Fight, Grin & Squarely Play the Game: The 1945 Loyola New Orleans Basketball Championship & Legacy

In 1945, the Loyola New Orleans Wolf Pack became the city’s first basketball team to earn a national championship. The Cinderella season was chronicled in the Times Picayune, the student newspaper The Maroon and letters from students and alums fighting overseas. The 1944-45 run to the championship was an amazing boon to the community during trying times. The group of boyhood friends and rivals beat out previous national champions and exhausted opponents. Take a courtside seat as journalist Ramon A. Vargas chronicles the season, including heartfelt personal narratives to tell the story of the championship and legacy of a team that led Loyola to national prominence.