San Francisco Dons

Infobox college athletics
name = San Francisco Dons

logo_width = 150
university = University of San Francisco
conference = West Coast Conference | division = Division I
director = Debra Gore-Mann
city = San Francisco
state = California
stateabb = CA
teams = 12
stadium = Negoesco Stadium
arena = War Memorial Gymnasium
mascot = The Don
nickname = Dons
fightsong = "Victory Song"
color1 = Green
color2 = Gold
hex1 = 008000
hex2 = FFD700
pageurl = http://www.usfdons.com/
pagename = USFDons.com

The San Francisco Dons is the nickname of the athletic teams at the University of San Francisco (USF).

History

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. 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 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.

USF competes in the NCAA's Division I and is a charter member of the West Coast Conference.

Varsity Teams

The San Francisco Dons currently field 12 varsity teams. Basketball, soccer, golf, and tennis have separate men's and women's teams; baseball is men only and volleyball is women only; track and field and cross-country running are coeducational.

Honors

Men's and Women's Basketball

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. The latter two were under Phil Woolpert, and led by player and National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Famer Bill Russell.

USF retained its status as a basketball powerhouse into the 70's and early 80's, 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 the 1970s came at a price, however. The NCAA slapped the Dons with probation two times in the late 1970s. Bob Gaillard was forced out as coach due to the first investigation, 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 a player threatened another student was swept under the rug by school officials.Boyle, Robert; and Roger Jackson. [http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1125768/1/index.htm Bringing Down the Curtain] . "Sports Illustrated", 1982-08-09.] It was also common for "tutors" to take tests and write papers for players.Dickey, Glenn. [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/1998/03/11/SP52561.DTL Winning the Right Way Delights USF Chancellor] . "San Francisco Chronicle", 1998-03-11.]

The situation finally 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 LoSchiavo announced on July 26 that he was shutting down the basketball program--the first time a school had shut down a major sport under such circumstances. The move was widely appluaded 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 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. Legendary basketball coach Eddie Sutton took over on an interim basis, needing 2 wins for 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. A national coaching search was launched which included a four-man committee of Chuck Smith, vice chair of the USF Board of Trustees and former president and CEO of AT&T West, former player and coach Jim Brovelli; Walt Gmelch, dean of the USF School of Education, and Mario Prietto, rector of the USF Jesuit Community and a member of the USF Board of Trustees.

On March 29, 2008, USF hired a executive search consultant company, DHR International to help spearhead their efforts in hiring the next Dons' head coach. Among the possible candidates named, former UCLA Bruins Head Coach Steve Lavin, former USF All-American and current New Jersey Nets Assistant Coach Bill Cartwright, former NBA player and current Golden State Warriors Shooting Coach Sidney Moncrief, current Cal Bears Assistant Head Coach Louis Reynaud, and former Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings Head Coach Eric Musselman.

Rex Walters was named as the Dons' head coach on April 14, 2008.

Women's basketball also experienced recent successes, including appearances in the NCAA women's tournament in 1995, 1996, and 1997 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 Tanya Haave.

Women's Volleyball

The women's volleyball team earned its first NCAA tournament berth in 2003, under former coach Jeff Nelson. Women's volleyball finished the season with a 23-7 record and placed four players in the all-conference team.

Club Teams

USF participates in the following club sports: golf, fencing, boxing, rifle, karate, 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.

References

*Alan Ziajka, Ph.D. (2005) "Legacy & Promise: 150 Years of Jesuit Education at the University of San Francisco." San Francisco: USF Office of Publications
*University of San Francisco (2005) "Legends of the Hilltop"
* Beano Cook (2005) "Ten Days that Shook the Sport (from:The College Football Encyclopedia)." Copyright ESPN Books
*Kristine Setting Clark (2002) "Undefeated, Untied, and Uninvited: A Documentary of the 1951 University of San Francisco Dons Football Team." Irvine, CA: Griffin Publishing Group
*John D. Lukacs (2003) "Waiting for the perfect ending." USA Today, Sports, June 24, 2003. * [http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/2003-06-23-san-fran-dons_x.htm]

External links

* [http://www.usfdons.com/ USFDons.com]
* [http://www.donscentral.com/ Dons Central]
* [http://www.usfca.edu/koret/club.html USF Club Sports]