University Seattle University Nickname Redhawks Home Away Head coach Cameron Dollar | Location Seattle, WA Colors Red and White Arena/Stadium KeyArena Division Division I (NCAA) | |
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Conference Western Athletic Conference | ||
Seattle Redhawks men's basketball is the men's basketball team representing Seattle University. The team started in 1946 and they were previously known as the Seattle Chieftains. Seattle was a member of NCAA Division I from 1946 to 1980 and once again starting in 2008. They are a member of the Western Athletic Conference (2012–present). They were previously a member of the West Coast Conference (1971–1980).
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History
On January 21, 1952, the Seattle U. basketball team, then known as the Chieftains, beat the Harlem Globetrotters in a stunning 84–81 upset, led by Johnny O'Brien. On March 22, 1958, Elgin Baylor led the Chieftains to the championship game of the 1958 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, where they fell short to the Kentucky Wildcats. Between 1953 and 1969, they reached the NCAA Division I Tournament 11 times.
Notable alumni of Seattle University basketball include Elgin Baylor, Johnny O'Brien, Eddie O'Brien, Eddie Miles, Clint Richardson, John Tresvant, Tom Workman, Frank Oleynick, Charlie Williams, Jawann Oldham, and Plummer Lott.
From 1960–1969, Seattle produced more NBA players than any other school.
Seattle U then discontinued its men's basketball at the D. 1 level for some time, initially moving to NAIA. In 1980, Seattle rejoined as a D. 3 member, and later D. 2 member in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
In 2009, the program was upgraded to D. 1 status again. The Redhawks played as an independent for the next three years, until they were certified as a full D. 1 member for the 2012–13 basketball season. On April 16, 2009, Cameron Dollar was hired as the new men's basketball head coach to replace Joe Callero. Seattle University and the nearby University of Washington agreed to renew their rivalry by playing annually from 2009 to 2014 while rotating sites. It is still currently unknown what the future of the rivalry is after the 2014–15 season. Washington beat Seattle in all games from 2009–2014.
The Redhawks needed a conference to join once they became full members in order to have a chance to make the NCAA Tournament. Seattle first applied to the West Coast Conference, where they played before leaving the NCAA, but were turned down. After declining an invitation to the now-defunct Great West Conference, Seattle applied for membership in the Big Sky Conference and Big West Conference but were turned down as well. During the 2010-13 NCAA conference realignment, the Western Athletic Conference saw a large number of their members leave. From 2011–2013, a total of 12 schools left the WAC. In 2012, the WAC invited Seattle to join, and Seattle accepted soon after.
Seattle began the 2012–13 season in the WAC, and for the 2013–14 season only three members from the prior year remained in the conference (Seattle, New Mexico State, and Idaho). The WAC added six new members for 2013–14, and once Idaho left for the Big Sky Conference in 2014–15, Seattle became the second-longest tenured WAC school after just three seasons in the league.
On December 29, 2012, Seattle U played their first WAC game, in a loss to Idaho 71–64.
Seattle U won their first conference tournament game in the 2014–15 season, beating Chicago State and UMKC en route to the WAC Tournament where they lost to New Mexico State. The Redhawks finished the regular season 16–15, and earned an invite to the College Basketball Invitational. It was the Redhawks first D.I postseason tournament since 1969. Seattle U beat Pepperdine and then Colorado in the first two rounds in the Connolly Center, before losing to Loyola (Ill.) on the road in the semi-finals. Loyola (Ill.) would go on to win the tournament.
Home court
Seattle moved to KeyArena, just a few miles from campus, for men's basketball in 2009 when the Redhawks moved to D. 1. KeyArena opened on October 26, 1995, and plays host to other sporting events, family events, and other entertainment. Despite seating just over 17,000 people, Seattle curtains off the upper deck and only sells tickets for the lower bowl and luxury boxes, making the official capacity for Redhawks games 8,901. 1,160 of that is luxury boxes.
Seattle has played a game at the ShoWare Center in Kent, Washington on select years since moving back to D1. The games are referred to as the "ShoWare Classic".
The Connolly Center on the campus is seldom used by the men's team as it only seats 999. Seattle U hosted their College Basketball Invitational games at the Connolly Center in 2015 because KeyArena was in use for the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.
In 2016, the Connolly Center will host six Seattle U home games, and more games will be played here in future years.