Athletic program of Saint Louis University
Athletic teams representing Saint Louis University
The
Saint Louis Billikens
are the
collegiate athletic
teams that represent
Saint Louis University
, located in
St. Louis, Missouri
. The Billikens compete in
Division I
of the
National Collegiate Athletic Association
(NCAA) as a member of the
Atlantic 10 Conference
(where they are the westernmost member, and both the first member located west of the Mississippi and in the Central Time Zone). The school has nationally recognized
soccer
programs for
men
and
women
. The school has heavily invested in its on-campus athletic facilities since the 1990s with the creation of
Hermann Stadium
and
Chaifetz Arena
. Chris May is the current director of athletics of the St. Louis Billikens.
The Billiken name
[
edit
]
An early SLU football coach,
John R. Bender
,
[2]
is said to have been the inspiration for the nickname "Billikens," which is still used by the school's athletic teams. During the 1911 season, according to one version of the story, local sportswriters commented that Bender bore an uncanny resemblance to a charm doll called a
Billiken
, which was a national fad at the time. His squad became known as "Bender's Billikens" and the name stuck.
Men's sports
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Women's sports
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Baseball
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Basketball
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Basketball
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Cross country
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Cross country
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Field hockey
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Soccer
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Soccer
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Swimming and diving
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Softball
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Tennis
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Swimming and diving
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Track and field
†
|
Tennis
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Track and field
†
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Volleyball
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† ? Track and field includes both indoor and outdoor
|
A member of the
Atlantic 10 Conference
, St. Louis University sponsors teams in eight men's and ten women's
NCAA
sanctioned sports.
Baseball
[
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]
In 2006, the Billiken baseball team earned the program's first NCAA tournament berth since 1966 by winning the Atlantic 10 Tournament. SLU's most successful baseball team of all time was the 1965 squad, which qualified for the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the
College World Series
.
Darin Hendrickson
has been the head coach since 2008 and guided the Billikens to NCAA Tournament appearances in 2010 and 2013. The team plays at the
Billiken Sports Center
.
Basketball
[
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]
Simply known to some as "The Program", the Billikens were ranked first in the first
AP
basketball poll during the 1948?1949 season.
Ed Macauley
of the
Basketball Hall of Fame
and SLU won the
NIT
championship in
1948
and have played in the NIT 18 times, most recently in 2004.
Larry Hughes
of the
Chicago Bulls
played one season at SLU in the 1997?1998 season, where he was selected as the consensus national Freshman of the Year. They have made the
NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
in
1952
,
1957
,
1994
,
1995
,
1998
,
2000
,
2012
,
2013
,
2014
and
2019
. The Billikens are currently coached by
Travis Ford
and has a popular celebrity fan base including
John Stamos
,
Ruben Studdard
, and
Lil' Kim
[
citation needed
]
. The Program officially relocated from the
Bauman-Eberhardt Center
, the third oldest facility in NCAA Division I sports, to
Chaifetz Arena
on the eastern edge of campus for spring workouts in early April 2008.
Coach
Rick Majerus
died December 1, 2012.
Soccer
[
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]
The
men's soccer team
has won 10 national titles (1959?60, 1962?63, 1965, 1967, 1969?70, 1972?73), the most in
NCAA Men's Soccer Championship
history. SLU also holds the record for most NCAA Tournament appearances with 44. Several Billikens have gone on to play professionally, including
Shane Battelle
,
Brad Davis
,
Vedad Ibi?evi?
,
Brian McBride
,
Matt McKeon
,
Al Trost
,
Dipsy Selolwane
,
Mike Sorber
,
Joe Clarke
, Bob Madison,
Martin Hutton
,
Jack Jewsbury
,
Tim Ward
,
Brett Branan
,
Will John
, and
Tim Ream
. The soccer team plays at
Hermann Stadium
on campus. Since 2018,
Kevin Kalish
has been the head coach.
[3]
Legion 1818 is the official supporters group for the team.
NCAA Championships
[
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]
- Men's Soccer: 1959, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1967(co-champion), 1969, 1970, 1972, 1973
Swimming and Diving
[
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]
Saint Louis University head swimming and diving coach Jim Halliburton was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame on Nov. 5 2018, during a ceremony held at the Chase Park Plaza Hotel in St. Louis. Now in his 18th season at Saint Louis, Halliburton has guided the Billiken men’s and women’s teams to more than 500 victories. He ranks sixth in career wins among NCAA Division I swim coaches.
Softball
[
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]
Under head coach Christy Connoyer, the Billikens won their first Atlantic 10 Conference regular season title in 2023. However, the team has yet to win the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament and subsequently has failed to appear in the
NCAA Division I softball tournament
.
[4]
[5]
Volleyball
[
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]
Under head coach Anne Kordes, the women's volleyball team made its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance in 2006, the program's first post-season bid since earning a spot in the 1995 National Invitation Tournament. The Billikens returned to the NCAA Tournament in 2008 and finished the season ranked No. 8 in the RPI and No. 21 in the final Bison/AVCA Coaches Top 25 Poll. Kordes led the Billikens back to the NCAA Tournament in 2009, receiving an at-large bid. The team plays its home games in the Chaifetz Pavilion on the eastern edge of campus.
The university fielded an intercollegiate squad from 1899 to 1949, going undefeated in 1901, 1904 and 1906.
[6]
The final home game for the Billikens was on November 24, 1949, a 35?0 loss against
Houston
.
[7]
Saint Louis finished the 1949 season with a 2?6?1 record. St. Louis competed at the club level during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Although the school no longer has a football team, they made a lasting mark on the sport as the 1906 team, coached by
Eddie Cochems
, threw the first legal
forward pass
in college football history,
Bradbury Robinson
to
Jack Schneider
on September 5, 1906, vs.
Carroll College
at
Waukesha, Wisconsin
.
Conferences
[
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]
SLU has had six conference affiliations since 1937. SLU has been affiliated with the
Missouri Valley Conference
(1937?1974); the defunct
Metro Conference
(1975?1982); the Midwestern Collegiate Conference, now known as the
Horizon League
(1982?1991); the defunct
Great Midwest Conference
(1991?1995) and
Conference USA
(which was created by a merger between the Metro and Great Midwest Conferences). SLU joined the
Atlantic 10 Conference
in 2005.
The Bilikens were a charter member of Conference USA in 1995, but left to join the A10 in 2005. By the time Saint Louis left C-USA, it was one of four members of the conference without football programs. The other three also left C-USA in 2005.
Charlotte
, which joined the A10 at alongside SLU, returned to C-USA in 2013, the same year it
launched a football program
(becoming the only one of the four schools that now plays football).
DePaul
and
Marquette
both left for the
Big East Conference
, and in 2013 became two of the "
Catholic 7
" that formed the core of the
reconfigured Big East Conference
.
Club sports
[
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]
Ice hockey
[
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]
SLU fields an
American Collegiate Hockey Association
(ACHA) Division II Men's Ice Hockey team in the
Mid-American Collegiate Hockey Association
(MACHA). The team plays home games at the Webster Groves Ice Arena
Webster Groves, MO
. Up until the 2006 season, SLU Hockey and Saint Louis University were working together to build an arena that would not only house the SLU Hockey team, but local youth organizations and campus uses. Ultimately, plans fell through and the team continues to call Webster Groves Ice Rink their home rink.
In 2011, the Billikens captured their first MACHA Gold Championship and advanced to the Central Region Qualifier before falling two games short of a National Championship birth.
In 2013, SLU Hockey hosted the ACHA Men's Division II National Championships at the
Hardee's Iceplex
in Chesterfield, MO. 16 teams from around the United States competed for the right to claim the National Championship. SLU Hockey went 1-2 in pool play and failed to advance and Michigan State University would claim the National Championship. The tournament also featured a St. Louis Blues Alumni vs. ACHA Division II All-Stars game to raise money for local charities around the St. Louis area.
[8]
In 2013, rumors of a new hockey rink being built on or near SLU campus began to surface that would finally bring the SLU Hockey team and youth hockey back to the city of St. Louis. This new facility would act both as the St. Louis Blues (NHL) Official Practice Facility and home for SLU Hockey. Meeting between former SLU President Lawrence Biondi and Blues executive Bruce Affleck were rumored to have taken place and locations scouted for a possible rink.
[8]
Saint Louis University once fielded an
NCAA
Division I hockey program that played in the
CCHA
from the 1970?1971 season until the program ended in 1979. The team was a strong team in the CCHA and over the nine seasons of play SLU made the championship six times.
The current club hockey team began play during the 1996?1997 season as a member of
ACHA Division I
.
[8]
Lacrosse
[
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]
Saint Louis University (SLU) Men's Lacrosse team competes in the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA) Division II and the Great Rivers Lacrosse Conference (GRLC). The program was founded in 1992. SLU has previously placed players on the All-American, 1st Team, 2nd Team, 3rd Team All-Conference, Honorable Mention Lists and the MCLA Scholar Athletes. The team is compiled mostly from students, who have played in elite Jesuit & Catholic high school programs across the country. Each individual brings their own unique skills, talents, and tricks. SLU Lax is known to play games commonly on the SLU Medical Center Stadium. Every year SLU competes against big Missouri schools such as Lindenwood University, Washington University in St. Louis, and Missouri State University just to name a few.
Coaching history
[
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]
- 2009 ? Matt Gardiner,
[9]
currently the Commissioner for the
GRLC
- 2010 ? Ron Kelam
[10]
- 2011 ? Michael Van Tiem
[11]
- 2012?present ? Jimmy Greene
[12]
References
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]
External links
[
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]
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