The city of Baltimore has always had a great affinity for basketball and a proud tradition on the court. Nowadays, the tradition is largely upheld by the Loyola Maryland Greyhounds, one of the few Division I programs in Charm City. As a member of the Patriot League, the Greyhounds aren’t in a major conference, making it relatively easy to find cheap Loyola Maryland basketball tickets. At the same time, basketball is so popular in the city of Baltimore that when the Greyhounds are good, last-minute Loyola Maryland basketball tickets sell like hotcakes because everyone wants to support a mid-major program that’s trying to make a name for itself.

Off to the Races

While making occasional tournament appearances at the Division II and NAIA levels, Loyola basketball made the leap to the Division I level in 1981. For many years, the Greyhounds struggled just to finish seasons with a winning record. However, Skip Prosser was hired as Loyola’s head coach in 1993 and led the Greyhounds to a MAAC tournament title and the program’s first appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 1994 in what would become his only season at the program. While Prosser’s tenure at Loyola was short, he proved what the Greyhounds could accomplish and made Loyola an attractive job for other coaches moving up the ladder, including Brian Ellerbe and Dino Gaudio.

Around the Track

Unfortunately for Loyola, its appearance in the 1994 NCAA Tournament turned out to be something of an aberration. Afterward, the Greyhounds struggled to maintain success until the arrival of head coach Jimmy Patsos in 2004. Despite inheriting a last-place team, Pastos slowly but surely built the Greyhounds into a contender, culminating in a return trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2012 that capped off a 24-9, setting a high watermark for the program. Of course, two years later, the Greyhounds had a new coach when Pastos took another job. They also found themselves in a new conference, joining the Patriot League in 2013 and beginning the next chapter in Loyola’s basketball journey.