| La Salle Explorers | |
|---|---|
 | |
| University | La Salle University |
| Conference | A-10 (primary) MAAC (women's water polo) |
| NCAA | Division I |
| Athletic director | Ashwin Puri |
| Location | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Varsity teams | 19 (23 in 2025) |
| Basketball arena | John Glaser Arena |
| Baseball stadium | Hank DeVincent Field |
| Soccer stadium | McCarthy Stadium |
| Aquatics center | Kirk Pool |
| Mascot | The Explorer |
| Nickname | The Explorers |
| Fight song | Fight On, Explorers |
| Colors | Blue and gold[1] |
| Website | goexplorers |
 | |
TheLa Salle Explorers are thevarsity sports teams fromLa Salle University in Philadelphia. The Explorers compete inNCAA Division I as members of theAtlantic 10 Conference. The men's and women's basketball teams also participate in thePhiladelphia Big 5. On June 3, 2019, Brian Baptiste was named director of athletics and recreation effective August 1, 2019. Baptiste is deputy AD for capital projects and operations at Northwestern University.
The Explorers nickname derives from a famous mistake made by a localPhiladelphiasportswriter. The writer thought the university was named after the FrenchexplorerSieur de La Salle, when in fact it is named after St.Jean-Baptiste de la Salle. The nickname caught on, however, and has remained ever since.
La Salle's major historic rival has been theHawks of theSaint Joseph's University, especially in men's basketball. Not only are both schools situated in Philadelphia, but they are also bothCatholic,private institutions and are both members of both the Atlantic 10 and the Big 5.
La Salle's teams have won two national championships: the1954 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament and the 1980AIAWField Hockey Championship.
The school also won the1952 National Invitation Tournament when that tournament was still considered to be on par with the NCAA tournament.
| Men's sports | Women's sports |
|---|---|
| Baseball[n 1] | Acrobatics & tumbling[n 2] |
| Basketball | Basketball |
| Cross country | Cross country |
| Golf | Field hockey |
| Rowing | Golf |
| Soccer | Lacrosse |
| Swimming & diving | Rowing |
| Track & field1 | Rugby[n 2] |
| Soccer | |
| Swimming and diving | |
| Track and field1 | |
| Triathlon[n 2] | |
| Water polo | |
| † – Track and field includes both indoor and outdoor | |
A member of theAtlantic 10 Conference, La Salle University sponsors teams in 7 men's and 11 women'sNCAA sanctioned sports, plus one men's sport that is not recognized by the NCAA. The most recently added varsity sports are women's golf and men's and women's water polo, all added for 2016–17.[2] Baseball was dropped after the 2021 season (2020–21 school year), but will be reinstated for the 2026 season. At the same time that baseball is reinstated, La Salle will add three new women's sports, all included in theNCAA Emerging Sports for Women program—acrobatics & tumbling, rugby, and triathlon.[3]
The men's basketball team has won eight City Championships (four were shared). In addition to the national championship and NIT Championship, La Salle was also a national finalist in the1955 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament and was named the 53rd "Greatest College Basketball Program of All-Time" byStreet & Smith's in January 2005.
OnlyDuke (7) and UCLA (4) have had moreNational Players of the Year than La Salle, which has had three---Lionel Simmons,Michael Brooks, andTom Gola. Tom Gola was listed on "ESPN's Countdown to the Greatest" College basketball players as #17.
The women's basketball team began play in the 1972–73 season, and has been to theNCAA Division I women's basketball tournament 5 times.
La Salle discontinued football at the end the 2007 season.[4]
La Sallewrestling was dropped from the varsity sports program in 1998.[5]
In addition to its varsity sports, La Salle also sponsors a number of club sports. These include:
.JPG)
.jpg)
