January 10, 2018, will forever be a historic day in Olivet Nazarene University men’s basketball history. With an 86-79 victory over Judson University (Illinois) in McHie Arena, the ONU men’s basketball team tallied the 1000th win in program history. In their 52nd season of competition, the Tigers are now 1000-604 overall, including an 8-10 record so far this season.
Head Coach Ralph Hodge, a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Hall of Fame member, is in his 39th season with the Tigers. He has been on the sidelines for 769 of ONU’s 1,000 wins and on the court for 86 more as a player.
Olivet first took the court in the 1966-67 season, recording its first win of 61-53 over Bethany Nazarene College (Oklahoma) (now Southern Nazarene University) on November 12, 1966, at the Abe Lincoln Gymnasium in Kankakee, Illinois.
The Tigers have put together an impressive run, having posted 44 winning seasons, including 26 years with 20 or more wins. From the 1989-90 season through 2002-03, the Tigers notched 15 consecutive 20-win seasons.
ONU also reached the 30-win plateau twice, once in 1974-75 and again in 1999-00. That season, they made it the NAIA Division I Semifinals.
In NAIA National Tournament play, Olivet has accumulated 12 wins. The Tigers have also claimed four Northern Illinois Intercollegiate Conference (NIIC) and 12 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) Regular Season championships, four NAIA District 20 titles and six CCAC Tournament titles.
Eight different players have been named NAIA All-America and 13 more have earned honorable mention honors. There have also been 96 CCAC All-Conference players.
For more information about the Olivet Tiger athletics program, contact the Office of Admissions at admissions@olivet.edu or 800-648-1463.
Published: 1/17/2018
