Founding & History
This archbishop of San Francisco founded the college in 1863 as a school for boys
Who is (Joseph Sadoc) Alemany?
Saint Mary's campus buildings are done in this architectural style, featuring white stucco walls and red tile roofs.
What is Mission/Spanish-Renaissance style?
This is the nickname shared by all Saint Mary's athletic teams, honoring the school's Celtic/Irish heritage.
What are the Gaels?
This two-time Oscar-winning actor played basketball at Saint Mary's
Who is Mahershala Ali?
Saint Mary's official school colors are red, blue, and this third color.
What is white?
In 1868, operation of the college was handed over to this Catholic religious order, which still runs it today.
What are the De La Salle Christian Brothers?
Saint Mary's campus covers roughly this many acres in the Moraga hills
What is 420 acres?
This Australian point guard broke his hand as a senior in 2009 but went on to win an NBA championship with the San Antonio Spurs in 2014.
Who is Patty Mills?
This English professor and Saint Mary's alum was named U.S. Poet Laureate in 1995, the first Westerner to hold the post.
Who is Robert Hass?
Saint Mary's men's basketball team competes in this NCAA Division I conference, alongside rivals like Santa Clara University and University of San Francisco.
What is the West Coast Conference (WCC)?
The college settled into its permanent, current campus in this Bay Area town in 1928.
What is Moraga?
During World War II, the Navy took over much of the campus to run this kind of training program for aviators.
What is a (Navy) Pre-Flight School?
This Saint Mary's alum and fellow Australian won an NBA title with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016.
Who is Matthew Dellavedova?
This Class of 1907 Saint Mary's alum is enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.
Who is Harry Hooper?
Saint Mary's enrolls roughly this many total students today?
What is about 3,900?
Before the move to Moraga, the college's Oakland-era building earned this nickname after burning down more than once.
What is "The Brickpile"?
This distinctive four-year "Great Books" curriculum has every Saint Mary's undergraduate reading and discussing major works of Western civilization, starting with Homer and Aristotle.
What is the Collegiate Seminar?
Led by center Omar Samhan's upset of Villanova, the 2010 Gaels made their deepest NCAA tournament run ever, reaching this round.
What is the Sweet 16?
Coaching from 1921 to 1939, this legendary figure built Saint Mary's into a football powerhouse, capping his run with a Cotton Bowl win over Texas Tech in 1939.
Who is Edward "Slip" Madigan?
his standout women's basketball player, WCC Player of the Year in 1988–89 and 1989–90, also has her jersey retired at Saint Mary's.
Who is Anja Bordt?
This is the Bay Area city where Saint Mary's originally opened its doors in 1863, before later relocating through Oakland.
What is San Francisco?
Saint Mary's sits roughly this many miles east of San Francisco.
What is about 20 miles?
Saint Mary's home arena, built in 1978, carries this name today following a 2019 rebranding.
What is the University Credit Union Pavilion?
This forward, who played in the NBA back when the Warriors were based in Philadelphia and San Francisco, is one of the small handful of Gaels men's players to have his jersey retired.
Who is Tom Meschery?
Saint Mary's is the only Catholic college and only California college ever included in this influential guidebook for prospective students, "___: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About Colleges."
What is "Colleges That Change Lives"?