Seattle Redhawks men's basketball

The Seattle Redhawks men's basketball team represents Seattle University in NCAA Division I basketball competition. Established in 1946, the team was previously known as the Seattle Chieftains. The program experienced success during the 1950s and 1960s, reaching the NCAA Division I tournament eleven times. Led by Elgin Baylor (the future 1958 number one draft pick), Seattle finished as the runner-up in the 1958 NCAA University Division basketball tournament.

Seattle Redhawks men's basketball
2024–25 Seattle Redhawks men's basketball team
University	Seattle University
Head coach	Chris Victor (4th season)
Conference	Western Athletic Conference
Location	Seattle, Washington
Arena	Redhawk Center / Climate Pledge Arena (capacity: 999 / 18,100)
Nickname	Redhawks
Colors	Red and white
Uniforms
Home Away
NCAA tournament runner-up
1958
NCAA tournament Final Four
1958
NCAA tournament Elite Eight
1958
NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen
1953, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1964
NCAA tournament second round
2007*
NCAA tournament appearances
1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1967, 1969, 2007* *at Division II level
Conference regular season champions
2007, 2022

Seattle was a member of NCAA Division I from 1946 to 1980 before budget problems led them to reclassify to NAIA in 1980. They eventually rose to NCAA Division II before rejoining the Division I level in 2008. They are a member of the Western Athletic Conference, which they joined in 2012. They were previously a member of the West Coast Conference (1971–1980). The current head coach is Chris Victor, who was previously the associate head coach.

History

1950s and 1960s: National prominence

Established in 1946, the program experienced a period of success during the 1950s and 1960s. Seattle produced more NBA players than any other school from 1960 to 1969. From 1953 to 1969, the Seattle Chieftains reached the NCAA tournament 11 times.

On January 21, 1952, the Seattle Chieftains beat the Harlem Globetrotters in a stunning 84–81 upset, led by Johnny O'Brien. Six years later, Elgin Baylor led the Chieftains to the championship game of the 1958 NCAA tournament, but fell to the Kentucky Wildcats 84–72 at Freedom Hall in Louisville on March 22. Despite finishing runner-up, Baylor was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player and was the first selection of the 1958 NBA draft in April.

Notable alumni of Seattle University basketball include Elgin Baylor, Johnny O'Brien, Eddie O'Brien, Charlie Brown, Eddie Miles, Clint Richardson, John Tresvant, Tom Workman, Frank Oleynick, Charlie Williams, Jawann Oldham, Charles Garcia, and Plummer Lott.

The decline of local businesses such as Boeing (the largest employer in the region) in the late 1970s led to drastic cuts to keep the program steady, which included moving down to NAIA in 1980.

Cameron Dollar (2009–2017)

Seattle discontinued its men's basketball at the Division I level for some time, initially moving to NAIA in 1980. Seattle rejoined the NCAA as a Division III member and then as a Division II member in 2002; they joined the Great Northwest Athletic Conference that year. In 2007, they won a share of the regular season title with Seattle Pacific. They were then invited to the 2007 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament, their first tournament appearance as a program in decades.

In 2008, the program rejoined the Division I level. In 2009, Cameron Dollar was hired as the new men's basketball head coach to replace Joe Callero. Seattle University and University of Washington agreed to renew their rivalry by playing annually from 2009 to 2017 while rotating sites. In 2017, the two schools played in the 2K Sports Classic.

The Redhawks played as an independent for the next three years before seeking a conference. Seattle first applied to the West Coast Conference, where they played between 1971 and 1980, but were turned down. After declining an invitation to the now-defunct Great West Conference, Seattle applied for membership in the Big Sky Conference and Big West Conference but were again turned down. During the 2010–14 NCAA conference realignment, the Western Athletic Conference saw 12 of its members leave. In 2012, the WAC invited Seattle to join and Seattle accepted soon after.

Seattle began the 2012–13 season in the WAC, and for the 2013–14 season only three members from the prior year remained in the conference (Seattle, New Mexico State, and Idaho). The WAC added six new members for 2013–14, and once Idaho left for the Big Sky Conference in 2014–15, Seattle became the second-longest tenured WAC school after just three seasons in the league.

Seattle won their first WAC tournament game in the 2014–15 season, beating Chicago State and UMKC en route to the WAC tournament finals where they lost to New Mexico State. The Redhawks finished the regular season 16–15, and earned an invite to the College Basketball Invitational. It was the Redhawks' first appearance in a Division I postseason tournament since 1969. Seattle beat Pepperdine and Colorado in the first two rounds in the Connolly Center, before losing to Loyola (Ill.) in the semi-finals. Loyola (Ill.) would go on to win the tournament. In the 2015–16 season, Seattle was invited to the CBI again and hosted their first two games. After beating Idaho in the first round, the Redhawks fell to Vermont.

On March 13, 2017, Cameron Dollar was fired after compiling a 107–138 record and two CBI appearances at Seattle.

Jim Hayford (2017–2021)

On March 29, 2017, Jim Hayford was hired as the new men's basketball head coach to replace Dollar, coming from rival Eastern Washington University.

In his first year as head coach, Hayford compiled a 20–14 record, the Redhawks' first 20-win season since 2008 and first 20-win season in Division I play since the 1960s. The Redhawks fell to Central Arkansas in the first round of the 2018 CBI tournament. In his second year as head coach, Hayford compiled an 18–15 record, marking the Redhawks' first back-to-back 18+ win seasons since 2008–09 and 2009–10. The Redhawks fell to Presbyterian in the first round of the 2019 CIT tournament.

Chris Victor era (2021-present)

Chris Victor was hired to coach the 2021-22 season. They went 14–4 in the WAC to finish in a tie for 1st place (with Stephen F. Austin and New Mexico State) for their first regular season championship in Division I play in school history. They lost in the first round of the WAC Tournament.

Seattle won the 2024 College Basketball Invitational over High Point for their first basketball championship.

Home court

Seattle moved to KeyArena, just a few miles from campus, for men's basketball in 2009 when the Redhawks moved to Division I. KeyArena opened on October 26, 1995, and plays host to other sporting events, family events, and other entertainment. Despite seating just over 17,000 people, Seattle curtains off the upper deck and only sells tickets for the lower bowl and luxury boxes, making the official capacity for Redhawks games 8,901. 1,160 of that is luxury boxes.

Seattle has played a game at the ShoWare Center in Kent, Washington on select years since moving back to D1. The games are referred to as the "ShoWare Classic".

The Redhawk Center on the campus has been seldom used by the men's team as it only seats 999. Seattle U hosted their College Basketball Invitational games at the Redhawk Center in 2015 because KeyArena was in use for the NCAA men's basketball tournament.

The Redhawk Center hosted six Seattle U home games in 2016–2017, and ten the next season (2017–2018). Climate Pledge Arena continues to be considered the program's primary home court; however, it is scheduled to be closed from 2018 to 2021 while being totally rebuilt. Two early-season home games were played at the ShoWare Center in November 2018, but the rest of the 2018–2019 home schedule is being played on campus at the Redhawk Center.

Rivalries

Seattle U has two recognized rivals: Washington and Eastern Washington.

Washington

The two schools are only 2.8 miles apart and have met 33 times. Cameron Dollar came from Washington as an assistant under Lorenzo Romar, which helped restart the rivalry when the Redhawks returned to Division I. The schools first met in 1952, then played every season from 1969 to 1979 when Seattle U left the NCAA. Washington leads the series 29–4.

They have played every season since 2009 on a rotating home-court basis.

Eastern Washington

Seattle U and Eastern Washington have met 14 times since they first played in 2009. The "Intrastate Battle" rivalry game between them is sometimes played twice a season in a rotating home court basis, though sometimes is only played once.

The series is currently tied 7–7.

An establishing chapter began in 2017 when Jim Hayford left his head coaching position EWU for the same job at Seattle U. Hayford's assistant, Shantay Legans, was hired as his successor. On December 3, 2017, in Hayford's first game against his former team and assistant, Seattle U won 85–64

Season-by-season records

Statistics overview

Season	Coach	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
1946–47	Len Yandle, Bill Fenton	18–12
1947–48	Len Yandle, Bill Fenton	10–16
1948–49	Al Brightman	12–14
1949–50	Al Brightman	12–17
1950–51	Al Brightman	32–5
1951–52	Al Brightman	29–8			NIT first round
1952–53	Al Brightman	29–4			NCAA Regional third place
1953–54	Al Brightman	26–2			NCAA first round
1954–55	Al Brightman	22–7			NCAA Regional Fourth Place
1955–56	Al Brightman	18–11			NCAA Regional Fourth Place
1956–57	John Castellani	24–3			NIT Quarterfinals
1957–58	John Castellani	23–6			NCAA Runner-up
1958–59	Vincent Cazzetta	23–6
1959–60	Vincent Cazzetta	16–10
1960–61	Vincent Cazzetta	18–8			NCAA first round
1961–62	Vincent Cazzetta	18–9			NCAA first round
1962–63	Vincent Cazzetta	21–6			NCAA first round
1963–64	Bob Boyd	22–6			NCAA Regional third place
1964–65	Bob Boyd	19–7
1965–66	Lionell Purcell	16–10
1966–67	Lionell Purcell	18–8			NCAA first round
1967–68	Morris Buckwalter	15–14
1968–69	Morris Buckwalter	20–8			NCAA first round
1969–70	Morris Buckwalter	15–10
1970–71	Morris Buckwalter	12–14
Seattle (West Coast Conference) (1971–1980)
1971–72	Morris Buckwalter	17–9	10–4	3rd
1972–73	William O'Connor	13–13	6–8	T–5th
1973–74	William O'Connor	15–11	11–3	2nd
1974–75	William O'Connor	8–18	6–8	6th
1975–76	William O'Connor	11–16	6–6	4th
1976–77	William O'Connor	14–14	7–7	T–3rd
1977–78	William O'Connor	11–17	6–8	5th
1978–79	Jack Schalow	16–11	8–6	4th
1979–80	Jack Schalow	12–15	8–8	7th
Seattle (Independent) (1980–1992)
1980–81	Jack Schalow	9–13
1981–82	Len Nardone	6–22
1982–83	Len Nardone	15–16
1983–84	Len Nardone	14–14
1984–85	Len Nardone	21–12
1985–86	Bob Johnson	10–20
1986–87	Bob Johnson	17–13
1987–88	Bob Johnson	13–17
1988–89	Bob Johnson	7–23
1989–90	Bob Johnson	10–20
1990–91	Bob Johnson	16–15
1991–92	Al Hairston	14–17
1992–93	Al Hairston	6–24
1993–94	Al Hairston	17–14
1994–95	Al Hairston	10–20
1995–96	Al Hairston	14–17
1996–97	Al Hairston	13–18
Seattle (Northwest Conference) (1997–1999)
1997–98	Al Hairston	4–20	3–15	10th
1998–99	Al Hairston	4–20	4–14	10th
Seattle (?) (1999–2001)
1999–00	Al Hairston	7–17
2000–01	Dave Cox	6–21
Seattle (Great Northwest Athletic Conference) (2001–2008)
2001–02	Joe Callero	6–23	4–14	9th
2002–03	Joe Callero	16–11	9–9	7th
2003–04	Joe Callero	9–18	5–13	T–8th
2004–05	Joe Callero	11–16	6–12	8th
2005–06	Joe Callero	16–11	9–9	7th
2006–07	Joe Callero	20–9	11–5	T–1st	NCAA Division II Second Round
2007–08	Joe Callero	18–9	11–7	8th
Seattle (Independent) (2008–2012)
2008–09	Joe Callero	21–8
2009–10	Cameron Dollar	17–14
2010–11	Cameron Dollar	11–20
2011–12	Cameron Dollar	12–15
Seattle (Western Athletic Conference) (2012–present)
2012–13	Cameron Dollar	8–22	3–15	10th
2013–14	Cameron Dollar	13–17	5–11	8th
2014–15	Cameron Dollar	18–16	7–7	4th	CBI semifinals
2015–16	Cameron Dollar	15–17	7–7	4th	CBI Quarterfinals
2016–17	Cameron Dollar	13–17	5–9	6th
2017–18	Jim Hayford	20–14	8–6	4th	CBI first round
2018–19	Jim Hayford	18–15	6–10	7th	CIT first round
2019–20	Jim Hayford	14–15	7–7	T–5th
2020-21	Jim Hayford	12-11	4-5	5th
2021-22	Chris Victor	23-9	14-4	T-1st
2022-23	Chris Victor	18-10	9-6	T-4th
2023-24	Chris Victor	23-14	11-9	T-4th	CBI Champion
Total:
National champion         Postseason invitational champion         Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion       Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion       Conference tournament champion

Postseason appearances

NCAA Division I tournament

The Redhawks have made the NCAA Division I tournament 11 times. They have not reached the NCAA Division I Tournament since 1969, which is the fifth longest drought between appearances in NCAA Division I Tournament history, although they were not in Division I for 29 years of the drought. The combined record for the Redhawks is 10–13.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1953	First Round Sweet Sixteen Regional third place	Idaho State Washington Wyoming	W 88–77 L 70–92 W 80–64
1954	First Round	Idaho State	L 75–77 OT
1955	First Round Sweet Sixteen Regional third place	Idaho State Oregon State Utah	W 80–63 L 71–83 L 85–108
1956	First Round Sweet Sixteen Regional third place	Idaho State Utah UCLA	W 68–66 L 72–81 L 70–94
1958	First Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Final Four Championship Game	Wyoming San Francisco California Kansas State Kentucky	W 88–51 W 69–67 W 66–62 OT W 73–51 L 72–84
1961	First Round	Arizona State	L 70–72
1962	First Round	Oregon State	L 65–69 OT
1963	First Round	Oregon State	L 66–70
1964	First Round Sweet Sixteen Regional third place	Oregon State UCLA Utah State	W 61–57 L 90–95 W 88–78
1967	First Round	Texas Western	L 54–62
1969	First Round	Weber State	L 73–75

NCAA Division II

In their time in NCAA Division II, Seattle made the tournament once. They had a record of 1–1.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
2007	First Round Second Round	Cal Poly Cal State San Bernardino	W 69–55 L 66–72

NIT appearances

Seattle has made two appearances in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT). They have a combined record of 0–2.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1952	First Round	Holy Cross	L 72–77
1957	Quarterfinals	St. Bonaventure	L 68–85

CBI appearances

Seattle has made four appearances in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI). They have a combined record of 7–3. They won the championship in 2024.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
2015	First Round Quarterfinals Semifinals	Pepperdine Colorado Loyola–Chicago	W 62–45 W 72–65 L 48–63
2016	First Round Quarterfinals	Idaho Vermont	W 68–63 L 53–74
2018	First Round	Central Arkansas	L 90–92OT
2024	First Round Second Round Semifinals Championship Game	Delaware State Evansville Fairfield High Point	W 79–66 W 71–57 W 75–58 W 77–67

CIT appearances

Seattle made their first appearance in the CIT tournament in 2019. They have a combined record of 0–1.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
2019	First Round	Presbyterian	L 68–73

Retired numbers

Seattle U has retired six jersey numbers, with the most recent being Tom Workman on February 5, 2011.

Seattle Redhawks retired numbers
No.	Player	Pos.	Career
3	Ed O'Brien		1950–1953
4	John O'Brien		1950–1953
20	Eddie Miles	F	1960–1963
22	Elgin Baylor	SF	1956–1958
32	Tom Workman	C	1964–1966
44	Clint Richardson	SG	1975–1979

External links

• Official website