist more exposure. At UCLA 's Pauley Pavilion , there are individual championship banners for all 11 NCAA titles; there hung

5824-471: The National Invitation Tournament was regarded as more of a national champion than the actual, titular, national champion, or winner of the NCAA tournament. Several teams played in both the NIT and NCAA tournaments in the same year, beginning with Colorado and Duquesne in 1940. Colorado won the NIT in 1940 but subsequently finished fourth in the NCAA West Region . In 1944, Utah lost its first game in

5928-466: The San Francisco area, storytelling opportunities, educational speakers, and a performance event called "Cultures cape". USF is categorized as more selective for undergraduates according to both College Factual and U.S. News & World Report . In its 2024 rankings , U.S. News lists USF as having a 0.77 diversity index, tied with Andrews University as the most diverse "national university" in

6032-691: The USF Dance Ensemble under professional choreographers. Notable students marked the early years of student diversity at the USF. Chan Chung Wing, whose parents had immigrated from near Canton, was in the first law class at then St. Ignatius College of Law. In 1929, the Filipino Ignatians was founded. In 1930, the African American Isaiah Fletcher was a starting tackle on the football team, years before most colleges became integrated. In 1936, Earl Booker, another African American, won

6136-455: The United States. According to USF, "97% of fall 2023 incoming students received financial aid, with an average aid package of $ 48,664." USF provides a Net Price Calculator on its website. For the 2024–2025 year, tuition for full-time undergraduates is $ 59,920. The total estimated cost for one year, including fees, housing, and dining, is $ 85,258. Each residence hall or dormitory at

6240-498: The University of San Francisco being a test optional school. Those enrolled that submitted test scores had an average 1310 SAT score (17% submitting scores) or average 29 ACT score (8% submitting scores). USF's Center for Global Education advises students on international programs sponsored by USF or external organizations and schools and facilitates the process. In sponsored study abroad programs, students pay USF's tuition and not

6344-692: The University of San Francisco contains at least one lounge, a kitchen, and laundry facilities. Halls are secured with a 24-hour desk staff. Community programs and activities are planned by Resident Advisors , Resident Ministers , Residence Hall Council, and Residence Hall Association. On-campus USF competes in NCAA Division I and is a charter member of the West Coast Conference , along with local rivals Santa Clara University and Saint Mary's College of California . Sports offered are men's and women's basketball , cross country , golf , soccer , tennis , track and field , as well as men's baseball and women's volleyball and sand volleyball . USF's mascot

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6448-408: The University of San Francisco. The change from college to university was sought by many alumni groups and by long-time San Francisco Mayor James Rolph Jr. A male-only school for most of its history, USF became fully coeducational in 1964, though women started attending the evening programs in business and law as early as 1927. In 1969, the high school division, already wholly separate from

6552-458: The WCC conference championship to Pepperdine but still was given an at large berth into their first ever postseason. USF did not advance in the tournament as they were beaten by the University of Miami , and Manhattan College . Future major leaguer Aaron Poreda pitched for the Diamond Dons, finishing his freshman 2005 season with a 2.16 ERA , the fifth-lowest in team history and third-best in

6656-581: The WCC, and his hits-per-9-innings ratio of 6.48 was second-best in the conference. In 2006 he posted a WCC-best 2.49 ERA. In the NCAA regional he pitched the team to a 5–1 victory over No. 6 national seed Nebraska. Poreda was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the first round (25th overall) in the 2007 Major League Baseball Draft ; at the time, he was throwing a 97 miles per hour fastball. Nino Giarrantano became head coach in 1998, previously serving as hitting coach at Arizona State University . Giarrantano

6760-542: The WNIT is affiliated with the NIT in name only. Neither the NWIT nor WNIT was connected with MIBA, and the WNIT was not purchased by the NCAA; it is currently being run and operated by Triple Crown Sports. In July 2023, the NCAA announced it would create a direct counterpart to the postseason NIT, the Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT), with the first edition held in 2024 . Like

6864-550: The college began to develop an identity distinct from the high school—the college became the University of San Francisco in 1930—it adopted green and gold as its colors in 1927 and chose the Don as its mascot in 1932. The old Saint Ignatius High School later became Saint Ignatius College Preparatory and retained the red and blue colors. Three USF alumni participated in the 2016 Summer Olympics - Israeli long-distance runner Maor Tiyouri , basketball player John Cox and synchronized swimmer Mariya Koroleva . Tiyouri also competed in

6968-486: The country (alongside events such as the Maui Invitational and the now-defunct Great Alaska Shootout ). In the past, NIT teams were selected in consultation with ESPN , the television home of the NIT. The goal of the NIT was to sustain the MIBA financially. Therefore, schools selected to play in the NIT were often major conference teams with records near .500 that had large television fan bases and would likely have

7072-483: The current 32-team format; 2021 saw the field cut to 16 due to the COVID-19 pandemic , where no games were scheduled the year before. In its earliest years, before 1950, the NIT offered some advantages over the NCAA tournament: From its onset and at least into the mid-1950s, the NIT was regarded as the most prestigious showcase for college basketball. All-American at Princeton and later NBA champion with

7176-473: The first students. However, intercollegiate competition only dates back to 1907, when then-Saint Ignatius College began playing organized baseball , basketball , and rugby against other local colleges and high schools. Rivalries with neighboring Santa Clara University and Saint Mary's College of California have their origins in this early period. Teams were originally known as the "Grey Fog", and red and blue were Saint Ignatius College's colors. However, as

7280-409: The first time since 2011, the format prevented the tournament from extending the NIT's automatic bid to any regular-season conference champion that did not make the NCAA's field of 68 ( Ohio Valley Conference champion Belmont was not invited). Seven teams earned an NIT bid that way in 2006. A new attendance record for an NIT game was set at Syracuse University 's Carrier Dome on March 19, 2007, at

7384-439: The former president of Peru , played for USF on a partial scholarship. 1971 • 1973 • 1974 • 1975 • 1976 • 1978 • 1980 1981 • 1982 • 1984 • 1987 • 1988 • 1991 • 1993 1994 • 2004 • 2005 • 2008 The Women's cross country team won four consecutive WCC championships in 2009–2012, and in 2011 made an NCAA Championship appearance. They maintained national rankings in both 2011–2012. Israeli Olympian Maor Tiyouri , who went on to run

7488-578: The height of their success, due to the team having two African-American star players, Ollie Matson and Burl Toler, they were not invited to play in any of the college football bowl games hosted by the SEC ( Southeastern Conference ). The team, less Toler and Matson, was invited to the Orange Bowl but declined. Guard Dick Columbini said, "'No, we're not going to leave ‘em at home’ ... ‘We're going to play with ‘em or we’re not going to play.’" The USF Athletic Department

7592-488: The host program's tuition. USF has more than 89 sponsored study abroad programs in more than 40 countries. The University of San Francisco offers more than 65 undergraduate and 60 graduate programs across its campuses. The university's 55-acre main campus is known as "the Hilltop." It's divided into Lone Mountain and lower campus, which are north and south of Turk Street respectively. The USF Downtown San Francisco Campus

7696-465: The marathon at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in 2021. 2005 was a banner year for the baseball program, as the Diamond Dons finished with a 38–18 record (the best in team history), placed eight players in the all-conference team and earned Nino Giarrantano coach of the year honors. This was followed in 2006 with a 38–21 record, the WCC conference regular season championship, and a Top 25 ranking. However, USF lost in

7800-513: The marathon in the 2016 and 2020 Olympics, competed for the team. The men's tennis team, led by Harry Likas, Harry Roche and Arthur Larsen , won the 1949 NCAA Men's Tennis Championship . Likas also won the 1948 individual men's title. USF announced it would drop men's and women's tennis at the end of the 2023–24 school year. The women's volleyball team has made two NCAA tournament appearances: in 2003, under former coach Jeff Nelson, and in 2008 under current coach Gilad Doron. The 2008 season saw

7904-518: The men's NIT, it features 32 teams and is directly run by the NCAA. The WBIT follows the pre-2024 NIT practice of extending invitations to all regular-season champions of Division I conferences that were not selected for the NCAA tournament (if eligible). Also, all games before the semifinals are at campus sites, with the semifinals and final at a neutral site. The announcement of the WBIT led Triple Crown Sports to reduce future WNIT fields to 48, effective with

8008-511: The mid-1950s by the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament . A second, much more recent "NIT" tournament is played in November and known as the NIT Season Tip-Off . Formerly the "Preseason NIT" (and still sometimes referred to as such colloquially), it was founded in 1985. Unlike the postseason NIT, its final rounds are played at Madison Square Garden. Both tournaments were operated by

8112-491: The performing arts, including a theater group (College Players), two-time Golden Gate Regional winning improvisational team (Awkward Silence), choir (ASUSF Voices), USF Don Marching Band, contemporary mass ensemble, and a dance program that focuses on social justice. The College Players, founded in 1863, is considered one of the oldest student-run theater groups in the United States. Their annual production of The Vagina Monologues gives all its proceeds to women's charities in

8216-484: The program to respectability. He was not able to reach postseason play, however, and resigned in 1995. The program has only reached the postseason twice since its revival—an NCAA berth in 1998 under Phil Mathews and a 2005 NIT berth under former coach Jessie Evans . The program regressed the next few years, and Jessie Evans was granted a request for a 'leave of absence' on December 27, 2007. Basketball coach Eddie Sutton took over on an interim basis, needing two wins for

8320-460: The purchase of the NIT by the NCAA, the MIBA disbanded. The 2020 edition of the NIT was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic , following the NCAA canceling all winter and spring sports for that year in its wake. In 2021 , the NIT, like March Madness, decided to play its games at a bubble location, this time being Denton and Frisco, Texas , therefore for the first time the semifinals and championship weren't played at Madison Square Garden. After

8424-427: The reputation of the NIT suffered. In 1973, NBC moved televised coverage of the NCAA championship from Saturday afternoon to Monday evening, providing the NCAA Tournament with prime-time television exposure the NIT could not match. Even more crucially, when the NCAA eliminated the one-team-per-conference rule in 1975, its requirement that teams accept its bids relegated the NIT to a collection of teams that did not make

8528-616: The response is more enthusiastic. For example, at the University of Tulsa , which won the NIT in 1981 and 2001, the Golden Hurricane 's NIT "championship tradition" is viewed with pride and as a "lure" for players to join the program. The University of Connecticut also regards the NIT as the beginning of its success. The NIT is also held in generally higher regard than the newer tournaments that have debuted since 2008 (the current College Basketball Invitational and CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament , plus The Basketball Classic and

8632-500: The selection criteria. Two teams from both the ACC and SEC would be guaranteed bids. The top twelve conferences would receive one guaranteed bid. Lastly, guaranteed bids would be given to regular season champions with an average of 125 or better across the BPI, KPI, NET, KenPom, SOR, Torvik and WAB rankings. From 1969 to 1996, a National Women's Invitational Tournament (NWIT) existed; the tournament

8736-448: The start, winning five titles from 1932 to 1936. The team captain was All-American Gus Donoghue, who returned to the university as head coach in 1946, winning several titles, including a co-championship with Penn State in 1949. National Invitation Tournament The National Invitation Tournament ( NIT ) is an annual men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The tournament

8840-463: The tournament. In 2011 the NCAA and ESPN agreed to a $ 500 million agreement through 2023–24 for rights to cover championships in several sports, including the NIT; this compares with the 11-year, $ 6.2 billion TV contract with CBS and Turner Sports for the NCAA tournament. These changes are intended to encourage participation by good college teams that would rather stay home than play in the NIT—to make it

8944-415: The twenty best teams that are available to participate in the NIT, regardless of conference. Based on the selection committee's rankings, four of the twenty teams will be selected as one of the sixteen first round hosts. The change received criticism from mid-major schools, which no longer have a fallback option should they win the regular season but not win the conference tournament. The NCAA stated that this

9048-431: The university wanted to cut the program for financial reasons. However to keep the program alive Benedetti agreed to lower his salary. For the remaining 16 years of his coaching career he was paid $ 1 a year. The field is also named after Max Ulrich, a benefactor of the University of San Francisco. Over the years of USF's baseball tradition, a number of players have been drafted into professional baseball. Of these players,

9152-691: The university, moved to the western part of San Francisco and became St. Ignatius College Preparatory . In 1978, the university acquired Lone Mountain College . October 15, 2005, marked the 150th anniversary of the university's founding. 59 majors are offered are offered at USF within its one college and four schools: In 2024, the University of San Francisco accepted 71.2% of undergraduate applicants, with admission standards considered very high, applicant competition considered low, and with those enrolled having an average 3.57 high school GPA . The university does not require submission of standardized test scores,

9256-505: The way of scholarship inducements beyond tuition and room and board in an old ROTC barracks. However, Lynn would take recruits to the highest hill on campus, and would gesture out towards the sweeping panorama of San Francisco saying, "THIS is your campus." Only a handful of players from that 1951 team had been considered blue-ribbon prospects in high school. Two of the team's best players, Toler and guard Louis (Red) Stephens, had not even played high school football. Future Hall of Famer Marchetti

9360-447: The working conditions of the faculty and librarians. Economics professor Michael Lehmann was the founding president of the Union in 1975. USF is home to over 100 clubs and organizations. The Associated Students of the University of San Francisco (ASUSF) Senate is the student body governance organization responsible for organizing major campus events, voicing student concern, and reviewing

9464-823: Was a high school dropout who had played only sparingly when he was in school. The 1951 Dons were honored during the Fiesta Bowl in January 2008 . Chess • Colombini • Conte • Cronan • Dando • Dawson • DeBernardi Dwyer • Giorgi • Henneberry • Hillig • Holm • Huxley • Kearney Madden • Marchetti • Matson • McLaughlin • McMahon • Mergen • Montero Monti • Moriarity • Peacock • Retzloff • Roland • Sachs • Sakowski Scudero • Schaeffer • Skalla • Slajchert • Springer • St. Clair • Stephens Thiel • Thomas • Toler • Tringali • Weibel • Welsh • Whitney • Wilwerding The men's golf team has won 11 West Coast Conference championships: 1970–71, 1981–84, 1986, 1988, 1990, 2009, 2011. Men's soccer

9568-619: Was assistant coach at Saint Mary's College of California , which went to the Sweet 16 in his final year. Women's basketball also experienced recent successes, including appearances in the NCAA women's tournament in 1995, 1996, 1997, and 2016 and a WNIT berth in 2002. The 1996 season represented their best ever, as the women's team made it into the tournament's Sweet Sixteen . The team is presently coached by Molly Goodenbour .   Compared to local rivals Santa Clara and Saint Mary's , USF's football teams were historically not as strong. However,

9672-558: Was completely destroyed in the ensuing fire. The campus moved west, to the corner of Hayes and Shrader Streets, close to Golden Gate Park . It occupied a hastily constructed structure known as the Shirt Factory (for its resemblance to similar manufacturing buildings of the era) for the next 21 years. The college moved to its present site on Fulton Street in 1927, on the site of a former Masonic Cemetery. To celebrate its diamond jubilee in 1930, St. Ignatius College changed its name to

9776-465: Was constructed in 1862 to replace the first frame building. In June 1863, the university awarded its first Bachelor of Arts degree. In 1880, the college moved from Market Street to a new site on the corner of Hayes Street and Van Ness Avenue (currently occupied by the Davies Symphony Hall ). The third St. Ignatius College received moderate damage in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake , but

9880-409: Was forced to drop its football program in 1952, due to a deficit in department funds. The men's basketball program won three national championships: the 1949 NIT Championship, with Don Lofgran as MVP, and the 1955 and 1956 NCAA National Championships, going undefeated in the 1956 season. Led by NBA Hall of Famers Bill Russell and K.C. Jones , the 1956 Dons became the first undefeated team to win

9984-750: Was founded in the Folger Coffee Company Building at 101 Howard Street in 2012. 15 graduate programs in the School of Management and College of Arts and Sciences are offered here. The Orange County Campus, founded in Orange in 1983, offers the Master of Science in Sport Management, the Master of Science in Nursing, and the Master of Public Health in Applied Epidemiology and Population Health Methods. The Sacramento Campus, founded in 1975, offers

10088-479: Was hired as new head baseball coach. The Dons' home field is named after Dante Benedetti , USF's head coach from 1962 to 1980. Benedetti attended then-Saint Ignatius College from 1937 to 1940, during which he lettered in Baseball, Football, and Boxing. During his tenure as head coach, he accumulated 373 career wins, and has been inducted into the university's athletic hall of fame. Also during his tenure as head coach,

10192-491: Was named 3-time JC National Coach of the Year and 2005–2006 WCC Coach of the Year. Since arriving at USF, the team has had its best four-year stretch in its program's history, 104-69 overall since 2004. USF began receiving reports of sexual misconduct and psychological abuse from the baseball team in late 2021, attributing these allegations eventually to assistant coach Troy Nakamura and firing him in January 2023. Two months later, it

10296-462: Was not alone in declining an NIT bid, but only Memphis accompanied them as a non-power conference team. Most schools rejecting an invitation consisted of teams from major conferences, including two teams among the first four out in Oklahoma and Pitt . The NIT Season Tip-Off carries none of the postseason tournament's stigma and is one of many popular season-opening tournaments held every year around

10400-499: Was reported that Nakamura was permitted access to the baseball facilities by Giarrantano, and a class action was filed against both Nakamura and Giarrantano the following March by three anonymous players. Two days after the suit was filed, Giarrantano was fired with assistant coach Mat Keplinger becoming interim head coach. The following season, Rob DiToma , then head coach of the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights baseball team,

10504-449: Was resurrected under the same name in 1998, and has been known as the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) since 1999. The original NWIT was an eight-team tournament held in Amarillo, Texas throughout its history. The revived tournament began with 16 teams, expanded to 32 in its second season, and has since expanded further to 40, 48, and finally 64 teams from 2010 to 2023. However,

10608-453: Was sold to a Southern California-based classical radio station. KUSF had garnered international attention for its diverse musical programming, which varied from rock to hip hop to world music. It received numerous awards, including public service awards, for its weekly community service series. USF's other radio station, KDNZ, is student-run. The University of San Francisco television station USFtv, founded in 2006 and entirely student-run,

10712-431: Was suspending the basketball program—the first time a school had shut down a major sport under such circumstances. The move was applauded by several members of the coaching fraternity, as the Dailey matter revealed a program that was, in the words of San Francisco Chronicle sportswriter Glenn Dickey, "totally out of control." LoSchiavo resurrected the program in 1985 under former star Jim Brovelli , who quickly returned

10816-650: Was to preempt the College Basketball Crown , Fox Sports' new tournament in 2025 for 16 non-NCAA Tournament selected teams from the Big East, Big Ten, and Big 12, to be held at the T-Mobile Arena on the Las Vegas Strip, openly admitting that it was engaging in anti-competitive practices out of concern that a strong competitor would be a threat to the NIT's existence. The following year, the NCAA again revised

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