The club Estudiantes was founded in April 1948 by a group of students (the "Estudiantes") of a public preparatory school (the Instituto
Ramiro de Maeztu, IRM) in
Madrid to form a team to practice sport during the school recesses. Mr. Antonio Magariños, Professor of Latin and head of studies of the high school, was the first president of the club. It held the position until 1964. From 1949 it has played in the maximum category of the Spanish basketball. By the time when the first Spanish-wide season-long championship was organized in 1955, by the Spanish Basketball Association (FEB), it was one of the six clubs participating in that tournament, as the second best team from the Province of Madrid (the first being
Real Madrid). Until 2021, it had always participated in the premier
Spanish basketball league along with
Real Madrid and
Joventut. It was also one of two only Spanish basketball clubs with teams both at the top male and female Spanish championships. is the player with the most appearances in the club's history, and product of youth academy. In May 1963, Estudiantes won their first trophy, the
Spanish Cup, against
Real Madrid. In April 1986, after several decades without sporting success, Estudiantes won their first
Copa Príncipe de Asturias against
Granollers, led by the American forward
David Russell. The 1990s and 2000s would be the golden age of the college club. While competing every year in ACB and European competitions, he achieved success and won trophies. In April 1992, a month after winning his
second Spanish Cup against
CAI Zaragoza, Estudiantes reached the
1992 EuroLeague Final Four in
Istanbul, finishing in 4th place. It was his
Annus mirabilis. In March 1999, the team played his only European final, in the
1998–99 Korać Cup, by defeated by
FC Barcelona. In January 2000, Estu won his
third Spanish Cup against
Valencia, the last one until today. In the
2003–04 ACB season, it reached the Spanish
ACB League finals, where they could not win against
FC Barcelona. In May 2012, after several irregular seasons, marked by a bad economic situation, Estudiantes was relegated for the first time in its history from the top tier of Spanish basketball, but remained in the league because
LEB Oro champion
CB 1939 Canarias didn't present the required documentation and money. In May 2016, again, the team was relegated, but remained in the ACB because champion
Palencia Baloncesto didn't present the required documentation and money. The club's irregular sporting situation could have been resolved with more efficient management, but finally, after several relatively stable years, the team's relegation was completed during the
coronavirus pandemic in May 2021. Since then, Estu remains in
LEB Oro, fighting for promotion back to the ACB and gradually resolving its financial situation. Even so, during this negative period, Estudiantes has managed to expand their trophy collection, winning the
Copa Princesa de Asturias twice more against
Granada (2022) and
Básquet Coruña (2024). In January 2026, Estudiantes added to its list of achievements once again, winning the newly created competition, the
Spain Cup, against
Palencia Baloncesto, the host team of the Final Four. ==Logos==