The
Universidad de Guadalajara football club, nicknamed
Leones Negros (Black Lions) started in the
Tercera División de México, where they played for two seasons after which they gained promotion to
Segunda División de México. They reached the top division by acquiring the
Primera División's franchise of
Torreón,
Coahuila (
Club Torreón) and moving it to
Guadalajara,
Jalisco after the 1973-1974 season and renaming it
Club Deportivo Leones Negros de la Universidad de Guadalajara. During their first years in the
Primera División de México they had several skilled
Brazilian players, reason for which noted sports broadcaster Ángel Fernández started to call them "Leones Negros" (the Black Lions), a nickname that stuck and remains part of the folklore of Mexican football. In the 1975–76, 1976–77 and 1989–90 seasons, the team achieved the runners-up in the Primera División. In addition, in 1978 the club won the
CONCACAF Champions' Cup together with the clubs
Comunicaciones F.C. from
Guatemala and
Defence Force F.C. from
Trinidad and Tobago.
Disappearance of los Leones Negros de la UdeG After 20 years in top flight football the team was in decline, alleged questionable financial dealings, a very poor squad and hardly any local fans (who are loyal to more popular teams like
Guadalajara, better known as "Chivas" and to a lesser extent,
Atlas) Leones Negros were acquired by the
FMF, to make way for the reduction in the number of teams in the
Primera División. Their last game was on May 27, 1994 against Atlas, in which they lost 2–1.
New Era After the disappearance of the team by the Federación Mexicana de Fútbol, the franchise maintained the third division reserve squad, that become the main team, the club obtained a title in the verano 1997 tournament, gaining promotion to the
Primera División 'A' de México where they stayed until the franchise was sold and moved to
Orizaba,
Veracruz in 2002. During this time the franchise was named
Atlético Bachilleres, name it had since the 1970s when the reserve team was established. Between 2002 and 2009 the team played as
Cachorros UdeG in te
Segunda División de México in the Norte region and a few seasons back was close to gaining promotion to the
Primera División 'A' de México, first losing the final against,
Académicos and then losing to
Chivas La Piedad. For the Apertura 2007 season they changed stadium to
Estadio Municipal Santa Rosa in
Ciudad Guzmán,
Jalisco, but have stated that some of their home games will still played at their traditional home in twice worldcup host
Estadio Jalisco. In 2009, Cachorros UdeG became the reserve team of the club, a situation that remained until 2014, when it became
Leones Negros UdeG Premier.
Return to the Primera División A For some time businessmen, among them Jorge Vergara, tried to return the team of Club Universidad de Guadalajara to the top divisions of football in Mexico, this was achieved through the purchase of the franchise of the
Primera División 'A''s
C.D. Tapatío for $800,000 USD from
Guadalajara of which
C.D. Tapatío was a subsidiary. On May 21, 2009 it was confirmed that team Club Universidad de Guadalajara entered the
Primera División 'A' de México instead of
C.D. Tapatío, which disappeared completely.
Apertura 2013 Champions and promotion to Liga MX In the Apertura 2013 tournament, Leones Negros finished 5th and entered the Liguilla, where they reached the final and ended as Champions beating
Necaxa 2–1, earning the right to compete in the Final de Ascenso and the possibility to be promoted to the 2014–15 Liga MX. After a hard Clausura 2014 tournament, Leones Negros ended in 4th place, but lost in the quarterfinals against Oaxaca. However, as Apertura 2013 champions, they played the Final de Ascenso against
Estudiantes Tecos, who were the Clausura 2014 Champions. After two very disputed games, both of them ended in a tie, the Promotion was defined in a penalty shoot-out, in which goalkeeper
Humberto "Gansito" Hernández scored the final and decisive penalty, giving the Leones Negros the promotion and the right to play in the 2014–15 Liga MX season. Club Universidad de Guadalajara was officially relegated after only one season in the Mexican top flight on May 9, 2015. Despite winning the match against
Cruz Azul 2–0, relegation rivals
Puebla managed to obtain a 2–2 tie, thus giving them more percentage in the relegation table. As a result, UdeG returned to Ascenso MX. In the
Clausura 2018 tournament the team was close to returning to Liga MX, however, in the final of the championship the team was defeated by
Cafetaleros de Tapachula. In June 2020, UdeG became a member of the
Liga de Expansión MX when it replaced Ascenso MX. ==Honours==