Athletics
The nickname of sports teams at Saint Mary's is the Gaels, which had been changed from the "Saints" in the late 1920s. Saint Mary's College was once known for its American football team led by Edward "Slip" Madigan, which dominated west coast football, indeed beating USC and Cal during the thirties, and with several wins against eastern powerhouses during the 20s, 30s, and 40s including winning the 1939 Cotton Bowl by crushing favored Texas Tech 21 to 13.
Another memorable win during this period was St. Mary's stunning upset over USC in 1924, 14-10. The most notable win came in 1930, when Saint Mary's traveled to New York to play Fordham University. Fordham was a heavy favorite, as the Rams had won 16 straight games going back to 1928. They featured the first version of an offensive line known as the "Seven Blocks of Granite," a formidable unit that later would include the likes of Vince Lombardi. Few thought that a tiny west coast school could defeat a team like Fordham. Nevertheless, Saint Mary's recovered from a 12-0 halftime deficit to win, 20-12.
The Gaels were known for their flashy style that reflected the personality of their flamboyant coach. Madigan traveled to New York for the Fordham game with 150 fans on a train that was labelled "the world's longest bar." To stir up publicity for the game, he threw a party the night before and invited not only sportswriters, but such celebrities as Babe Ruth and New York mayor Jimmy Walker.
With visions of national greatness dancing in their heads, the 1936 Gaels squad was dubbed the "dream team" by St. Mary's fans. The hubris of St. Mary's supporters was soon replaced by disappointment, however, when reality reared its ugly head, as sportswriter Braven Dryer recounted in a 1937 national football preview magazine:
"Last year from the beginning of summer until well into the football season, the Gaels were the 'dream team' to doting fans. Then, with the suddenness of tragedy, came a scoreless tie with little San Francisco University. This was followed by three defeats in a row at the hands of Fordham, Marquette and Santa Clara. The dream team had become a nightmare."
In 2004, following a long period of decline, the football team was finally disbanded after a dismal 1-11 2003 season. Because of Title IX they were required to devote more funds to the school's other growing programs. Saint Mary's is currently well known for its basketball, soccer, rugby, baseball, and women's volleyball teams. A wide variety of intramural and noncompetitive sports also are available on the campus.
Almost all of the Division I varsity teams compete in the West Coast Conference.
The men's basketball team is becoming recognized nationally as one of the top mid-major programs in the country; in 2010, it made it to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen. They received an automatic bid to the 2010 NCAA Tournament, as a result of having won the WCC Conference Tournament. Having beaten Gonzaga in the tournament final, it was the Gaels' second WCC tournament victory since the tournament began in 1987. In the NCAA tournament, the Gaels won their first round game upsetting Richmond, and giving the college its first men's tournament win in 51 years. It took only two days to secure the next tournament win as they advanced to the Sweet Sixteen by upsetting second seeded Villanova, led by Omar Samhan with 32 points. The team also received at-large bids to the NCAA tournament in 2005, 2008, and 2012. In 2012, the team earned both the WCC regular-season and tournament championships for the first time in program history and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time since 2005. Junior Matthew Dellavedova was named WCC Player of the Year and became the first male athlete at Saint Mary’s to earn first-team Capital One® Academic All-America honors.
The Gaels are also known for their strong pursuit of Australian talent such as NBA player Patrick Mills. Chants such as "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, oi,oi,oi" are common among students. This has also given the college a big following in Australia, with most basketball games shown on ESPN Australia/NEW Zealand.
In 2011, the men's soccer team won the West Coast Conference title, beating the University of San Diego, 1-0, giving Saint Mary's an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament and their first-ever WCC title. In the first round Saint Mary's defeated No. 25 CSU Bakersfield 1-0 to send them to the next round. The second round was played against UCI. The Gaels defeated the No. 7 Anteaters, 2-1, in double overtime. The game-winning goal was headed in by Justin Howard in the 103rd minute, sending Saint Mary's into the "Sweet Sixteen". The third round of the NCAA Tournament saw the Gaels against Brown University, beating the Bears in overtime 3-2, at Stevenson Field. The win over the Bears sent the Gaels into the "Elite Eight," making it only the second team in school history to make it to the Elite Eight along with the 1959 men's basketball team. Saint Mary's lost to the University of North Carolina in the Quarter Finals, 2-0. The participation of the men's soccer team in the 2011 NCAA Tournament was the most successful postseason run in Saint Mary's history.
In 2012, the Gaels’ golf team took the program’s first-ever WCC title, and junior Ben Geyer became just the fourth Saint Mary’s player to take home medalist honors in the tournament’s 41-year history.
In 2001, the women's basketball and soccer teams competed in their respective NCAA tournaments, with both teams advancing to the second round. The women's volleyball team advanced to the "Sweet Sixteen" in 2004. Women’s tennis, softball and volleyball won the WCC Conference championships and went on to play in NCAA postseason tournaments.
Another successful sports program at Saint Mary's is rugby, which, though not well known in the United States generally, is the oldest athletic club at Saint Mary's. The men's rugby team has enjoyed a rise in the past few years. Revitalized with a new coaching staff and increasing alumni support, the team has frequently finished the season ranked among the top ten teams in the country, competing with large high-profile schools such as California, Ohio State, and the military academies. In 2008, it reached the Final Four of the USA Rugby Division One National Championship tournament, losing to Cal Berkeley 41-31 in the semi-finals, and was also ranked at #2 in the nation for Division 1 Collegiate Rugby at the seasons end. In 2011, it competed in the National 7s and in 2012, after beating No.1 ranked Cal 20 –18 in Moraga, the team finished the regular season undefeated in the Pacific Coast Conference and ranked No. 2 in the country. It defeated Utah 25–15 in the D1-A quarterfinals before falling to Arkansas State in the semifinals.
Read more about this topic: Saint Mary's College Of California