San Francisco Dons The San Francisco Dons is the nickname of the athletic teams at the University of San Francisco ( USF ) . History . 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 . The old Saint Ignatius High School later became Saint Ignatius College Preparatory and retained the red and blue colors . USF competes in the NCAA ' s Division I and is a charter member of the West Coast Conference . Varsity Teams . The San Francisco Dons currently field 12 varsity team s . Basketball , soccer , golf , and tennis have separate men ' s and women ' s teams ; baseball is men only and volleyball is women only ; track and field and cross - country running are coeducational . Baseball . 2005 was a banner year for the baseball program , as the Diamond Dons finished with a 38 - 18 record ( the best in team history ) , placed eight players in the all - conference team and earned Nino Giarrantano coach of the year honors . This was followed in 2006 with a 38 - 21 record , the WCC conference regular season championship , and a Top 25 ranking . However , USF lost in the WCC conference championship to Pepperdine but still was given an at large berth into their first ever postseason . USF did not advance in the tournament as they were beaten by the University of Miami , and Manhattan College . Nino Giarrantano became head coach in 1998 , previously serving as hitting coach at Arizona State University . Giarrantano was named 3 - time JC National Coach of the Year and 2005 - 2006 WCC Coach of the Year . Since arriving at USF , the team has had its best four - year stretch in its program ' s history , 104 - 69 overall since 2004 . Dante Benedetti Diamond at Max Ulrich Field . The Dons ' home field is named after Dante Benedetti , USF ' s head coach from 1962 to 1980 . Benedetti attended then - Saint Ignatius College from 1937 to 1940 , during which he lettered in Baseball , Football , and Boxing . During his tenure as head coach , he accumulated 373 career wins , and has been inducted into the university ' s athletic hall of fame . Also during his tenure as head coach , the university wanted to cut the program for financial reasons . However to keep the program alive Benedetti agreed to lower his salary . For the remaining 16 years of his coaching career he was paid $ 1 a year . The field is also named after Max Ulrich , a benefactor of the University of San Francisco . Dante Benedetti Classic . Since 2006 , USF has played one game a season at the San Francisco Giants ' Stadium , AT & T Park . The proceeds of the game go to the Dante Benedetti Foundation , a charity that helps under - privileged youth in San Francisco play and learn the game of baseball . Drafted Players . Over the years of USF ' s baseball tradition , a number of players have been drafted into professional baseball . Of these players , a few have had debuts in the Major Leagues : Men ' s basketball . 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 Fame r Bill Russell . USF retained its status as a basketball powerhouse into the 1970s and early 80s , holding the distinction of being a " major " program in a " mid - major " conference ( the WCC having declined somewhat in stature since the 1960s ) . It held the number - one spot in the polls on numerous occasions . In 1977 , led by All - American center Bill Cartwright , the Dons went 29 – 0 and were regarded as the # 1 team in the nation in both major polls before dropping their last two games . Controversies . The Dons ' prominence in the 1970s came at a price , however . The NCAA slapped the Dons with probation two times in the late 1970s . An in - house inquiry after the second resulted in the firing of head coach Dan Belluomini . It was also well known that basketball players got special treatment ; many of them were marginal students at best , and at least one instance where a player threatened another student was swept under the rug by school officials . It was also common for " tutors " to take tests and write papers for players . The situation finally came to a head in December 1981 , when All - American guard Quintin Dailey assaulted a female student . During the subsequent investigation , Dailey admitted taking a no - show job at a business owned by a prominent non - sports USF donor . The donor had also paid Dailey $ 5 , 000 since 1980 . Combined with other revelations , school president Rev . John LoSchiavo announced on July 26 that he was shutting down the basketball program — the first time a school had shut down a major sport under such circumstances . The move was widely applauded by several members of the coaching fraternity , as the Dailey matter revealed a program that was , in the words of " San Francisco Chronicle " sportswriter Glenn Dickey , " totally out of control . " LoSchiavo resurrected the program in 1985 under former star Jim Brovelli , who quickly returned the program to respectability . He was not able to reach postseason play , however , and resigned in 1995 . The program has only reached the postseason twice since its revival — an NCAA berth in 1998 under Phil Mathews and a 2005 NIT berth under former coach Jessie Evans . The program regressed the next few years , and Jessie Evans was granted a request for a ' leave of absence ' on December 27 , 2007 . Basketball coach Eddie Sutton took over on an interim basis , needing two wins for a personal milestone of 800 career coaching victories . At the time , Bob Knight was the only other Division I men ' s coach to have accomplished the feat . After months of speculation , Evans was finally officially fired by USF on March 20 , 2008 . A national coaching search was launched which included a four - man committee of Chuck Smith , vice chair of the USF Board of Trustees and former president and CEO of AT & T West , former player and coach Jim Brovelli ; Walt Gmelch , dean of the USF School of Education , and Mario Prietto , rector of the USF Jesuit Community and a member of the USF Board of Trustees . On March 29 , 2008 , USF hired an executive search consultant company , DHR International , to help spearhead their efforts in hiring the next Dons ' head coach . Among the possible candidates named were former UCLA Bruins Head Coach Steve Lavin , former USF All - American and current New Jersey Nets Assistant Coach Bill Cartwright , former NBA player and current Golden State Warriors Shooting Coach Sidney Moncrief , current Cal Bears Assistant Head Coach Louis Reynaud , and former Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings Head Coach Eric Musselman . Rex Walters was named as the Dons ' head coach on April 14 , 2008 . Women ' s Basketball . 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 Jennifer Azzi . Men ' s Soccer . Men ' s soccer is USF ' s most successful program , earning five national titles , including a co - championship with Penn State in 1949 . The program ' s successes came under alumnus Stephen Negoesco , who coached from 1962 to 2000 and led the team to 540 wins and four national championships ( 1966 , 1975 , 1976 , 1980 ) . Under Negoesco ' s successor , alumnus Erik Visser , the men ' s team earned the 2004 , 2005 and 2008 WCC titles . Alejandro Toledo , the former president of Peru , played for USF on a partial scholarship . Women ' s Volleyball . The women ' s volleyball team has made two NCAA tournament appearances : in 2003 , under former coach Jeff Nelson , and in 2008 under current coach Gilad Doron . The 2008 season saw the Dons finish with a Top 25 national ranking , a 22 - 8 record , and five all - WCC players . Men ' s Tennis . The men ' s tennis team , led by Harry Likas , Harry Roche and Arthur Larsen , won the 1949 NCAA Men ' s Tennis Championship . Likas also won the 1948 individual men ' s title . Football . Compared to local rivals Santa Clara and Saint Mary ' s , USF ' s football teams were historically not as strong . However , the 1951 Dons entered college football lore by fielding a team that would go undefeated and produce three NFL hall of famers ( Gino Marchetti , Ollie Matson , and Bob St . Clair ) . However , they did not receive any bowl invitations , as the team turned down any suggestions that they leave their two black teammates at home at the expense of a much - needed bowl bid . Due to the associated financial burden on the school that a bowl bid would have alleviated , USF ' s finest football team ever was to be its last in Division I . Though football made a brief comeback as a Division II sport during the 1960s and 1970s , USF has not fielded a varsity team since . Kuharich was an indifferent recruiter who largely delegated that responsibility to his freshman coach , Brad Lynn . Lynn had little to offer prospective players in the way of scholarship inducements beyond tuition and room and board in an old ROTC barracks . However , Lynn would take recruits to the highest hill on campus , and would gesture out towards the sweeping panorama of San Francisco saying , " THIS is your campus . " Only a handful of players from that 1951 team had been considered blue - ribbon prospects in high school . Two of the team ' s best players , Toler and guard Louis ( Red ) Stephens , had not even played high school football . Future Hall of Famer Marchetti was a high school dropout who had played only sparingly when he was in school . The 1951 Dons were honored during the 2008 Fiesta Bowl . Club Teams . USF participates in the following club sports : golf , fencing , boxing , rifle , karate , and lacrosse . Rugby , which was one of the first varsity sports in school history , is currently a club sport . Football is played on the intramural level