Loyola set to unveil National Championship banner; present rings Saturday

The 21-22 NAIA Men’s Basketball National Championship banner and rings ceremony will begin at 5:30 p.m. prior to Loyola’s game against SUNO at 6 p.m.

NEW ORLEANS – Loyola University New Orleans will honor its 2021-2022 NAIA Men’s Basketball National Championship team with a special MBB Banner unveiling and Ring Ceremony on Saturday, Nov. 12, prior to the team’s home game against Southern University New Orleans. Loyola Athletics will unveil the National Championship banner, the school’s first national title since the men’s basketball team won in 1945, and members of the team will receive their National Championship rings. The ceremony is set to begin at 5:30 p.m. prior to the 6 p.m. game time.

The special event takes place as Loyola men’s basketball hosts “Alumni Weekend.” Former Wolf Pack coaches and players will be in attendance to celebrate with the program.

The Wolf Pack turned in a dominant season with a 37-1 overall record and a 17-1 mark in Southern States Athletic Conference play last year, winning both the SSAC Regular Season and Tournament titles. After running through the SSAC Championship tournament, Loyola won six games in the NAIA National Championship tournament by an average of 20 points, capping it off with a 71-56 win in the national title game against Talladega.

The Wolf Pack had three NAIA All-America honorees on the team, as Zach Wrightsil was named to the First Team, Myles Burns to the Second Team, and Brandon Davis as Honorable Mention. Wrightsil was the consensus NAIA Player of the Year; he also earned NABC National Player of the Year, Allstate Sugar Bowl Top Male Amateur Athlete in Louisiana, Allstate Sugar Bowl Greater New Orleans Male Amateur Athlete of the Year, SSAC Player of the Year, NABC All-America, LABC Louisiana Small College Player of the Year, NAIA National Championship All-Tournament Team, and, LSWA First Team All-Louisiana. Burns picked up quite a few accolades himself, receiving NAIA National Championship Tournament MVP, SSAC Defensive Player of the Year, SSAC Championship Tournament MVP, and Marques Haynes Award honors, which means he led all of college basketball with 152 steals. Davis was also named the SSAC Newcomer of the Year, and all three of those players went on to transfer to NCAA I programs, with Wrightsil and Burns playing their last year of eligibility at Marquette and Ole Miss, respectively, and Davis now a part of the Texas State program.

Former Wolf Pack head coach Stacy Hollowell was named Coach of the Year by seven different entities, too, getting picked as the Coach of the Year by the Allstate Sugar Bowl, NAIA, NABC, Hoopdirt.com, SSAC, LABC, and earning the Don Meyer Coach of the Year award.

What made Loyola’s run more unique was that the team played the entire season without a true home game after The Den suffered damage during Hurricane Ida in August 2021. The gym experienced flooding, causing the team to travel to Dallas for preseason practices, and upon returning to New Orleans, the Wolf Pack had to hold early-morning practices at various locations around the city. Loyola played some of its home games at Tulane’s Devlin Fieldhouse before returning to The Den on a temporary floor provided by the Pontchartrain Center in Kenner. On top of that, the program dealt with COVID-19 postponements, a tornado scare while on the road at Stillman College, and food poisoning-like symptoms while in Kansas City at the national tournament.

The Wolf Pack Network will broadcast the entire ceremony at https://team1sports.com/loyolanoathletics/, including special interviews with current and former players and coaches leading up to the event.

You can keep up with the Pack by following Wolf Pack Athletics on Facebook at Facebook.com/LoyolaWolfPack, Twitter and Instagram @LoyolaWolfPack, and by checking out our website at LoyolaWolfPack.com.