College Sports Established
1950
Location
Louisville, Kentucky
College Name
Bellarmine University
Collegiate History
2020 - Present / NCAA Division I
Conference History
2020 - Present / ASUN Conference
Nickname
Knights - The Bellarmine Knights are a NCAA Division I athletic program in Louisville, Kentucky. The school has been fielding teams since 1950 and is part of the Atlantic Sun Conference. While many college sports programs have nicknames that reflect their local culture or history, the Bellarmine Knights’ nickname is rooted in its Catholic faith tradition.
Bellarmine University was founded by Archbishop John A Floersh of the Archdiocese of Louisville as an all-male Catholic university in 1950. As such, it took its name from St Robert Bellarmino (1542-1621), an Italian Jesuit priest Pope Pius XI canonized as a saint for his work promoting church doctrine and defending Catholicism during Europe's Counter-Reformation period against Protestantism. In recognition of this rich heritage, Archbishop Floersh chose “Knights” to represent both spiritual strength & courage on behalf of his new institution.
In keeping with this theme, each member team within the athletic department adopted names related to knights - Men's Basketball became "Knights,"; Women's Basketball became "Lady Knights,"; Baseball became "Knight Riders," etc. These monikers remain today & continue to honor St. Robert Bellarmino while adding unique spirit & character to each sport at Bellarmine University!
NCAA Championships
Baseball 0
Men's Basketball 0
Women's Basketball 0
Football 0
Soccer 0
- 1950
- 1960
- 1997
- 2011
- 2015
-
Bellarmine fields its first men’s basketball team
In 1950: Bellarmine University (then Bellarmine College) fields its first men’s basketball team. The team is coached by John Merkle and plays its home games at Knights Hall. -
Bellarmine men’s basketball team wins Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (KIAC)
In 1960: The Bellarmine men’s basketball team wins its first conference championship in the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (KIAC). The team is coached by Paulie Whiteside. -
Scott Wiegandt – Inducted into the Bellarmine Athletics Hall of Fame
Scott Wiegandt: Wiegandt played basketball for Bellarmine from 1972-1976, and is the program’s all-time leading rebounder with 1,218 rebounds. He was a three-time NAIA All-American and was inducted into the Bellarmine Athletics Hall of Fame in 1997. -
Bellarmine men’s basketball team wins its first NCAA Division II national championship
In 2011, the Bellarmine men’s basketball team made history by winning its first NCAA Division II national championship. The team, led by head coach Scott Davenport, finished the season with a record of 33-2. The Knights’ championship run was marked by dominant performances on both ends of the court. Offensively, the team ranked first in the nation in field goal ... -
Bellarmine women’s basketball team wins its first GLVC championship
In 2015, the Bellarmine women’s basketball team made history by winning its first Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) championship. The team, coached by Chancellor Dugan, finished the season with a record of 23-7. The Knights’ championship run was marked by a balanced offensive attack and stout defense. The team ranked third in the GLVC in scoring offense, averaging 73.7 points ...
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History of the Knights
In 2020-2021 the team won their first-ever regular season Atlantic Sun Conference championship with an impressive 24-4 record – good for second place overall behind Liberty University. This was followed by a stunning upset victory over Florida Gulf Coast University to win the conference tournament title, which earned them their first-ever berth into March Madness as an at-large bid from the A-Sun conference.
In addition to this historic accomplishment, they had one of their best seasons yet in football, winning 8 games, including victories over some primary opponents like Eastern Kentucky University (EKU)and Jacksonville State (JSU). On top of that, they have been crowned champions of both men’s basketball tournaments held during the 2020–21 season; The Great Midwest Athletic Conference Tournament Championship Game against EKU and beating JSU again to win The Ohio Valley Conference Tournament Championship game!
With all these accomplishments under its belt, it is clear that Bellarmine is quickly becoming one powerhouse school for college sports! Their teams are consistently competitive year after year, making them a force within conferences and nationally – something we can expect more from going forward into the 2021/22 season!
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