La Salle Explorers is the name of the athletic teams from La Salle University, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The school's 22 varsity sports teams compete in the NCAA's Division I and are a member of the Atlantic Ten Conference. The men's and women's basketball teams are also part of the Philadelphia Big 5. The Explorers nickname derives from a famous mistake made by a local Philadelphia sportswriter. The writer thought the university was named after the French explorer Sieur de La Salle, when in fact it is named after St. Jean-Baptiste de la Salle. The nickname caught on, however, and has remained ever since. read more