 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FinalFourConcierge.com > NCAA Final Four History Champions > San Francisco 1956 NCAA Basketball Champion |
NCAA Final Four Champs |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
NCAA Final Four Champion > San Francisco > 1956 |
Advertisement |
Advertisement |
Advertisement |
|
|
|
|
|
Powered by eeNation.com |
|
1956 NCAA Final Four Information |
|
March Madness 2008 |
|
Future Final Four Locations |
Advertisement |
Advertisement |
1956 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament Teams 25 Finals Site McGaw Hall Evanston, Illinois Champions San Francisco (2nd title) Runner-Up Iowa (1st title game) Semifinalists SMU (1st Final Four) Temple (1st Final Four) Winning Coach Phil Woolpert (2nd title) MOP Hal Lear Temple Attendance 132,513 Top scorer Hal Lear Temple (160 points) |
The 1956 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 25 schools playing
in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division
I college basketball. It began on March 12, 1956, and ended with the championship
game on March 24 in Evanston, Illinois. A total of 29 games were played,
including a third place game in each region and a national third place game. This was the first NCAA tournament in which the four regionals were given distinct names, although the concept of four regional winners advancing to a single site for the "Final Four" had been introduced in 1952. San Francisco, coached by Phil Woolpert, won the national title with a 83-71 victory in the final game over Iowa, coached by Bucky O'Connor. Hal Lear of Temple was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. |
March 18, 2008 UD Arena Dayton, Ohio Host: University of Dayton UD Arena Concierge March 20 and 22, 2008 Honda Center Anaheim, California Host: Big West Conference Honda Center Concierge Pepsi Center Denver, Colorado Hosts: Colorado State University Pepsi Center Concierge Qwest Center Omaha Omaha, Nebraska Hosts: Creighton University Qwest Center Omaha Concierge Verizon Center Washington, D.C. Host: Georgetown University Verizon Center Concierge March 21 and 23, 2008 BJCC Arena Birmingham, Alabama Host: Southeastern Conference BJCC Arena Concierge Alltel Arena Little Rock, Arkansas Host: University of Arkansas Alltel Arena Concierge RBC Center Raleigh, North Carolina Host: North Carolina State University RBC Center Concierge St. Pete Times Forum Tampa, Florida Host: University of South Florida St Pete Times Forum Concierge March 27 and 29, 2008 East Regional Charlotte Bobcats Arena Charlotte, North Carolina Host: University of North Carolina Charlotte Arena Concierge West Regional US Airways Center Phoenix, Arizona Host: Arizona State University US Airways Center Concierge March 28 and 30, 2008 Midwest Regional Ford Field Detroit, Michigan Host: University of Detroit Mercy Ford Field Concierge South Regional Reliant Stadium Houston, Texas Host: University of Houston and Rice Reliant Stadium Concierge Final Four: April 5 and 7, 2008 Alamodome San Antonio, Texas Host: Univ. of Texas-San Antonio Alamodome Concierge |
|
USF is best known for its basketball program. The men's basketball team have won
three national titles: the 1949 NIT under Pete Newell, and the 1955 and 1956 NCAA
championships. The latter two were under Phil Woolpert, and led by player and
National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Famer Bill Russell . After shutting down
briefly from 1982 to 1985, the program has steadily progressed, returning to
the NCAA tournament in 1998 under Phil Mathews and earning a 2005 NIT berth under
former coach Jessie Evans. |
Women's basketball also experienced recent successes, including appearances in the
NCAA women's tournament in 1995, 1996, and 1997 and a WNIT berth in 2002. The
1996 season represented their best ever, as the women's team made it into the
tournament's Sweet Sixteen. The team is presently coached by Tanya Haave. Athletics at USF dates back to its founding in 1855, when founder Anthony Maraschi, S.J. organized ball games as recreation for the first students. |
However, intercollegiate competition only dates back to 1907, when then-Saint Ignatius
College began playing organized baseball, basketball, and rugby against other
local colleges and high schools. Rivalries with neighboring Santa Clara University
and Saint Mary's College of California have their origins in this early
period. Teams were originally known as the "Grey Fog", and red and blue were Saint Ignatius College's colors. However, as the college began to develop an identity distinct from the high school--the college became the University of San Francisco in 1930--it adopted green and gold as its colors in 1927 and chose the Don as its mascot in 1932. |