A Legacy on the Court: Exploring the History of DePaul University Basketball
The DePaul Blue Demons men's basketball program represents DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois, competing in NCAA Division I and the Big East Conference. While the team's history dates back to 1908, their journey has been marked by periods of independence, conference affiliations, and notable figures who have shaped the program's identity.
Early Years and Independence (1908-1991)
From 1923 to 1991, DePaul operated as an independent program, even with a team since 1908. The program saw a series of head coaches during its formative years. Robert L. Stevenson led the Blue Demons in their 1923-24 season, achieving a record of 8-6. Harry Adams followed in 1924-25, finishing with a 6-13 record. Jim Kelly took over in 1929 and, over seven seasons, amassed an impressive 99-22 record before departing in 1936. Tom Haggerty then coached from 1936 to 1940, compiling a 63-32 record.
The Ray Meyer Era (1942-1984)
Ray Meyer, a Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, served as DePaul's head coach for 42 years (1942-1984). Meyer's impact on the program is undeniable, as he finished with a 724-354 record (.672). Under Meyer, DePaul made 21 post-season appearances (13 NCAA, eight NIT). He guided his teams to two Final Four appearances, in 1943 and 1979.
Notably, Meyer's 1943 Final Four appearance occurred in his first season coaching DePaul. His teams earned No. 1 seeds in their NCAA regional three consecutive years (1980, 1981, and 1982); however, each of those teams suffered first-game upsets to #8 seeds. A significant achievement during Meyer's tenure was capturing the 1945 National Invitation Tournament title.
Meyer also coached George Mikan, a Hall of Fame player who was named to the NBA's 25th, 35th, and 75th Anniversary Teams, as well as one of the NBA's 50 and 75 Greatest Players.
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During Meyer's coaching career, the Blue Demons initially played in University Auditorium before moving to Alumni Hall in 1956.
Conference USA and the Great Midwest Conference (1991-2005)
DePaul joined the Great Midwest Conference in 1991, which later merged with the Metro Conference in 1995 to create Conference USA. DePaul remained a member of Conference USA through 2005.
The Joey Meyer Years (1984-1997)
Following his father's legendary tenure, Joey Meyer took over as head coach from 1984 to 1997, compiling a 231-158 record. Joey Meyer led DePaul to seven NCAA Tournament appearances in his first eight seasons, including back-to-back Sweet Sixteen appearances in his second and third seasons.
In the 1986 tournament, #12-seeded DePaul-led by freshman guard Rod Strickland (14.1 ppg season average) and junior Dallas Comegys (13.8 ppg) -- upset #5-seeded Virginia and #4-seeded Oklahoma in the East regional before losing to top-seeded Duke 74-67. In 1987, the Blue Demons-again led by Comegys (17.5 ppg) and Strickland (16.3 ppg) -- finished the regular season 26-2 and received a #3 seed in the Midwest regional of the 1987 tournament. They defeated #14-seeded Louisiana Tech and #6-seeded St. John's before losing to #10-seeded LSU.
In both 1988 and 1989, DePaul reached the second round of the NCAA tournament, but they were on a downward trajectory. In 1992, the Blue Demons were co-champions of the newly formed Great Midwest Conference but made their last NCAA tournament appearance under Meyer. In 1996, they finished 11-18, their first losing season since 1971, and the next year, a young DePaul team finished 3-23.
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The Post-Joey Meyer Era (1997-2010)
After Joey Meyer's departure, Pat Kennedy was named head coach. This appointment marked the first time in 55 years that a member of the Meyer family had not coached DePaul basketball.
Dave Leitao was named head coach at DePaul for the 2002-03 season. His teams made post-season play in all three of his seasons as head coach. In his second season, his team advanced to the second round of the 2004 NCAA tournament before being eliminated by eventual national champion Connecticut. His teams also played in the 2003 and 2005 NIT Tournaments. In his first stint as head coach at Depaul, he finished with a 58-34 overall record. DePaul's last NCAA tournament victory was in 2004.
Jerry Wainwright was named DePaul head coach in 2005. In his first season he finished with a 12-15 record. In his second season in 2006-07, the Blue Demons beat #5 Kansas, pulling off one of the greatest upsets in school history. They also beat 2006 NCAA tournament teams California, Northwestern State, Marquette, Connecticut and Villanova with Wainwright leading the Blue Demons to the 2007 National Invitation Tournament quarterfinals before losing to Air Force. Four games into the 2007-08 season, Wainwright logged his 200th career win as a head coach, but the team finished with a 10-19 record. The 2008-2009 season saw DePaul finish 9-24 overall and 0-18 in regular season Big East play. Wainwright began the 2009-10 season as head coach but was fired on January 11, 2010, after a 7-8 start to the season. He still had two years remaining on his contract at the time of his firing. Wainwright finished with a 59-80 overall record in his five years at DePaul.
Recent Years and the Big East Conference (2005-Present)
DePaul joined the Big East Conference in 2005, marking a new chapter in the program's history.
On April 6, 2010, Oliver Purnell, formerly of Clemson University signed a seven-year deal with DePaul. In his first season in 2010-11, Purnell finished with a record of 7-24. The rest of his tenure saw his teams with finish with similar records of 12-19 during the 2011-2012 season, 11-21 during the 2012-2013 season, 12-21 during the 2013-2014 season and 12-20 in 2014-15.
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Dave Leitao returned for his second stint as DePaul head basketball coach for the 2015-2016 season. The team finished with a record of 9-22 in his first season back with the Blue Demons. The 2016-2017 season saw the Blue Demons finish with a 9-23 record in Leitao's second season. This season would be DePaul's last season playing at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois after 37 years at the venue. Following the 2017-2018 season, DePaul's eleventh straight losing season under coaches hired by current Athletic Director Jean Lenti Ponsetto, a group of "concerned students and alumni" purchased a full-page advertisement in the Chicago Sun-Times calling for change within the school's Athletic Department. Additional reasons the students and alumni wanted change was that since the 1989-90 season, DePaul had won only one NCAA tournament game in the 29 seasons that transpired. DePaul had also only been to two NCAA Tournaments since the 1991-92 season, hadn't qualified for the NCAA Tournament since the 2003-04 season and the Blue Demons had not made postseason play since 2006-07.
The 2018-2019 season saw a turnaround for DePaul as the Blue Demons finished with a 19-17 overall record. In Leitao's fourth season, he led the Blue Demons to the 2019 College Basketball Invitational post-season tournament. The team finished as runner-up to the University of South Florida Bulls.
On April 1, 2021, Tony Stubblefield was hired as head coach. He previously served as an assistant coach at Oregon. Stubblefield was fired on January 22, 2024 after a troubling partial season of (3-15). Only managing to beat South Dakota, Louisville, and Chicago State. All home games.
On February 24, Terry Cummings had his No. 32 (1979-1982) jersey retired by the program. Holtmann and the 2024-25 team went 7-1 to start the season, losing their first game on the road to Texas Tech in the program's final Big East-Big 12 Battle on December 4, 2024. On January 17, 2025, the team won their first Big East Conference game since January 18, 2023. They would defeat Georgetown at Capital One Arena 73-68, their first conference win in 1 year and 364 days after 39 straight losses. The team would follow that up on February 2, 2025 with their first conference win at home since January 10, 2023, defeating Seton Hall 74-57. On February 22, Dave Corzine had his No. 40 (1974-1978) jersey retired by the program. The improvement could be seen compared to the last season as the team finished (14-20) overall and (4-16) in the conference, finishing with the #10 seed. The team even managed to reach the quarterfinals of the 2025 Big East tournament, where they would lose a hard fought battle against #2 seed Creighton.
It was announced on June 11 that the Blue Demons would be participating in the men's 2025 Emerald Coast Classic along with Drake, Georgia Tech, and former 2021 Classic champion LSU. The event will take place during Thanksgiving weekend (Nov.
Venues
The Blue Demons originally played in University Auditorium before moving to Alumni Hall in 1956. Their current home court is Wintrust Arena, a 10,387-seat multi-purpose venue in Chicago. DePaul opened Wintrust Arena to bring successful basketball back to the city. DePaul's last season playing at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois was the 2016-2017 season after 37 years at the venue.
Postseason History
DePaul has a rich history of postseason appearances:
- NCAA Tournament: 22 Appearances.
- National Invitation Tournament (NIT): 16 Appearances; 17-17 combined record.
- College Basketball Invitational (CBI): 1 Appearance.
- College Basketball Crown: 1 Appearance.
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