Creighton Bluejays

Creighton Bluejays
University Creighton University
Conference Big East
NCAA Division I
Athletic director Bruce Rasmussen
Location Omaha, Nebraska
Varsity teams 14
Football stadium Creighton Stadium (demolished)
Basketball arena CenturyLink Center Omaha or
D. J. Sokol Arena
Baseball stadium TD Ameritrade Park Omaha
Soccer stadium Morrison Stadium
Mascot Billy Bluejay
Nickname Bluejays, Jays
Fight song The White and the Blue
Colors Blue and White[1]
         
Website www.gocreighton.com

The Creighton Bluejays, or Jays, are the athletic teams that represent Creighton University, a Jesuit/Catholic University in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. They compete in NCAA Division I in the Big East Conference.

Teams

Creighton University sponsors six men's and eight women's teams in NCAA sanctioned sports:[2]

Men's Intercollegiate Sports

Women's Intercollegiate Sports

Baseball

Creighton's baseball team played its first Big East season in 2014. They are coached by Ed Servais who is entering his eighth season as head coach of the Bluejays. His record at Creighton is 254-149 (.630 winning percentage).

The team plays its home games at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha, also the home of the College World Series. Prior to the opening of TD Ameritrade Park, the program played games at the Creighton Sports Complex and Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium in South Omaha, which was also the home of the NCAA College World Series and the Omaha Royals (now known as the Omaha Storm Chasers) of the Pacific Coast League.

1991 College World Series

Creighton appeared in the NCAA College World Series for the only time in 1991. The Jays advanced to the CWS by defeating the Hawaii Rainbows 15-8 in finals of the NCAA West I Regional in Los Angeles. Prior to the victory over Hawaii, the Jays swept the four-game regional by beating Pepperdine, Minnesota and host team USC in a 10-inning 8-7 victory.

The seventh-seeded Bluejays (49-20) opened play against the second seeded Clemson Tigers in front of then record crowd of more than 16,000 at Rosenblatt Stadium. The game ended with an 8-4 Creighton victory, setting up a second round match with MVC rival Wichita State.

The Jays had finished the 1991 regular season with an overall record of 46-18, and a 16-8 record in the Missouri Valley Conference, good enough for second place behind league champion Wichita State. The Shockers had swept the regular season four-game series with the Jays, and had also defeated the Jays twice in the 1991 Missouri Valley Conference Baseball Tournament.

In one of the more memorable games in College World Series history, the Shockers defeated the Jays 3-2 in 12 innings. With one out in the bottom of the twelfth inning Wichita State center fielder Jim Audley threw out Creighton's pinch-runner Steve Burns at home plate in a play known to Bluejay and Shocker fans alike as "the throw." The game was recently ranked third in the list of the 25 greatest games in College World Series history by the Omaha World-Herald.

The Jays bounced back to defeat Long Beach State 13-4 in an elimination game, to set up a rematch with Wichita State in the National Semifinals. A trip to the title game for Creighton was not to be, however, as Wichita State advanced to the National Championship game after defeating Creighton for the eighth time that season, 11-3.

LSU defeated Wichita State 6-3 to win the 1991 NCAA Baseball National Championship.

The Bluejays Head Coach during that memorable 1991 season, Jim Hendry, is a former General Manager of the Chicago Cubs. Jim Hendry is also the only former Creighton Bluejay to have his number retired. His name and number (25) hang on the center field fence of Creighton Sports Complex.

Notable former Bluejay Baseball players include Hall of Fame inductee Bob Gibson as well as Dave McKay, Pat Venditte, Dennis Rasmussen, Scott Stahoviak, Scott Servais, Zach Daeges, Chad McConnell and Alan Benes.

Men's basketball

Creighton's men's basketball program has a member of the Big East Conference since the 2013–14 season. Prior to the 2013–14 season, the Jays were members of the Missouri Valley Conference from 1978–2013. Prior to the 1977–78 season, the Jays participated as an Independent from 1948–1977.

Creighton's current head coach is Greg McDermott. He became head coach on April 27, 2010, following stints as the head coach at Wayne State (Nebraska), Northern Iowa, and Iowa State.

The men's team plays all of their home games at the CenturyLink Center Omaha (18,320). The 2015–16 season was their thirteenth at the CenturyLink Center Omaha.

Famous individuals associated with Creighton basketball include former players Bob Gibson, Paul Silas, Doug McDermott, Bob Portman, Gene Harmon, Benoit Benjamin, Bob Harstad, Chad Gallagher, Rodney Buford, Kyle Korver, Gary Swain, Ryan Sears, Nate Funk, and Anthony Tolliver. Famous former coaches include "Red" McManus, Eddie Sutton, Willis Reed, Eddie Hickey, Tony Barone, Arthur A. Schabinger, and Dana Altman.

The all-time leading scorer in Creighton men's basketball history is Doug McDermott, who surpassed former leader Rodney Buford during the 2012–13 season. McDermott ended his college career in 2014 with 3,150 total points, placing him fifth on the all-time Division I men's scoring list. He was named the first consensus first-team All-American in Creighton basketball history following the 2011–12 season, his sophomore year, and repeated as a consensus first-team All-American in 2013 and 2014. This made him the first Division I men's player to be a three-time consensus first-team All-American since Patrick Ewing and Wayman Tisdale from 1983 to 1985. McDermott was also named the consensus national player of the year in 2014.

Creighton University was the host institution for the First and Second Rounds site at CenturyLink Center Omaha during the 2008 NCAA Tournament, the Second and Third Round during the 2012 NCAA Tournament, and the Second and Third Round during the 2015 NCAA Tournament.

Women's basketball

The women's basketball team is coached by Jim Flanery, and were the 2004 WNIT Champions. They play their home games on campus at D. J. Sokol Arena.

Men's soccer

Creighton's current men's soccer coach is Elmar Bolowich. Bolowich was named head coach of the Creighton Bluejays on February 9, 2011 following 22 seasons as the head coach at North Carolina.

Creighton plays their home matches on campus at Morrison Stadium, which is named after former university President Fr. Michael Morrison, S.J. The last time Creighton hosted the Missouri Valley Conference men's soccer Tournament was 2011.

The men's soccer team has gone to the NCAA Tournament in 18 of the previous 19 seasons with three appearances in the College Cup and one appearance in the National Championship Match.

Women's soccer

The women's soccer team has won four Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championships, earning the league's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament in each of those years. The team also plays its home games on campus at Morrison Stadium.

Softball

The softball team has appeared in five Women's College World Series, in 1969 (the first WCWS), 1980, 1981,[3] 1982 (first NCAA WCWS) and 1986.

Football

Football was discontinued in 1942.

References

  1. ↑ Creighton University Athletics Bluejay Logo Usage Guidelines (PDF). 2013-09-16. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  2. ↑ "Creighton Bluejays". gocreighton.com.
  3. ↑ Plummer, William; Floyd, Larry C. (2013). A Series Of Their Own: History Of The Women's College World Series. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States: Turnkey Communications Inc. ISBN 978-0-9893007-0-4.

External links

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