Creighton began playing intercollegiate sports late in the 19th century, and currently fields 14 varsity teams, competing in the Missouri Valley Conference. I’ve been following the Jays in person for over a decade, and I have many leather-bound books to fill in the gaps before that. Plus I’m friends with Merlin Olsen, once had a dog named Baxter who ran away to Milwaukee after eating a wheel of cheese, and play a mean jazz flute. In other words, I’m kind of a big deal, people know me, and more importantly, I know Creighton Sports. You bet.
Whether you’re new to campus, new to Omaha, just a casual fan, or simply need a refresher course, the following A to Z Guide will hopefully teach you a thing or two!
A
Apke Brothers: Tom Apke coached the men’s hoops team from 1974-81, compiling a 130-64 record and leading them to the NCAA Tournament in 1974. As a player, he was the captain of the 1964-65 team that also made the NCAA Tournament. Tom’s younger brother, Rick, played for the Jays from 1974-78, scoring 1,682 points in a storied career, good for seventh on the school’s all-time list. His senior year, Rick hit a 17-foot jump shot at the buzzer to defeat Larry Bird’s Indiana State team, clinching the MVC Tournament title and an NCAA Tournament berth.
B
Dr. Lee “Doc” Bevilacqua: Doc served as the Creighton Athletics team physician for more than 30 years with no monetary compensation, was beloved by players in every sport, and was a legend both at Creighton and in the Missouri Valley Conference. The first CU representative in the MVC Hall of Fame when he was inducted in 1998, Doc died in the fall of 1998 while on a road trip with the men’s soccer team. The “DOC” patch on the men’s basketball team’s uniforms remains to this day in his honor.
C
College World Series: Creighton is annually the host school for the NCAA Men’s College World Series, which has been played at Omaha’s Rosenblatt Stadium since 1950. The Jays’ 1991 team took hosting one step further when Mike McCafferty, Steve Hinton, Scott Stahoviak, Dax Jones, Mike Heathcott, Alan Benes, Kimera Bartee, and the rest of the Bluejays advanced to the College World Series, where they finished third after being eliminated by MVC foe Wichita State. Their coach was current Chicago Cubs GM Jim Hendry. Future St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Benes anchored the starting rotation, and future Minnesota Twins player Stahoviak led the offensive attack.
D
Dana Altman: The winningest coach in Creighton men’s basketball history, Altman has won three MVC regular season titles, six MVC Tournament titles, and has taken the Jays to the postseason 12 years in a row (7 NCAA tournaments, 5 NIT trips).
E
Bruce Erickson: The winningest coach in Creighton women’s soccer history, Erickson has led the Jays to four NCAA Tournaments, has won four MVC Tournament titles, and was named the 2002 MVC Coach of the Year.
F
Nate Funk: A men’s basketball star from Sioux City, Iowa, Funk played in a school-record 135 games. His 1,754 points are good for sixth in school history, and his junior year he led the team both in scoring and rebounding. A member of two NCAA Tournament teams, Funk was the MVP of the 2007 MVC Tournament and a first-team All-MVC selection his final two seasons.
G
Chad Gallagher: The third leading scorer and fifth leading rebounder in school history, Gallagher was the 1991 MVC Player of the Year. Forming one half of the “Dynamic Duo” with Bob Harstad, Gallagher led the Jays to two MVC regular season titles, two MVC Tournament titles, and two NCAA Tournament appearances.
Bob Gibson: MLB Hall of Famer Bob Gibson, an Omaha native, played basketball and baseball for the Jays in the mid-1950s. Gibson was a Harlem Globetrotter for one year before a 17-year career with the St. Louis Cardinals, and was elected to the MLB Hall of Fame in 1981. While he was a hall of fame baseball player, he did his fair share of damage on the hardwood, too: he averaged 20.19 points per game for his Creighton career, third best all-time in school history. He was the first member of the Creighton Athletics Hall of Fame in 1968, and his #45 is one of just three retired numbers in CU Basketball history.
H
Bob Harstad: Finished his career as the all-time leading scorer in Creighton men’s basketball history with 2,110 points, and second all-time with 1,126 rebounds. Half of the “Dynamic Duo” with Chad Gallagher, Harstad led the Jays to two MVC regular season titles, two MVC Tournament titles, and two NCAA Tournament appearances. Named one of the MVC’s 50 Greatest Players, he is a member of both the Creighton Hall of Fame and the MVC Hall of Fame.
Edgar “The Little General” Hickey: Eddie Hickey coached men’s basketball from 1934-43 and 1946-47, compiling a 132-72 record while winning four MVC titles. He would later go on to coach at St. Louis University and Marquette, was inducted into the Creighton Hall of Fame in 1973, and into the Naismith National Basketball Hall of Fame in 1979. He was named one of the MVC’s 10 Greatest Coaches in 2007 during the conference’s centennial season.
I
Eduardo Iragorri: In 1964, student Eduardo Iragorri organized Creighton’s first soccer club. The team was made up of both students and professors, including the chairman of the Math Department, Gerald Hutchinson, a former professional soccer player in Europe.
J
Abby Johnson: The softball star was a four-time All-MVC selection and the 2005 MVC Player of the Year. Her 143 RBI that season remains third-most in MVC history.
K
Kyle Korver: One of the greatest players in MVC history, let alone at Creighton, Kyle Korver was a two-time conference Player of the Year. He led the 2002-03 men’s basketball team to a Top 10 ranking and was named Dick Vitale’s “Midseason National Player of the Year.” Korver finished his career fifth in scoring on CU’s all-time list, while his 371 three-pointers placed him sixth on the NCAA’s all-time list.
L
Gene Leahy: Gene Leahy, who would go on to become Mayor of Omaha, was a great fullback for the Jays football team in the 1940s and was captain his junior year. He went on to play professionally in both football and, believe it or not, boxing. His younger brother Frank was the head football coach at Notre Dame for 12 years beginning in 1941. His efforts as mayor to begin revitalizing downtown in the 1970s led to the “Gene Leahy Mall” being named in his honor.
M
Red McManus: The third-winningest coach in men’s basketball history, McManus coached the revered “Travelin’ Jays” of the ’60s. His teams earned a reputation for traveling all across the country to play any and all takers. McManus’ squads earned two NCAA Tournament bids in 1962 and 1964, and he supports the program to this day, attending almost all home games.
Fr. Morrison: Father Michael J. Morrison S.J., was Creighton’s 22nd and longest-standing president, holding the position from 1981-2000. Creighton named its new soccer stadium in his honor in 2004.
N
Tammy Nielsen: One of the greatest softball pitchers not only in Creighton history, but in MVC history, Nielsen holds both the school and the conference record for career strikeouts with 914. She was named first team All-MVC three times, the 2004 MVC Player of the Year, a second-team All-American in 2004, a third-team All-American in 2005, was a member of the MVC All-Century Team, and is the only three-time MVC Tournament MVP.
O
Omaha Civic Auditorium: “The Civic” was the home of men’s hoops from 1955-2003, and provided an unbelievable home-court advantage. The Jays went 432-155 (.736 winning percentage) in the building, including a staggering 100-28 mark under Dana Altman. The Civic was home to five regular-season MVC championship teams, and ended its run on top – six consecutive sellouts, including a standing-room-only crowd against Southern Illinois in a nationally televised battle on ESPN. From 2003-2009, the Old Barn played host to women’s basketball and volleyball.
P
Anthony Porto: “Tony” Porto was a two-time All-American halfback for Creighton’s football team in 1941 and 1942. The last winner of the “Creightonian Trophy”, awarded annually to the best football player, Porto was offered contracts by both the Chicago Bears and the Detroit Lions, but spurned them to become a dentist. He was elected to the CU Hall of Fame in 1990.
Q
Qwest Center Omaha: The Jays home for men’s basketball and select volleyball games since 2003, the Qwest Center has continued the tradition of providing a great homecourt advantage. The Jays 84-16 record attests to that, as does their annual Top 15 national attendance.
R
Rodney Buford: The all-time leading scorer in Creighton men’s basketball history with 2,116 points, Buford was the first major star of the Dana Altman era and one of three players to ever be named All-MVC four times. He finished second in MVC Player of the Year voting twice, and led the Jays to the 1999 MVC Tournament title. Buford played a major role in the Jays’ first-round NCAA Tournament upset of Louisville that year, and would later go on to play for the Miami Heat, the Philadelphia 76ers, the Memphis Grizzlies, the Sacramento Kings, and the New Jersey Nets in the NBA.
S
Paul Silas: Silas was one of the greatest rebounders in the history of college basketball, averaging over 21 boards a game during his career, which spanned from 1961-64. He ranks fourth all-time in NCAA history with 1,751 boards, and third all-time in per-game average. He’s also the eighth-highest scorer in CU history with 1,661 points. After graduating, he went on to score more than 10,000 points and grab more than 10,000 rebounds in a 16-year NBA career, later coaching in San Diego, Charlotte, and Cleveland.
T
Johnny Torres: One of the greatest athletes in Creighton history, the men’s soccer star was a two-time National Player of the Year, two-time All-American, four-time All-Conference performer, the 1997 MVC Player of the Year, and the 1997 MVC Tournament MVP. He was voted the Sportsman of the Year by the Omaha Sportswriters Association for that 1997 campaign, and was named the top collegiate athlete in Nebraska by the Omaha World-Herald that same year. A first-round draft pick of the New England Revolution in MLS, he was elected to the CU Hall of Fame in 2004 and joined Coach Bob Warming’s staff as an assistant in 2007.
U
“Undefeated Since 1943”: Creighton suspended its football program during World War II, and it has remained dormant ever since. In recent years, fans have taken to wearing shirts proclaiming that Creighton Football is “Undefeated Since 1943!”
V
Pat Venditte: Ambidextrous pitcher Pat Venditte was the star of two NCAA Tournament teams in 2006 and 2007, and is currently pitching in the New York Yankees farm system where he hopes to become the first ambidextrous pitcher in MLB (well, one right handed guy threw one or two pitches with his left arm one time for the Montreal Expos once, but that shouldn’t count.).
W
Bob Warming: Warming is 14th in Division I history with more than 350 victories. He was named National Coach of the Year in 1993, and after a seven-year stint in St. Louis (1994-2000) returned to Omaha where he remains the head coach. Warming has led the Jays to five regular season conference championships, six MVC Tournament titles, nine NCAA Tournaments, and one College Cup Final Four appearance.
Y
Yori Sisters: An All-American softball player for the Jays in 1981, Mary Yori went on to coach the University of Nebraska-Omaha for 12 seasons, guiding them to 10 regional tournament appearances and three consecutive national titles. Her younger sister, Connie, played basketball for the Jays and is third on the school’s all-time scoring list with 2,010 points. Connie also holds school records for points scored in one game (42) as well as shots made in a game (20), and coached the women’s basketball team from 1992-2002. The Yori sisters were inducted into the Creighton Hall of Fame in 1992.
Z
Hopefully I didn’t put you to sleep reading thiszzzzzzzz…You bet..