The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has been called home by some of the country’s elite athletes from across various sports.
The league is currently composed of 10 schools — Arellano University, Colegio de San Juan de Letran, De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, Emilio Aguinaldo College, Jose Rizal University, Lyceum of the Philippines University, Mapua University, San Beda University, San Sebastian College-Recoletos, and University of Perpetual Help System DALTA — with many of its best cagers becoming today's stars in the professional ranks.
Names like Calvin Abueva, CJ Perez, and Scottie Thompson lead the way while San Beda’s Robert Bolick and Letran’s Kevin Alas are both part of the Gilas Pilipinas roster for the upcoming Vietnam Southeast Asian Games.
But behind this current landscape is a rich history of excellence and as the league is set to unfold Season 97, let’s take a trip down memory lane to give honor to the country’s oldest collegiate fixture.
The beginnings
Founded in 1924 by Dr. Regino R. Ylanan, the then-head of the Physical Education Department of the University of the Philippines, the NCAA first saw a different crop of member schools.
The league’s original members were University of the Philippines, University of Santo Tomas, Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle University, National University, University of Manila, San Beda College, and Institute of Account (now known as the Far Eastern University).
Several of these schools left in the early years of the league, though, leaving behind six schools with Ateneo, La Salle, Colegio de San Juan de Letran, Jose Rizal College, Mapua Institute College, and San Beda College settling down as they association continued to run from 1936.
These years saw a storied rivalry formed between Ateneo and San Beda with the former copping seven titles from 1936 to 1968 while the latter claimed six, including back-to-back titles in 1951 and 1952.
The legendary Caloy Loyzaga was the anchor of San Beda’s dominance in the Golden 50s while also helping the national team win four straight Asian Games gold medals from 1951 to 1962 and a bronze medal at the 1954 World Championships.
JRU also saw success during this period, taking home four titles while Letran won three of their own.
Expansions and Final Four era
The league witnessed more changes after Ateneo left in 1978 and La Salle in 1980 while San Beda also temporarily left the league in 1983 as it opted to focus on school’s intramurals, leaving the NCAA with only four members as San Sebastian College-Recoletos had joined in 1969.
Perpetual Help College of Rizal (now University of Perpetual Help System DALTA) got its NCAA membership in 1984 while Trinity College of Quezon City was awarded full membership though it was dropped a year later.
San Beda returned the very same year, and the number of schools hiked up to eight as Philippine Christian College and De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde joined in the late 1990s. PCU, however, left in 2009.
In 2009, Emilio Aguinaldo College, Arellano University, and Angeles University Foundation were invited as guest teams followed by another guest school, the Lyceum of the Philippines University, in 2011.
Arellano became a regular member in 2013 while EAC and Lyceum received their full membership status starting in 2015, completing the 10-school league which is set to open its 97th season in a few days.
Through the years, the league has seen some great individual talent come through its ranks to become all-time greats, from the likes of Atoy Co and Philip Cezar to Samboy Lim, Vergel Meneses, and Alvin Patrimonio.
Streaks and championships
Sports fans do love to see winning moments. But in the NCAA, it wasn’t just about winning, it’s about building dynasties.
And when you talk about dynastic feats, plenty come to mind.
In the 90s, the San Sebastian Stags put together one of the most memorable runs, dominating NCAA hoops from 1993 all the way to 1997 behind stars such as Rodney Santos and Rommel Adducul. The Stags also won two more titles not long after in 2001 and 2002.
In recent history, it has been the San Beda Red Lions that has been the major force in the league. They have made it to the finals for the last 14 seasons, winning in all but three of them. San Beda won three in a row from 2006 to 2008, five straight from 2010 to 2014, and three more in succession from 2016 to 2018.
Two of those streaks were spoiled by their rival and kryptonite, the Letran Knights, who kept them from winning a sixth straight title in 2015 and again took the crown back to Intramuros in 2019.
Turning to volleyball, the Arellano Lady Chiefs have been unstoppable for the past five years, winning their maiden women’s title in 2014.
Arellano, under the tutelage of head coach Obet Javier, returned to the top after ruling the tournament from 2016 to 2018. They were on their way to winning their fourth straight title in 2019 but the pandemic happened, forcing the league to a halt.
Like its basketball counterpart, San Sebastian’s volleyball program was also notable in years past.
With the help of legendary coach Roger Gorayeb, the Lady Stags bagged a total of 22 titles, the most in the league, including a record 10-straight championships from 1986 to 1996.
Through the years, Mapua University has been the most successful program across all sports events after collecting 29 general championship feats followed by San Beda’s 22 while Letran is in third place with 17.
The NCAA, 96 seasons later, is going as strong as ever, mounting face-to-face competitions for the first time in nearly three years amidst the ongoing pandemic.
—JMB, GMA News
