Arthur Schabinger era (1923–1935) Arthur Schabinger took over the program after Kearney's graduation. He guided the team into its first conference, the
North Central Conference, in 1923. His teams would win 4 titles in the league. In 1928, Shabinger would again guide Creighton to another conference, the
Missouri Valley Conference. Creighton's winningest men's basketball coach for 75 years, Arthur A. Schabinger helped build the Creighton basketball program. Schabinger posted a 165–66 record as coach of the Bluejays from 1922 to 1935. Eleven of his 13 teams finished first or second in the league, including eight teams that won or tied for the title.
Eddie Hickey era (1936–1947) Eddie Hickey took over the program for the 1935–36 season. Hickey was reared in small-town Nebraska and graduated from
Creighton University School of Law in 1926. Sawed-off at 5'5", Edward 'The Little Giant' Hickey was a dynamic chunky man who had quarterbacked Creighton university football in the Roaring 20's. He was enamored more by the game he could teach if not, obviously lacking size, play well. He was the head coach of both the football and basketball teams at
Creighton Prep for eight years before moving to Creighton University. Hickey was a master of the
fast break and winning. He immediately led the Bluejays to the Missouri Valley title in his first season. Their fast break – 'controlled fast break' Eddie would emphasize sarcastically – featured an explosive movement that required the ball not to hit the floor. 'The Little Giant' would take Creighton to new heights by the early 1940s, with
1943 Consensus First Team All American Ed Beisser in the middle and his high powered offense. Hickey would lead the Jays to their first
NCAA tournament and two
National Invitation Tournaments, including a Final Four (Third-place game winner) in
1942, (when the NIT was bigger than the NCAA tournament). With his flair for 'run-sheep-run' basketball, Hickey and his teams were a good show in the
Big Apple. World War II would briefly suspend Creighton's basketball program and Hickey would return to coach for one year after the war before moving on to
St. Louis. His 126–71 record and four conference titles in nine seasons at Creighton was followed by success in
St. Louis and later
Marquette. Edgar Hickey would go down as a
hall of fame coach with a 36-year college career of 570–268.
Post-war era (1948–1959) The post-war era was full of change and mediocrity for the Jays. Future athletic director Julius 'Duce' Belford coached the Jays immediately after the war. Creighton would leave the
Missouri Valley Conference and switch from Division I to Division III during this era. The Jays would not find success at this new level. Belford finished with a 56–83 record over six seasons. His successors would not fare better. Sebastian 'Subby' Salerno took the
reins in 1952 and left three years later. Salerno finished with a 30–45 record. Theron Thomsen replaced Salerno and found some success. After eight losing seasons, Thomsen's 1956–57 Bluejays would post a 15–6 mark. However, the Jays would slide back toward mediocrity finishing 10–12 and 13–9 in the following two seasons. In 1959, Athletic Director Duce Belford made it a priority to bring back the once proud Creighton basketball program.
John 'Red' McManus era (1960–1969) John J. 'Red' McManus came to Creighton after a successful career of eight seasons at St. Ambrose Academy and a year as head freshman and assistant varsity coach at
Iowa. The 1959–60 Bluejays were a far cry from the previous year's team. Whereas the team had previously utilized a slow methodical type of basketball, McManus brought a fast break offense and a box zone defense. Utilizing sharp recruiting and tough coaching, Red quickly had the Bluejays back on the road to becoming a national power. The
1961–62 Creighton Bluejays men's basketball team finished 21–5 and reached the
Sweet Sixteen of the
1962 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, going on to win the third spot in the NCAA Regional.
Paul Silas was the nation's top rebounder. McManus would continue to coach at Creighton until 1969. He would go down as the third-winningest coach in school history, leaving with a 138–118 mark. Red McManus was a colorful character, with a mean streak who was always a respected gentleman off the court. He rebuilt the Jays' schedules into coast-to-coast clashes with the nation's top basketball powers. His teams got NCAA post-season tourney bids in 1962 and 1964, and his players included professionals
Paul Silas,
Neil Johnson,
Elton McGriff,
Bob Portman and
Wally Anderzunas. McManus resigned after building a schedule of national prominence-the job he was hired to do.
Eddie Sutton era (1970–1974) One of college basketball's legendary coaches,
Eddie Sutton got his first Division I head coaching job at Creighton. Sutton left
College of Southern Idaho in 1969 to coach at Creighton. It was with the Bluejays that he made his first coaching appearance in the NCAA tournament in
1974. With a patient passing offense, he led the Bluejays to an 82–50 mark between 1969 and 1974. Sutton's career coincided with the apex of the
Travelin’ Jays Era. Red McManus coined the phrase "border to border and coast to coast" in 1959 when he began the Travelin’ Jays era, but it was under Eddie Sutton that the philosophy really bore fruit and gained the Jays national recognition. During his last three years at Creighton, the Bluejays played in 36 cities and 20 states, logged more than 65,000 miles in the air, made a South American jaunt (entertaining the Chile national team at home in exchange), and visited Hawaii. Sutton was a Tulsa native, and in 1974 a bidding war commenced between
Oral Roberts,
Duke, and
Arkansas for Sutton's services. Arkansas won the battle, announcing Sutton as their new head coach on March 27, 1974. Over a 37 year coaching career, Sutton compiled an 804–328 record, putting him eighth on the all-time Division I wins list. He became the first coach to lead four schools to the NCAA Tournament, taking Creighton,
Arkansas,
Kentucky, and
Oklahoma State.
Tom Apke era (1975–1981) Assistant coach
Tom Apke took over for the departing Sutton. Apke planned to run the same defensive schemes Sutton had: namely, a fierce man-to-man base defense, with a 2–3 zone as a change-up. The offense was where major changes were made. Apke looked to run a fast break at every opportunity, taking advantage of every shot opportunity. The news media was pessimistic as Apke entered his first season. Prognostications grew even worse after Mike Heck, Creighton's first 7 footer and a rising star, suddenly died because of an enlarged heart after the first game of the season. The 1974–75 Creighton Bluejays rallied after Heck's death and ended up reaching the
1975 NCAA tournament finishing with a 20–7 record. He is the only coach in school history to have led Creighton to the NCAA Tournament in his first season with the team (1974–75). A team captain on Creighton's 1964–65 team, Apke went on to coach the Jays to a 130–64 record from 1974 to 1981. Coming off Tom Apke's impressive 21–9 season featuring an NCAA appearance, Reed's inaugural 7–20 mark added fuel to the fire. Reed proved himself as a recruiter that off-season. Considered by many scouts to be the top prospect in the country,
Benoit Benjamin was sought by 350 colleges. Benjamin came from a single-mother home and looked for a father figure, preferably a college coach who had played center. Fortunately for Creighton, coach Willis Reed was a former seven-time
NBA All-Star center with the Knicks and a member of the
Hall of Fame. Benjamin's signing gave Reed instant credibility as a recruiter. Despite the landmark signing, the Jays would again struggle in 1982–83 finishing with an 8–19 record. Coach Reed worked with Benjamin over the off-season. Benoit came back as a sophomore in 1983–84 and dominated college basketball. The Bluejays would reach the NIT that year finishing 17–14. The 1984–85 season team would win 20 games. As a junior during the 1984–85 season, Benoit Benjamin led all of NCAA Division I in blocked shots and was the nation's second-leading rebounder. Benoit Benjamin would leave for the
NBA following the season. A two-time AP All-America center for the Bluejays, Benoit Benjamin would begin a 15-year NBA career in 1985 as the third overall draft pick in the first round by the
Los Angeles Clippers. He would go down as the all-time leader for blocked shots in Missouri Valley Conference history with 411 rejections. Coach Reed had proven himself as a coach, recruiting a top prospect and developing him into one of the nation's best.
Tony Barone era (1985–1991) Inheriting Reed's team was fiery
Tony Barone. His 1985–86 team posted a 12–16 record, finishing tied for fifth in the
Valley. Coach Barone's second team would fare even worse finishing 9–19. During the off-season, Creighton would bring in a talented class of freshman including
Bob Harstad and
Chad Gallagher. The pair would go down in Creighton lore as the
Dynamic Duo. The 1987–88 squad would exhibit markedly improved play, finishing 16–16 after playing a schedule featuring some of the top teams in the country. The
1988–89 team would be Tony Barone's breakthrough team. Creighton surprised everyone outside Omaha and claimed its first regular season MVC championship in 11 years. The Bluejays would cap the season by winning the MVC conference tournament in epic fashion. The conference championship saw Harstad lead the Jays over
Southern Illinois 79–77. The game was punctuated by a James Farr game winner with 2 seconds remaining. Creighton clinched an automatic berth to the
1989 NCAA tournament with the win. Creighton followed up their NCAA Tournament berth in 1988–89 by winning more games overall than the year before, going 21–12 in 1989–90. The consensus favorite to repeat as MVC champions, they got off to a good start, as they scored wins over Iowa State and Notre Dame before going on the road and taking #5 Missouri to the wire. They would finish tied for second in the conference and bow out of the conference tournament semifinals. Juniors
Bob Harstad and
Chad Gallagher would have break out seasons. Harstad would win the 1990
Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year Award. Gallagher would finish as runner-up. Following the 1990–91 season, coach Tony Barone accepted the head coaching job at
Texas A&M.
Rick Johnson era (1991–1994) Assistant coach Rick Johnson was promoted to head coach following Tony Barone's departure. Johnson's tenure at Creighton was a struggle. His teams finished with progressively worse records. He left after the 1993–94 season in which the team posted a 7–22 mark. Johnson finished with a 24–59 record over three seasons at Creighton.
Ryan Sears & Ben Walker era The 1999–2000 would repeat as MVC conference tournament champions, earning a berth in the
2000 NCAA tournament. Led by Juniors Ryan Sears and Ben Walker and MVC Newcomer of the Year
Kyle Korver, the Jays would finish with a 23–10 record. The 2000–01 team improved to 24–8 and won the first Missouri Valley Conference regular season title in 9 seasons. Senior guards Ryan Sears and Ben Walker finished their careers with another trip to the
NCAA tournament. Creighton's field marshal, Sears started every game of his 4-year career and finished each of his four seasons with more steals than turnovers. Walker, Creighton's go-to player during late-game situations, finished with 1,238 points and 677 rebounds.
Kyle Korver era The 2001–02 team was replacing both Ben Walker and Ryan Sears and defending a regular season MVC crown, yet behind
Kyle Korver's brilliance, they shared the league title and won the MVC Tournament while having a nearly identical record as the year before at 23–9. Korver's deadly 3-point shooting forced many teams to employ a
box and one defense against the Creighton star. Despite the added attention, Korver scored 20 or more points 10 times. The Creighton-
Southern Illinois Rivalry reached its peak during the early 2000s. Korver scored a combined 49 points in two regular season losses before leading the Jays to victory over the Salukis 84–76 in the conference championship game. Kyle Korver was named the 2002 MVC Player of the Year. In the 2002 NCAA Tournament, the Jays vanquished Florida in the first round. Korver fouled out late in the second overtime and saved the late game heroics for Terrell Taylor, who drained a buzzer-beating three-pointer. The Bluejay bandwagon was growing and the Jays consistently sold out the 9,377 capacity
Civic. Expectations were at a record high entering the 2002–03 season. Creighton would live up to most of them, setting a school record for wins. The team went 29–5 and was ranked in the top 25 most of the season. Kyle Korver would be chosen by ESPN's
Dick Vitale as the 2002–03 Midseason National Player of the Year. The 2005–06 Creighton men's basketball team entered the season with high hopes that were cut short when star guard Nate Funk went down with injury in a game at
DePaul. Funk would try to make a comeback but wasn't the player he had been. He would request and receive a medical
redshirt. Without Funk, the Bluejays still managed a 20–10 record reaching the second round of the
2006 NIT. Only one day later he had a change of heart and returned to Omaha and his team at Creighton, citing family reasons. Altman never again reached the NCAA Tournament at Creighton even though his teams would continue to post 20 win seasons. The 2007–08 team finished the season 22–11, but would lose in the quarterfinals of the
MVC tournament. The Bluejays received an invitation to the
NIT where they defeated Rhode Island before losing to Florida. The 2009 Bluejays shared the MVC regular season title and was led by
Booker Woodfox. Despite the Bluejays gaudy 26–7 record, a loss to Illinois State in the semifinals of the MVC Tournament led to another trip to the
NIT where they would lose in the second round to
Kentucky. The
2009–10 team would be Altman's last, finishing 18–16. Dana Altman accepted the head coaching position at
Oregon shortly after the season ended. Creighton's second winningest coach with 327 wins, Dana Altman was the only coach in MVC history to lead his school to seven straight years of improved records. Altman won three MVC regular-season titles, six MVC Tournament crowns, and led his troops to 13 consecutive postseason bids. The
2010–11 Jays finished 23–16 and reached the finals of the
College Basketball Invitational to face their former head coach's new team,
Oregon. The Ducks would win the best-of-three series two games to one. The
following year, the Jays featured senior point guard Antoine Young and
Rutgers transfer Gregory Echenique in the post. Coach McDermott's son,
Doug McDermott, emerged as a star player, being named a consensus first-team All-American and MVC Player of the Year in both 2012 and 2013. In 2012, Creighton finished second in the Valley during the regular season and won the
MVC Conference tournament. Finishing the season 29–6, they advanced to the second round of the
NCAA tournament by beating
Alabama before falling to
North Carolina. In 2013,
Creighton won both the MVC regular-season and
Tournament titles, ending the season 28–7. They defeated
Cincinnati in the first round before losing to No. 2-seeded
Duke in the second round. Shortly after the end of the 2013 season, Creighton was one of three schools invited to join the
Big East Conference by the "Catholic 7", the group of schools that
split from the
original Big East to form a non-football version of the league. In their first season in the Big East,
Creighton finished as runner-up in both the regular season (to
Villanova) and
Tournament (to
Providence). Doug McDermott was named Big East Player of the Year, was again named a consensus first-team All-American, and was the consensus national player of the year. Also, McDermott became only the eighth player in Division I men's basketball history to score 3,000 career points, finishing fifth on the all-time scoring list. The Jays received a No. 3 seed in the
NCAA tournament, their highest seeding ever. They beat
Louisiana-Lafayette in the second round, but lost to No. 6-seeded
Baylor in the Third Round. With the departure of Doug McDermott to the
NBA, the
2015 Bluejays struggled to a 14–19 record, their worst finish since 1995. In 2016, the
Bluejays improved to 20–15, finishing in sixth place in the
Big East and receiving an invite to the
NIT. They advanced to the NIT quarterfinals before losing to
BYU. The
2017 Bluejays returned to a conference power, beginning the season 13–0. Led by senior point guard Maurice Watson Jr, the Bluejays moved to 18–1 (their only loss to No. 1
Villanova) before Watson tore his ACL and was lost for the remainder of the season. Shortly after he was injured, Watson was arrested for sexual assault and was suspended from the team. With the loss of Watson, the Bluejays lost seven of their remaining 12 games to finish the regular season at 23–8 and in a tie for third place in the
Big East. They were able to rebound in the
Big East tournament, advancing to the championship game before losing to Villanova. They received an at-large bid to the
NCAA tournament as a No. 6 seed and lost to
Rhode Island in the first round. In June 2017, Coach McDermott received interest from the
Ohio State University to fill its head coaching vacancy. However, he turned down the offer choosing to remain at Creighton. On March 22, 2022, McDermott received a "multi-year" contract extension. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. The Bluejays finished the
2022–23 season with a 24–12 record. They advanced to the Elite Eight for the second time in school history, and first time since 1941. On March 8, 2024, McDermott received another contract extension to keep him at Creighton through the 2027–2028 season; his previous contract was due to expire after the end of the 2025–2026 season. The new contract also makes McDermott one of the highest-paid coaches in the Big East. On November 13, 2024, McDermott became Creighton's all-time winningest coach. ==Facilities==