| Loyola Marymount Lions | |
|---|---|
 | |
| University | Loyola Marymount University |
| Conference | West Coast Conference (primary) GCC (women's water polo) |
| NCAA | Division I |
| Athletic director | Craig Pintens |
| Location | Los Angeles, California |
| Varsity teams | 14 |
| Basketball arena | Gersten Pavilion |
| Baseball stadium | George C. Page Stadium |
| Softball stadium | Smith Field |
| Soccer stadium | Sullivan Field |
| Other venues | Burns Aquatics Center LMU Tennis Center |
| Mascot | Iggy the Lion |
| Nickname | Lions |
| Fight song | "Fight on Loyola" |
| Colors | Crimson and blue[1] |
| Website | lmulions |
TheLoyola Marymount Lions are the athletic teams that representLoyola Marymount University, aJesuit institution inLos Angeles,California. The school competes inNCAA Division I and theWest Coast Conference.
In January 2024, the university announced that it would cut six athletic programs at the end of the 2023–24 season: men’s cross-country, men’s rowing, men’s track and field, women’s rowing, women’s swimming, and women’s track and field.[2]
| Men's sports | Women's sports |
|---|---|
| Baseball | Basketball |
| Basketball | Beach volleyball |
| Golf | Cross country |
| Soccer | Soccer |
| Tennis | Softball |
| Water Polo | Tennis |
| Volleyball | |
| Water Polo |
The Lions have produced 30 future Major Leaguers,[3] includingBilly Bean, MLB's Vice President and Special Assistant to the Commissioner, First-Team All-American and West Coast Conference Player of the YearBilly Traber, two-timeMajor League Baseball All-StarCJ Wilson, andDavid Fletcher.
The Lions have been to theCollege World Series once, in 1986, and also recorded 9 NCAA appearances, and 10 West Coast Conference Championships (three Championship Series and seven regular season).
The Lions play home games atGeorge C. Page Stadium, a 1,200 seat stadium which has been home to the program since 1983.
The Lions burst onto the national basketball scene in the late 1980s under coachPaul Westhead. His teams led Division I in scoring in 1988 (110.3 points per game), 1989 (112.5) and 1990 (122.4).[4] LMU's 122.4 point per game in 1990 was still a record as of October 2010.[5] As of October 2010, Loyola Marymount held the five highest combined scoring games in Division I history. Four of the five occurred during Westhead's career, including a record 331 in the 181–150 win overUnited States International University on January 31, 1989.[6]
The team's last appearance in theNCAA Division I men's basketball tournament was in1990, where they advanced to the Elite Eight. They would lose to eventual national championUNLV. Prior to the tournament, Lions star playerHank Gathers died during the WCC conference tournament from a heart condition.
LMU's current men's head coach isStan Johnson.
The Lions won their first ever West Coast Conference title in 2004, going 24-6 (13-1) while beating Gonzaga to go to theNCAA tournament.
Michael Erush was a Loyola Marymount University Lions men's soccer standout, a four-time All-West Coast Conference (WCC) selection (2000, 2001, 2002), was named First Team in 2003, and served as team captain during his junior and senior seasons.[7] He was named First TeamNational Soccer Coaches Association of America All Far West Selection in 2002, and was named First TeamAll-America by theJewish Sports Review in 2003.[7][8] During his last three years, he helped the Lions advance to theNCAA Tournament, and in 2003 finished in a first-round bye and national seeding (#13) in the postseason. He was inducted into the Loyola Marymount Athletics Hall of Fame in 2017.[9]
The Lions fielded their first beach volleyball team during the 2012 season. The Lions won their first WCC Championship in 2019, which they defended in 2021 and 2022 (championships were not held in 2020 due to COVID-19).[10][11] In 2021, the Lions were selected for their firstNCAA Beach Volleyball Championship in Gulf Shores, Alabama, where they became the first team since the inaugural season to win its first two matches.[12] The team entered the field of eight as the number five seed and finished the2021 NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship in third place.[13] In2025, Loyola Marymount finished runner–up toTCU in the national championship match, the best finish in program history.
The women's water polo team was the WWPA Champion in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2007.
At the conclusion the 2004 season, Loyola Marymount's women's water polo team lost to theUniversity of Southern California, 10-8, in theNCAA Women's Water Polo Championship game atStanford University's Avery Aquatic Center.
In January 2024, Loyola Marymount announced that it would cut six athletic programs after the 2023–24 season: men's cross-country, men's rowing, men's track and field, women's rowing, women's swimming, and women's track and field.
