abstract
| - Loyola University Chicago is a private co-educational religious-affiliated university established in Chicago in 1870 as Saint Ignatius College. It was founded by the Roman Catholic religious order of the Society of Jesus and bears the name of the Jesuit patron, Saint Ignatius of Loyola. Loyola is one of twenty-eight member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities and, with its current enrollment of more than 15,000 students, is one of the largest Jesuit Universities in the United States. The Loyola Ramblers compete in the Missouri Valley Conference of the NCAA's Division I. The Men's Volleyball team competes in the NCAA's Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association with schools such as Ball State and Ohio State, and is considered a national power with regular Top 15 rankings. Loyola University boasts men's and women's teams in basketball, cross country, track, golf, soccer, and volleyball, as well as women's softball. The Loyola Ramblers title originated in the late 1920s as a nickname given to the school's football team. Today, Loyola University no longer has a football team. The standing joke is that the team is undefeated since 1930. Outside of the NCAA regulated athletics programs, Loyola Ramblers also compete in non-traditional intercollegiate sports such as cricket and rugby. The Loyola Ramblers mascot is Lou Wolf. Lou Wolf was inspired by the Basque coat-of-arms of Saint Ignatius of Loyola depicting two wolves over a kettle. The popular mascot, which had become a Chicago institution through several generations, received a facelift over the summer of 2000. Originally the Loyola mascot was a Gypsy Rambler, but many were upset over its racist depiction.
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