[4] In 1963, Loyola won the 1963 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament (then the "NCAA University Division") men's basketball national championship under the leadership of All-American Jerry Harkness, defeating two-time defending champion Cincinnati 60–58 in overtime in the title game.

As of 2023, Loyola remains the only school from the state of Illinois to win a men's Division I basketball NCAA tournament.

[7] The Loyola University Chicago teams of the early 1960s, coached by George Ireland, are thought to be responsible for ushering in a new era of racial equality in the sport by shattering all remaining color barriers in NCAA men's basketball.

That season, Loyola also became the first team in NCAA Division I history to play an all-black lineup, doing so in a game against Wyoming on December 29, 1962.

In 1963, Loyola shocked the nation and changed college basketball forever by starting four black players in the NCAA championship game.

[13][15] From 1989 until 1994, the team played at the Rosemont Horizon (today known as the "Allstate Arena"), but suffered low attendance at the venue and moved back to the on-campus Alumni Gym in 1994.

[15][16] In 1996, the team moved into their current on-campus home, the Joseph J. Gentile Arena, which replaced Alumni Hall.