Valparaiso Crusaders
From Hoopedia
Valparaiso University, known colloquially as Valpo, is a private university located in the city of Valparaiso in the U.S. state of Indiana. Founded in 1859, it consists of five undergraduate colleges, a graduate school, and a law school. Valparaiso University is owned and operated by the Lutheran University Association, a non-profit corporation, and is the largest independent Lutheran university in the United States.
The Valparaiso University Crusaders are the eighteen intercollegiate teams that compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I for Valparaiso University. Valparaiso competes in the Horizon League.
Men's Basketball
Under coach Homer Drew, the Crusaders became a conference power. They won their first Mid-Continent Conference championship in 1995, led by star player Bryce Drew. However, the team was not invited to the NCAA Division I Men's Tournament. The Crusaders won the 1996 conference championship and received their first invitation to the NCAA Tournament.
In the 1998 Tournament, the Crusaders won their first Tournament game, defeating the University of Mississippi with the shot. The Crusaders would go on to win their second round game against Florida State University before losing in the Sweet 16 to the University of Rhode Island. The Crusaders would win the Mid-Continent Conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament every year until 2001, when Southern Utah University won the conference tournament. In Coach Scott Drew's only year as head coach, the team advanced to the National Invitation Tournament (NIT), where they lost to the University of Iowa in their first game televised by ESPN. They would play in the title game of the Mid-Continent Conference Tournament every year between 1995 and 2004.
Women's Basketball
The Crusaders women's basketball team started play during the 1971-1972 season. The team joined the North Star Conference for the 1987-1988 season. In 1990-1991, the Crusaders reached the finals of the North Star Conference Tournament before losing to DePaul. The Crusaders' best season in the North Star Conference was 1991-1992. That year, they finished with a record of 20-9. The 1992-1993 season was their first season in the Mid-Continent Conference. The Crusaders advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2003 and 2004 seasons under coach Keith Freeman. The Crusaders lost in the first round each of these years, to Purdue and Kansas State, respectively. Marlous Nieuwveen is the only Crusader to appear in a WNBA game.
