1955-1956 - University of San Francisco Dons basketball team is led by Bill Russell and KC Jones

The University of San Francisco Dons has one of college basketball’s historic basketball programs. After winning the NIT championship in 1949, the peak of the Dons’ success came in the mid-1950s. Led by Bill Russell and KC Jones, the Dons won back-to-back NCAA Championships in 1955 and 1956 and made it to the Final Four in 1957. The school remained a basketball powerhouse in the 1960s and 1970s, regularly appearing in the NCAA Tournament. NCAA violations in the 1970s and early 1980s, led to probations and the eventual suspension of the program. Though the program has been reinstated, it has never come close to duplicating the success of its golden era of yesteryear.