The first 50 years of St. Mary’s existence pre-dated interscholastic athletics competition. Athletics then consisted of daily intramural games and frequent organized country outings. Choosing the present site of the school was motivated in part by a desire for physical exercise in the “pure country air.” Early construction of a swimming pool further illustrated the Marianists’ emphasis on the development of the body along with the mind and soul.

The Birth of Sports Competition

Interscholastic athletics competition began with baseball in 1902. Before St. Mary’s was recognized as a senior college in 1925, there was no formal conference competition, so the rivalry between the downtown and Woodlawn campuses was fierce.

The colorful history of St. Mary’s athletics includes a stellar 1910 baseball team, which lost only to Ty Cobb’s Detroit Tigers in an exhibition game, and a stint by future President Eisenhower as coach of the 1916 football team.

St. Mary’s was an all-male school for more than a century, so it’s not surprising that its two longest-running sports are baseball and men’s basketball. But from 1925 until 1941, football – with its flashy uniforms and players, and even more flamboyant managers and coaches – captured the imaginations of fans everywhere.

Baseball is Earliest Sport

Records show the 1902 baseball team went 6–0, and the 1910 squad also went undefeated except for the aforementioned game against the Tigers. With the onset of the Depression, intercollegiate baseball disappeared only to be resurrected in 1947 by then-athletics director Brother Bill Siemer, S.M.

Over the years, St. Mary’s baseball has won local, regional and national fame. Accomplishments include 24 conference championships, four NAIA College World Series appearances and, most recently, the 2001 NCAA Division II conference, regional and national championships.

The success of the St. Mary’s baseball program has come primarily under the leadership of two coaches, both alumni and baseball standouts in their own right. Elmer Kosub (B.A ’54) returned to his alma mater as baseball coach in 1957 and guided his teams to 15 conference championships and a 1976 NAIA World Series appearance. Upon his retirement in 1986, he passed the torch to his assistant, Charlie Migl (B.A. ’78), now St. Mary’s most winning coach with more than 550 wins.

Basketball Makes its Appearance

The St. Mary’s University basketball program also has enjoyed success over many years. In 1926, the school’s first intercollegiate basketball team posted a 12–7 record. In the late 1930s and early ’40s, the Rattlers, with their big man Ken “Arky” Croswell (B.A. ’42), dominated the short-lived Alamo Conference.

Since 1951, men’s teams have captured 26 Big State and Heart of Texas conference championships and made 16 NAIA National Tournament appearances. After entering NCAA Division II competition, the Rattlers won the Heartland Conference co-championship and advanced to the regional tournament in 2001, the team’s first year of post-season competition eligibility.

Like baseball, success has been achieved by two long-time coaches: Ed Messbarger who coached from 1963 to 1978; and Herman A. "Buddy" Meyer Jr. (B.A. ’65), Messbarger’s assistant, who assumed the head coaching job in 1978. The highlight occurred in 1989 when Meyer’s Rattlers won the NAIA National Championship. Coincidentally, in 1964 Meyer played on the first Rattler team to advance to the NAIA national tournament.

In the late 1950s, then-basketball coach Jim Heiser recruited the first two African-American athletes at St. Mary’s. The presence of Maurice Harris (B.A. ’85) and Winston Miles (B.A. ’62) broke the color barrier in the Big State Conference and opened the door to future roundball standouts, among them All-Americans Kenneth Sampson (BA. ’65), Doug Williams (B.B.A. ’70) and Ricky Hooker (B.B.A. ’83).

Women’s Programs Introduced

Women’s intercollegiate athletics, begun in 1968, also have enjoyed many triumphs. The softball team has led the way, winning several conference titles, appearing in 12 NAIA national tournaments and two NCAA Division II national tournaments and winning the 2002 Division-II National Championship.

In 1986, coached by St. Mary’s alumnus Jim Zeleznak (B.A. ’79), the women won St. Mary’s first national title by capturing the NAIA National Softball Championship. That tournament’s MVP, Leticia Morales-Bissaro (B.A. ’86), was the first woman inducted into the St. Mary’s Athletics Hall of Fame and, in 2000, entered the NAIA Hall of Fame. Donna Eckert Fields (B.A. '87) was a member of the 1986 NAIA championship team and head coach of the 2002 NCAA D-II champions.

Through basketball, the first women’s intercollegiate sport introduced at the University, St. Mary’s has garnered six conference championships, appeared in three consecutive NAIA national tournaments, and competed in the 2002 NCAA D-II national tournament, playing in the South Central Regional championship game.

Volleyball, too, has developed into a winning program for St. Mary’s, with four conference championships and three NAIA national tournament appearances.

Women’s and men’s soccer, golf and tennis teams have grown in popularity and stature, paving the way for several conference championships and a number of national tournament appearances. Women's cross country made its varsity debut in 2002. As early as 1938, the golf and tennis teams won conference championships, and records indicate St. Mary’s athletes also have competed in boxing and track and field.

Conference Affiliations

During its long intercollegiate athletics history, St. Mary’s has belonged to several conferences. In 1935, the Rattlers played in the Alamo Conference along with Sul Ross and Texas A&I. That year six Rattler football players were named to the All-Conference team. Although never accepted, St. Mary’s was considered for admission to the Southwest Conference in 1937.

In 1948, St. Mary’s, Southwestern, Daniel Baker, St. Edward’s, Texas Lutheran and East Texas Baptist formed the Pioneer Conference, a basketball-only league. In 1951, these teams and Texas Wesleyan formed the Big State Conference. When it disbanded in 1987, the Heart of Texas Conference was formed. At its peak, there were nine schools in the conference.

The Heart of Texas came to an end in 1999 when St. Mary’s and others became members of NCAA Division II. For one year, the Rattlers played only independent schedules and in 2000 joined the NCAA Division II Heartland Conference, which has expanded to include eight teams from Texas, Oklahoma and Missouri.

In 2019, St. Mary's and several other members of the disbanded Heartland Conference joined the Lone Star Conference to create an 18-team super league that spans Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas.