Creighton will make its 24th all-time NCAA Tournament appearance when the Bluejays tip off their March Madness run against N.C. State on Friday.
Though the Bluejays don't have the most storied history in this tournament, coach Greg McDermott has turned the program into a semi-regular on the March Madness stage in recent years: They have made the NCAA Tournament eight times since 2012, winning at least one game five times and advancing to the Sweet 16 in 2021.
Creighton certainly isn't an unknown on this stage — not like teams such as Oral Roberts or Saint Peter's. They have a respectable recent history in the tournament, and compete out of the Big East as well. And yet there may still be some questions regarding the Midwest team.
TSN's MARCH MADNESS HQ
Live NCAA bracket | TV schedule | Predictor tool
The Sporting News has everything you need to know about the Bluejays, including where the university is located and how it got its name, nickname and NCAA Tournament history:
Where is Creighton located?
Creighton is a private Jesuit university — one of just 28 in the United States — with its main 118-acre urban campus in Omaha, Neb., and another campus in Phoenix. It has a listed enrollment of 4,400 undergraduate students and 4,300 grad students.
How did Creighton get its name?
Omaha businessman Edward Creighton, born in Ohio in 1820, is the namesake of Creighton University. The university notes he was a successful businessman with various interests that ranged from ranching and banking to freight operations. He died in 1874, four years prior to the university's founding in 1878.
It was his widow, Mary Lucretia Creighton, who ultimately laid the foundation for Creighton University. She died in 1876, two years after her husband; in her will, she provided $100,000 as a memorial to her late husband “to purchase the site for a school in the city of Omaha and erect buildings thereon for a school of the class and grade of a college.”
Bishop James O’Connor started the school as per Mary Creighton's will, and enlisted the Society of Jesus to operate the university. The school officially opened in 1878 when five Jesuits and two lay teachers began teaching 120 students.
MORE: What's next for Rick Pitino? Iona coach linked to St. John's job during March Madness run
Why is Creighton called the Bluejays?
Creighton claims it received its Bluejay nickname as a result of a naming contest by the defunct Omaha Bee newspaper, which ran the contest to pick Creighton's nickname in 1924. The university notes it had used a "realistic bluejay" as the university's mascot until the introduction of Billy Bluejay in 1941.
Creighton NCAA Tournament history
Creighton has made the NCAA Tournament 24 times as of the 2023 contest, never advancing past the Elite Eight, a stage which it reached in its first-ever berth in the tournament.
MORE: Are there any perfect brackets left in 2023?
Below is a rundown of Creighton's NCAA Tournament history, including the team's final finish:
| Tournament | Finish |
|---|---|
| 1941 | Elite Eight loss |
| 1962 | Midwest Region third place win |
| 1964 | Midwest Region third place loss |
| 1974 | Midwest Region third place win |
| 1975 | Midwest Region quarterfinal loss |
| 1978 | Midwest Region quarterfinal loss |
| 1981 | First-round loss |
| 1989 | First-round loss |
| 1991 | Sweet 16 loss |
| 1999 | Second-round loss |
| 2000 | First-round loss |
| 2001 | First-round loss |
| 2002 | Second-round loss |
| 2003 | First-round loss |
| 2005 | First-round loss |
| 2007 | First-round loss |
| 2012 | Second-round loss |
| 2013 | Second-round loss |
| 2014 | Second-round loss |
| 2017 | First-round loss |
| 2018 | First-round loss |
| 2021 | Sweet 16 loss |
| 2022 | Second-round loss |
| 2023 | TBD |