ROCK ISLAND, Ill. - On Thursday, Augustana College men's basketball announced they are adding a game against Division I opponent Loyola University Chicago to the 2026-27 schedule. The game will take place on December 4 at Gentile Arena in Chicago; the start time is still to be announced.
This will not be the first time the Vikings and Ramblers square off. They previously met on January 20, 1939, at the Rock Island Armory. It was a tight contest as the match was tied 27-27 with 3.5 minutes remaining. However, Loyola went on a 10-2 run to end the game and pull away with a 37-29 win.
Ten minutes into the first half, Augie was down by nine points, 13-4. The Vikings closed the gap to five, 16-11, by halftime, before outscoring Loyola 16-11 through a majority of the back half to tie the game at 27 all. That is when the Ramblers' 10-2 run began and shut down any possibility of an Augie upset. The Vikings were led by junior Willard Anderson, whose 15 points accounted for over half of Augustana's total.
That year's Loyola squad was particularly talented as well. They visited Rock Island undefeated on the season and ended the year 21-1. Their lone loss came against Long Island University in the NIT Championship.
Thank you to former Sports Information Director Dan Sand for providing information about the 1939 game as well as the following press clippings regarding the match.
December 4's game will be men's basketball's first game against a Division I opponent since 2018-19 when the team visited Illinois State and lost by just eight points, 82-74. As for Loyola, they are coming off a 9-24 season in which they went 4-14 in the Atlantic 10 Conference.
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Augustana men's basketball by following the team on Twitter at @Augie_MBB, on Facebook at Augustana Basketball, and on Instagram at @augie_mbb.
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