Marquette Golden Eagles

Marquette Golden Eagles
The Marquette Golden Eagles (formerly known as the Marquette Warriors, Blue and Gold, Hilltoppers, and Golden Avalanche) is the name of the various sports teams of Marquette University. With a National Championship in the 1976-1977 season, a National Invitational Tournament Championship, and a trip to the Final Four in 2003 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, the men's basketball team is a highly respected team in the NCAA.

Although it no longer funds a football program, the school has highly-respected history in the sport, including an appearance in the first-ever Cotton Bowl. Marquette's athletic program fields teams in the NCAA Division I level, and the school is a member of the Big East Conference.

The school is well-known for the success of its men's basketball team. Marquette Basketball is 9th in the NCAA for postseason appearances all-time (40), including 25 NCAA Tournament appearances (17th all time). The Warriors, coached by Al McGuire, won the 1977 NCAA Tournament and were runners-up in 1974. Maurice "Bo" Ellis was a member of each of those teams, and remains the only Marquette player to appear in two Final Fours.

In 2003 Marquette, coached by Tom Crean and led by Dwyane Wade and Travis Diener, defeated top-ranked Kentucky to reach the Final Four. In that game, Wade became one of only four players in NCAA Men's Tournament history to record a triple-double. Wade was named an AP All-American two years in a row and won Conference USA Player of the Year while at Marquette.

The current men's basketball roster includes guards Dominic James (2005-06 Big East Rookie of the Year), Wesley Matthews, Jerel McNeal and David Cubillan, a forward/guard with incredible range beyond the arc in Dan Fitzgerald (2002-03 "Defensive Player of the Year" in Minnesota), as well as Senegalese forward, Ousmane Barro. The Golden Eagles went through the entire 2006-2007 season ranked in the top 25 in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Polls with the exception of one week.

Marquette's women's basketball is currently coached by Terri Mitchell, 2007 Big East Women's Basketball Coach of the Year. The program has experienced success in recent years under Mitchell's direction, including a run to the championship game of the WNIT, where the women finished as runners-up. Marquette women's basketball has qualified for the NCAA tournament seven times since 1994. The team now plays in the Al McGuire Center, named after the former Marquette men's coach.

The men's and women's soccer programs of Marquette have achieved varying degrees of success. In 2006, the men's team won just one game and finished last in their conference while the women made a run into the NCAA postseason tournament. Coach Louis Bennett recently joined the men's program after years of accomplishment at nearby UW-Milwaukee to help the team match the women's success. In June, 2007, alumnus Dennis Klein donated $1 million to spearhead a new, $5 million European-style soccer stadium for Marquette. The new stadium is set to open in September of 2008. Both teams currently compete at Valley Fields.

Marquette University fields only a men's team for golf. Tim Grogan, will begin his 17th year as head coach at the start of the 2007-2008 school year as was honored as Big East Conference Men's Golf Coach of the Year in 2006. Marquette's highest-ever conference finish was in 2006, when they placed 3rd in the Big East tournament.

The Marquette University cross-country and track teams have a rich history of achievements. The teams have produced five Olympians, 13 NCAA Champions and 27 All-Americans. Except for Dwyane Wade, Marquette's most successful student-athlete was track and field sprinter Ralph Metcalfe, a world-record holder and Olympic gold-medalist.

Marquette's football team appeared in the first Cotton Bowl in 1937 against Texas Christian University, losing 16-6. NCAA football was last played by Marquette in 1960, after accumulating several years of budget deficits for the university. Their last successful season was 1953. Since then, they had accumulated a 10-44-3 record, including two straight seasons (1956 to 1957) without a win or even a tie. Marquette Stadium, the football team's home since 1924, was dismantled in 1978. The sport has since been brought back at the club level.

At the club level, Marquette's men's and women's teams are some of the most successful in the country. The men's volleyball team won the NIRSA club championships in 2005 and finished No. 3 in 2006. They have finished in the Top 10 seven out of the last nine years. The women's team has also finished in the Top 10 in the country each of the last 10 years. The men's and women's rowing and rugby union teams, the men's lacrosse team, the club football team, the club baseball and softball teams and the club hockey team also have been dominant in years past for the Golden Eagles. Marquette added several new club teams in 2006, including wrestling, running club, women's soccer, and water polo.