When the end of the year inched closer and closer, the Post began a lengthy search -- a search for the 10 greatest sporting events in the school's history began.

Since the school was re-christened the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1956, there have been thousands of games covering everything from basketball to football to shooting.

The sheer amount of contests is staggering, and they're being added to with every passing year.

As the list of great sporting events grew, the Post came to the conclusion that since the grand majority of them occurred after the program moved to Division I in all sports in 1990, the list should reflect it.

As far as the Post knows, no publication has attempted to compile such a list before. After hours of deliberation, the Post compiled a list of the 10 greatest games in our school's D-I sports history:

1. Men's basketball defeats Boston College -- March 19, 2005. The Panthers, fresh off their first NCAA Tournament victory over Alabama, used Bruce Pearl's patented full-court press to knock off the Eagles, 83-75. Boston College scored the first 11 points of the game before Milwaukee got on the board. It was the first time in school history that the Panthers advanced to the Sweet Sixteen, and it has yet to be matched.
2. Baseball defeats Rice -- May 28, 1999. UW-Milwaukee, playing in its first ever NCAA Tournament, took down the Owls. Chad Sadowski walked four hitters and struck out six while only giving up four runs, two of which were earned. After spotting Rice to an early 4-0 lead, Sadowski shut them down for the rest of the contest, won by UWM, 8-4.
3. Men's soccer defeats Marquette -- Sept. 13, 2006. This game was full to the brim with storylines, but most importantly, it was a great game. A record 3,256 fans showed up for the first ever night game at Engelmann Field. Falling into a 2-0 hole early in the second half, the Panthers scored three unanswered goals, winning 3-2. New coach Jon Coleman defeated his mentor, Louis Bennett, for the first time since Bennett left for Marquette in the off season.
4. Men's basketball defeats Detroit -- March 8, 2005. With just 4.2 seconds left, forward Adrian Tigert sank one free throw to put the Panthers ahead in the Horizon League Championship, 59-58. A mad dash by Brandon Cotton to break the hearts of the Panther faithful clanked off the rim. Following the miss, another mad dash broke out, as countless UWM students filled the court in celebration. The attendance record was also broken, as 10,783 fanatics watched Milwaukee qualify for their second NCAA Tournament in school history.
5. Women's basketball defeats UW-Green Bay -- March 10, 2001. No basketball team at UWM had ever been to the NCAA Tournament before, and this Panther squad did it against one of the biggest dynasties in conference history: Kevin Borseth's women's basketball team at UW-Green Bay. Jessica Wilhite scored a tournament record 36 points, and the ninth-straight victory broke a Division I school record. UW-Milwaukee won the MCC tournament, 77-62.
6. Women's soccer defeats Purdue -- Nov. 11, 2005. Michael Moynihan had been to the NCAA Tournament in 1997, 2001 and 2002, but never took the team past the first round. Meanwhile, the men“s soccer team was gearing up for an NCAA tourney that would bring their fourth-straight second round appearance. Following 110 minutes of scoreless soccer, Erin Kane made a spectacular diving score in the seventh round of penalty kicks, and the Panthers won in a shootout, 6-5.
7. Men's basketball defeats Wisconsin -- Dec. 13, 1992. No Panther team had ever defeated the mighty Badgers, and no Panther team has done it since. As the majority of the state bleeds red and white, the victory was twice as sweet, as 10,639 fans entered the Field House in Madison to see history. Rashard Griffith and Michael Finley, both 1995 NBA draft picks, could not stave off the Panther offensive.
8. Men's basketball defeats Alabama -- March 17, 2005. Just two years after the Panthers' hearts were broken by Notre Dame, they walked into the NCAA tournament knowing anything less than a victory would be unacceptable. Ed McCants and Joah Tucker delivered, each scoring 21 during a victory that was rarely in doubt.
9. Men's soccer defeats Oakland -- Nov. 23, 2002. Four previous trips to the postseason ended without success, but Louis Bennett's team wouldn't have the same happen in 2002. With the game tied at one goal apiece, freshman Kyle Zenoni, who had only two goals on the season before the match, scored the game-winner at 60:37. The announced attendance at Engelmann Field for their first NCAA Tournament victory was 1,864.
10. Men's basketball defeats UW-Green Bay -- Jan. 13, 1993. In the school's last season as an independent and one month to the day following the Wisconsin victory, the Panthers hosted the NCAA Tournament-bound Phoenix at the MECCA. Dick Bennett, who would later take Wisconsin to the Final Four, suffered his first loss to the black and gold, led by Steve Antrim.

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