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La Salle Explorers
La Salle Explorers
University	La Salle University
Conference	A-10 (primary); MAAC (women's water polo)
NCAA	Division I
Athletic director	Ashwin Puri
Location	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Varsity teams	19 (23 in 2025)
Basketball arena	John Glaser Arena
Baseball stadium	Hank DeVincent Field
Soccer stadium	McCarthy Stadium
Aquatics center	Kirk Pool
Mascot	The Explorer
Nickname	The Explorers
Fight song	Fight On, Explorers
Colors	Blue and gold;
Website	goexplorers.com

The La Salle Explorers are the varsity sports teams from La Salle University in Philadelphia. The Explorers compete in NCAA Division I as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. The men's and women's basketball teams also participate in the Philadelphia Big 5. On June 3, 2019, Brian Baptiste was named director of athletics and recreation effective August 1, 2019. Baptiste is deputy AD for capital projects and operations at Northwestern University.

Overview

The Explorers name

The Explorers nickname derives from a famous mistake made by a local Philadelphia sportswriter. The writer thought the university was named after the French explorer Sieur de La Salle, when in fact it is named after St. Jean-Baptiste de la Salle. The nickname caught on, however, and has remained ever since.

The rivalry

La Salle's major historic rival has been the Hawks of the Saint Joseph's University, especially in men's basketball. Not only are both schools situated in Philadelphia, but they are also both Catholic, private institutions and are both members of both the Atlantic 10 and the Big 5.

National championships

La Salle's teams have won two national championships: the 1954 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament and the 1980 AIAW Field Hockey Championship.

The school also won the 1952 National Invitation Tournament when that tournament was still considered to be on par with the NCAA tournament.

Sports sponsored

Men's sports	Women's sports
Baseball ^{[n 1]}	Acrobatics & tumbling ^{[n 2]}
Basketball	Basketball
Cross country	Cross country
Golf	Field hockey
Rowing	Golf
Soccer	Lacrosse
Swimming & diving	Rowing
Track & field¹	Rugby ^{[n 2]}
	Soccer
	Swimming and diving
	Track and field¹
	Triathlon ^{[n 2]}
	Water polo
† – Track and field includes both indoor and outdoor

Notes

^ Returning in 2025–26
^ ^a ^b ^c From 2025–26

A member of the Atlantic 10 Conference, La Salle University sponsors teams in 7 men's and 11 women's NCAA sanctioned sports, plus one men's sport that is not recognized by the NCAA. The most recently added varsity sports are women's golf and men's and women's water polo, all added for 2016–17.^[2] Baseball was dropped after the 2021 season (2020–21 school year), but will be reinstated for the 2026 season. At the same time that baseball is reinstated, La Salle will add three new women's sports, all included in the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women program—acrobatics & tumbling, rugby, and triathlon.^[3]

Men's basketball

The men's basketball team has won eight City Championships (four were shared). In addition to the national championship and NIT Championship, La Salle was also a national finalist in the 1955 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament and was named the 53rd "Greatest College Basketball Program of All-Time" by Street & Smith's in January 2005.

Only Duke (7) and UCLA (4) have had more National Players of the Year than La Salle, which has had three--- Lionel Simmons, Michael Brooks, and Tom Gola. Tom Gola was listed on "ESPN's Countdown to the Greatest" College basketball players as #17.