San Francisco Basketball Tickets
Believe it or not, the San Francisco Dons are the most successful mid-major program on the West Coast. More recently, it’s been easy to find cheap San Francisco basketball tickets because the Dons have struggled to find their way into the national stage. However, the proud history of the program still means something. Most people don’t realize that the Dons have won multiple national championships and have a long lineage of star players. But that history of success and the hope of brighter days ahead keep last-minute San Francisco basketball tickets in high demand among West Coast basketball fans.
Championship Basketball
San Francisco’s rise to success began in the 1950s under Phil Woolpert. After a couple of losing seasons, Woolpert recruited the likes of Bill Russell, K.C. Jones, and Mike Farmer to play at San Francisco. Anchored by the legendary Russell, the Dons won back-to-back national championships in 1955 and 1956. At one point, the Dons won 60 games in a row - a feat only surpassed by UCLA’s dynasty under John Wooden.
Let the Good Times Roll
Even after Russell and company left San Francisco, the Dons continued to compete at a high level. Throughout the 1960s and 70s, San Francisco won nine conference championships and eight appearances in the Sweet 16. The Dons were a perennial top-25 team, even ascending to the no. 1 spot in the polls after a 26-0 start during the 1969-70 season. However, things came to a sudden halt when the program voluntarily shutdown in 1982 after a series of NCAA rules violations.
The Long Road Back
San Francisco basketball returned in 1985, but it wasn’t the same as before. The Dons were no longer the dominant team in the West Coast Conference and didn’t return to the NCAA Tournament until 1998. However, San Francisco has slowly worked its way back up the pecking order in the WCC. After a string of 20-win seasons to close out the 2010s, there is once again hope that San Francisco can one day return to the national stage and be a mid-major the college basketball world talks about.
