1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Races, First Union 400
Failed to qualify: 00 - Gary Brooks, 04 - Bill Meacham, 09 - Doug French, 20 - Alan Russell, 31 - Brad Teague, 46 - Glenn Moffat, 67 - Rick Jeffrey, 70 - Jeff McDuffie, 78 - Jay Sommers, 98 - Brad Noffsinger


1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Races, Pannill Sweatshirts 500
The Pannill Sweatshirts 500 was held April 24 at Martinsville Speedway. The No. 26 of Ricky Rudd won the pole.


1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Races, Pannill Sweatshirts 500
Failed to qualify: 2 - Ernie Irvan, 52 - Jimmy Means


1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Races, Winston 500
The Winston 500 was held May 1 at Alabama International Motor Speedway. The No. 28 of Davey Allison won the pole.


1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Races, The Winston
The Winston, an annual invitational race for previous winners in Winston Cup along with the winner of the same day Winston Open, was held May 22 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Terry Labonte won the race.


1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Races, Coca-Cola 600
The Coca-Cola 600 was held May 29 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Davey Allison won the pole.


1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Races, Budweiser 500
The Budweiser 500 was held June 5 at Dover Downs International Speedway. Alan Kulwicki won the pole.


1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Races, Budweiser 400
The final Budweiser 400 was held June 12 at Riverside International Raceway. Ricky Rudd won the pole. It was the last NASCAR race held at Riverside before the track's closure.


1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Races, Miller High Life 500
The Miller High Life 500 was held June 19 at Pocono International Raceway. The No. 7 of Alan Kulwicki won the pole.


1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Races, Miller High Life 400
The Miller High Life 400 was held June 26 at Michigan International Speedway. Bill Elliott won the pole.


1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Races, Pepsi Firecracker 400
The Pepsi Firecracker 400 was held July 2 at Daytona International Speedway. Darrell Waltrip won the pole.


1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Races, AC Spark Plug 500
The AC Spark Plug 500 was held July 24 at Pocono International Raceway. Morgan Shepherd won the pole.


1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Races, Talladega DieHard 500
The Talladega DieHard 500 was held July 31 at Talladega Superspeedway. The No. 17 of Darrell Waltrip won the pole.


1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Races, Budweiser at The Glen
The Budweiser at The Glen was held August 14 at Watkins Glen International. Geoff Bodine won the pole.


1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Races, Champion Spark Plug 400
The Champion Spark Plug 400 was held August 21 at Michigan International Speedway. Bill Elliott won the pole.


1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Races, Busch 500
The Busch 500 was held August 27 at Bristol International Raceway. Alan Kulwicki won the pole.


1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Races, Busch 500
Failed to qualify: 10 - Ken Bouchard, 90 - Benny Parsons


1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Races, Southern 500
The Southern 500 was held September 4 at Darlington Raceway. Bill Elliott won the pole.


1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Races, Miller High Life 400
The Miller High Life 400 was held September 11 at Richmond International Raceway (formerly known as Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway). Davey Allison won the pole. This race was the first one for the Cup Series on the new 3/4-mile Richmond International Raceway.


1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Races, Miller High Life 400
Failed to qualify: 68 - Derrike Cope, 20 - Rayvon Clark, 37 - Randy Morrison, 40 - Ben Hess, 54 - Lennie Pond, 67 - Ron Esau, 70 - J. D. McDuffie, 78 - Jay Sommers, 98 - Brad Noffsinger


1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Races, Delaware 500
The Delaware 500 was held September 18 at Dover International Speedway. The No. 6 of Mark Martin won the pole. It was Roush Racing's 1st pole.


1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Races, Goody's 500
The Goody's 500 was held September 25 at Martinsville Speedway. Rusty Wallace won the pole.


1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Races, Goody's 500
Failed to qualify: 20 - Dave Mader III, 31 - Lee Faulk, 70 - J. D. McDuffie, 97 - Rodney Combs, 98 - Brad Noffsinger


1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Races, Oakwood Homes 500
The Oakwood Homes 500 was held October 9 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The No. 7 of Alan Kulwicki won the pole.


1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Races, Oakwood Homes 500
Failed to qualify: ?? - Gary Brooks, ?? - Slick Johnson, ?? - Johnny Rutherford, ?? - Ronnie Silver, 2 - Ernie Irvan, 19 - Chad Little, 22 - Rodney Combs, 24 - John McFadden, 32 - Philip Duffie, 34 - Connie Saylor, 36 - H. B. Bailey, 40 - Ben Hess, 50 - Charlie Glotzbach, 59 - Mark Gibson, 63 - Jocko Maggiacomo, 64 - Mike Potter, 70 - J. D. McDuffie, 74 - Randy LaJoie, 87 - Randy Baker, 93 - Troy Beebe, 98 - Brad Noffsinger


1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Races, Holly Farms 400
The Holly Farms 400 was held October 16 at North Wilkesboro Speedway. The event was originally scheduled for October 2, but two consecutive days of rain caused it to be rescheduled for October 16. Bill Elliott won the pole.


1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Races, AC Delco 500
The AC Delco 500 was held October 23 at North Carolina Motor Speedway. Bill Elliott won the pole.


1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Races, Checker 500
The inaugural Checker 500 was held November 6 at Phoenix International Raceway. Geoff Bodine won the pole.


1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Races, Atlanta Journal 500
The Atlanta Journal 500 was held November 20 at Atlanta International Raceway. Rusty Wallace won the pole.


1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Races, Atlanta Journal 500
Failed to qualify: ?? - Don Hume, ?? - Bill Meacham, ?? - Alan Russell, ?? - Joe Ruttman, ?? - David Sosebee, 10 - Ken Bouchard, 20 - Dave Mader III, 38 - Mike Laws, 50 - Bobby Coyle, 78 - Jay Sommers, 93 - Charlie Baker


1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, Rookie of the Year
Ken Bouchard defeated Ernie Irvan by 59 points to win the Rookie of the Year title in 1988, driving for Bob Whitcomb. Bouchard raced only eight more times in the Cup series over his career, while Irvan won fifteen races over the next twelve years (his first victory was in 1990). The only other contenders were USAC driver Brad Noffsinger and Jimmy Horton, both of whom ran part-time schedules that season.


1988 NBA All-Star Game
The 38th National Basketball Association All-Star Game was played on February 7, 1988, at Chicago Stadium in Chicago. The East won the game 138-133 and Michael Jordan (who scored a game-high 40 points) was named the NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player (MVP).


1988 NBA All-Star Game, Summary
The Eastern Conference team featured Jordan and Dominique Wilkins, who had faced each other the preceding night in the slam dunk contest, along with Boston Celtics trio Larry Bird, Danny Ainge and Kevin McHale, plus Patrick Ewing of the New York Knicks, Maurice Cheeks and  Charles Barkley of the Philadelphia 76ers, Moses Malone of the Washington Bullets, Isiah Thomas of the Detroit Pistons, Doc Rivers of the Atlanta Hawks, and Brad Daugherty of the Cleveland Cavaliers.


1988 NBA All-Star Game, Summary
The Western Conference team was led by Magic Johnson of the Los Angeles Lakers, Clyde Drexler of the Portland Trail Blazers, the Utah Jazz's power forward Karl Malone and the Houston Rockets' center Akeem Olajuwon. Joining them were James Worthy and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar of the Lakers, Fat Lever and Alex English of the Denver Nuggets, Xavier McDaniel of the Seattle SuperSonics, Alvin Robertson of the San Antonio Spurs and Mark Aguirre and James Donaldson of the Dallas Mavericks. In this game, Abdul-Jabbar would become the all-time leading scorer in NBA All-Star Game history, a distinction he held for 15 years.


1988 NBA All-Star Game, Summary
The Eastern Conference was coached by Mike Fratello of the Atlanta Hawks, and the Western Conference by Pat Riley of the Lakers.


1988 NBA All-Star Game, Summary
The game was telecast by CBS Sports, with Dick Stockton and Billy Cunningham commentating, and Pat O'Brien and Lesley Visser reporting from the sidelines. On radio, ABC Radio broadcast their fourth consecutive All-Star game, with Lakers announcer Chick Hearn working alongside Celtics announcer Johnny Most, and the two trading roles on play-by-play and color analysis. ABC's regular NBA announcer Fred Manfra served as a sideline reporter.


1988 NBA All-Star Game, Rosters
Steve Johnson was unable to play due to injury. James Donaldson was selected as his replacement.


1988 NBA Finals
The 1988 NBA Finals was the championship round of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 1987–88 season, and the culmination of the season's playoffs. The Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Eastern Conference champion Detroit Pistons 4 games to 3.


1988 NBA Finals
One of Los Angeles Lakers head coach Pat Riley's most famous moments came when he promised the crowd a repeat championship during the Lakers' 1987 championship parade in downtown Los Angeles. With every team in the league now gunning for them, the Los Angeles Lakers still found a way to win, taking their seventh consecutive Pacific Division title. While the 1988 Lakers did not produce as many wins in the regular season as the 1987 Lakers, they were just as successful in the playoffs, becoming the first team in 19 years to repeat as champions.


1988 NBA Finals
One of Pistons guard Isiah Thomas's career-defining performances came in Game 6. Despite badly twisting his ankle midway through the period, Thomas scored an NBA Finals record 25 third-quarter points, as Detroit fell valiantly, 103–102, to the Lakers at the Forum.


1988 NBA Finals
Thomas still managed to score 10 first-half points in Game 7, as Detroit built a 5-point lead. In the 3rd quarter, the Lakers, inspired by Finals MVP James Worthy and Byron Scott (14 3rd-quarter points), exploded as they built a 10-point lead entering the final period. The lead swelled to 15 before Detroit mounted a furious 4th-quarter rally, trimming the lead to two points on several occasions. The Lakers ultimately prevailed and captured their 5th championship in the last 9 seasons.


1988 NBA Finals
This was the first NBA Finals since 1983 not to feature the Boston Celtics.


1988 NBA Finals, Background, Los Angeles Lakers
During the 1987 championship parade in Los Angeles, Lakers coach Pat Riley guaranteed a repeat championship, a feat that had not been achieved since the Boston Celtics won the 1969 NBA Finals. Motivated by their coach's boast, the Lakers once again earned the league's best record in the 1987–88 season (62–20), despite winning three games less than the previous year. They also had a 15-game winning streak from December 11, 1987 until the Lakers were beaten by the LA Clippers (109-110) on January 13, 1988. They also had another double-digit winning streak (10-game winning streak) from February 11 until February 28.


1988 NBA Finals, Background, Los Angeles Lakers
The playoffs proved to be a difficult climb for the Lakers, however. They swept the San Antonio Spurs in the first round. They came back from a 2–1 deficit against the Utah Jazz in the semifinals round before beating them in Game 7. They then defeated the Dallas Mavericks in 7 games in the Conference Finals round. The Lakers eventually prevailed in both series thanks to their championship experience.


1988 NBA Finals, Background, Detroit Pistons
The Pistons of head coach Chuck Daly were an up-and-coming team that gradually moved up the Eastern Conference ranks. Known as the "Bad Boys" for their physical and defensive-minded style of play, the Pistons' core featured guards Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars, forwards Adrian Dantley and Rick Mahorn, center Bill Laimbeer, and bench players Vinnie Johnson, Dennis Rodman and John Salley. Midway through the season, Detroit gained a valuable backup to Laimbeer and Mahorn when they acquired James Edwards.


1988 NBA Finals, Background, Detroit Pistons
The 1987–88 season marked a further ascension for the franchise, as Detroit won the Central Division title with a 54–28 record. The second-seeded Pistons overcame the Washington Bullets and the Chicago Bulls in five games each, before facing the Boston Celtics once again in the conference finals. This time, the Pistons were the better team, eliminating the Celtics in six games for their first NBA Finals appearance since 1956.


1988 NBA Finals, Background, Regular season series
The Los Angeles Lakers won both games in the regular season series:


1988 NBA Finals, Series summary, Game 1
The Pistons had just dispatched the Celtics in six games, while the Lakers were coming off back-to-back seven-game wins over the Utah Jazz and Dallas Mavericks. The Lakers were tired, and it showed. Adrian Dantley scored 34 points, hitting 14 of 16 shots from the field. The Pistons took control of the game with four seconds left in the first half when Bill Laimbeer hit a three-point shot to put the Pistons up 54–40. Isiah Thomas then stole Kareem's inbound pass at half court and let fly with another three-pointer which hit nothing but net at the halftime buzzer. The Pistons had a 57-40 halftime lead and never looked back, stealing Game 1 with a 105–93 win.


1988 NBA Finals, Series summary, Game 2
Facing the possibility of going down 2–0 with three games to play in Detroit, the veteran Lakers found resolve with a 108–96 win. James Worthy led the Lakers with 26 points, Byron Scott had 24, and Magic Johnson 23 despite battling the flu.


1988 NBA Finals, Series summary, Game 3
With Magic still battling the flu, the Lakers got a key win in Detroit, 99–86, to go up 2–1 in games. The Lakers took control of the game in the third period, outscoring the Pistons 31–18. Despite his illness, Magic had 18 points, 14 assists, and six rebounds.


1988 NBA Finals, Series summary, Game 4
In front of their home fans, the Pistons tied the series at 2–2 with a 111–86 win. The Pistons decided to attack the basket and make Magic Johnson defend. Johnson wound up on the bench early in the second half with foul trouble.


1988 NBA Finals, Series summary, Game 4
With Magic out of the game, the Pistons built a substantial lead. During timeouts, Bill Laimbeer was almost frantic. He kept saying, "No letup! We don't let up!" They didn't, and blew out the defending NBA champions by 25 points.


1988 NBA Finals, Series summary, Game 4
Left open by the trapping Lakers defense, Dantley led the team with 27 points. Vinnie Johnson came off the bench to add 16 while James Edwards had 14 points and five rebounds off the bench.


1988 NBA Finals, Series summary, Game 5
The Pistons' 104–94 victory was a perfect farewell to the Pontiac Silverdome. Bill Laimbeer told Joe Dumars with a minute left in the game to "look around and enjoy this because you'll never see anything like it again". He went on to say, "Forty-one thousand people waving towels and standing. It was awesome."


1988 NBA Finals, Series summary, Game 5
The Lakers opened Game 5 with a fury of physical intimidation, scoring the game's first 12 points. But that approach soon backfired, as the Laker big men got into foul trouble.


1988 NBA Finals, Series summary, Game 5
Dantley played a major role in the turnaround, scoring 25 points, 19 of them in the first half, to rally the Pistons to a 59-50 halftime lead. Vinnie Johnson added 12 of his 16 points in the first half to keep Detroit moving.


1988 NBA Finals, Series summary, Game 5
Joe Dumars added 19 points on 9-of-13 shooting to send the Pistons back to Los Angeles, one win away from their first NBA title.


1988 NBA Finals, Series summary, Game 5
Games 3, 4, and 5 were the last NBA Finals games to be contested in a domed stadium built primarily for football until the 1999 NBA Finals in which Games 1 and 2 were played at the Alamodome in San Antonio. The Pistons left the Pontiac Silverdome after the 1987–88 season and moved into The Palace of Auburn Hills for the 1988-89 NBA season.


1988 NBA Finals, Series summary, Game 6
The Lakers led 56–48 in the third quarter when Isiah Thomas suddenly began a classic performance. He scored his team's next 14 points, hitting two free throws, a driving layup, four jump shots, and a running bank shot.


1988 NBA Finals, Series summary, Game 6
With a little less than 5 minutes left in the period and the score 70–64, Lakers, Thomas rolled his right ankle while passing off to Joe Dumars for a basket. Thomas tried to run upcourt, but collapsed while the Lakers scored again. Despite a severe sprain, Thomas returned to the game with 3:44 left and the Lakers up 74–66. Thomas, with his bad ankle, scored 11 of the Pistons' last 15 points of the quarter to finish with 25, an NBA Finals record for one quarter, on 11-of-13 shooting. During this time, the Pistons outscored the Lakers 15–5 to take an 81–79 lead.


1988 NBA Finals, Series summary, Game 6
The fourth quarter was nip-and-tuck; with 1:30 left, Thomas, sore ankle and all, hit a baseline jumper for his 42nd and 43rd points to give the Pistons a 100–99 lead. The Lakers came down and Magic Johnson got the ball inside to James Worthy, but his layup attempt was blocked by Dennis Rodman. Joe Dumars penetrated inside on the ensuing possession, was fouled, and hit the two free throws for a three-point lead at 102–99 with a minute left.


1988 NBA Finals, Series summary, Game 6
The Lakers called timeout, and on the next possession, Byron Scott drove by Thomas from the top of the key and hit a 14-footer from the right elbow to cut the lead to one with 45 seconds left. Thomas then missed another baseline jumper and Worthy rebounded with 27 seconds remaining. The Lakers then set up and Scott got it to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who drew a foul on Bill Laimbeer (his sixth) as he wheeled for a skyhook on the right baseline with 14 seconds left. This foul has remained controversial to the Pistons and their fans, who claim that Laimbeer never made contact with Jabbar on his shot attempt. Abdul-Jabbar then proceeded to sink two high-pressure free throws providing the Lakers with a one point lead.


1988 NBA Finals, Series summary, Game 6
After a time out, the Pistons set up for a final shot. Thomas collided with Dantley after inbounding the ball, but Dumars penetrated in the paint and put up a shot that missed after he was forced to by A.C. Green to alter it. After a scramble, Scott came up with the ball for the Lakers and was shoved out of bounds by Rodman, inciting a near-fight, with 5 seconds left on the clock. Scott missed both free throw attempts, but the Pistons, who had no timeouts remaining, lost precious seconds trying to secure the loose rebound and could not get a shot off before time expired.


1988 NBA Finals, Series summary, Game 6
Thomas would end up with 43 points and eight assists in a heroic performance.


1988 NBA Finals, Series summary, Game 7
This was the first Game 7 since 1984, and the first to be played under the 2-3-2 format, adopted in 1985.


1988 NBA Finals, Series summary, Game 7
In the final game, Thomas' ankle was still sore, as evidenced by his limping badly in warm-ups. He did manage to play the first half, scoring 10 points and leading the Pistons to a 52-47 halftime lead. But, the delay between halves caused the ankle to stiffen, and Thomas played little in the second half. With Isiah on the bench, the Lakers turned the halftime deficit into a 90–75 lead early in the 4th quarter. A key factor was Laker guard Michael Cooper; he had been mired in a terrible shooting slump all series, but suddenly caught fire, hitting three 3-point baskets.


1988 NBA Finals, Series summary, Game 7
Chuck Daly then went to a faster lineup with Dennis Rodman, John Salley, Joe Dumars, and Vinnie Johnson that created matchup problems for the Lakers and enabled the Pistons to score at a torrid pace. With 3:54 left, Salley canned two free throws to cut the Laker lead to 98–92, making the Forum fans nervous.


1988 NBA Finals, Series summary, Game 7
With 1:17 left, Dumars hit a jump shot to cut the lead to 102–100. Magic Johnson then hit a free throw after a Rodman foul to put the Lakers up by three. After the two teams exchanged turnovers, Rodman took an ill-advised jumper with 40 seconds left. Byron Scott rebounded and was fouled. His two free throws pushed the lead to 105–100. After another Pistons' turnover, Michael Cooper had a chance to essentially clinch the victory after being fouled, but he missed both free throws, and the Lakers' lead remained at five.


1988 NBA Finals, Series summary, Game 7
After Dumars made a layup, James Worthy hit a free throw and Bill Laimbeer canned a 28-foot three-pointer, pushing the score to 106–105 with six seconds showing. A. C. Green completed the scoring with a layup off a length-of-the court pass from Magic, making it 108–105. Laimbeer made a long desperate pass to Thomas who caught the ball trying to shoot a three to send the game to overtime, but Thomas fell to the floor in a collision with Johnson, losing the ball as time ran out. Fans were already beginning to storm onto the floor even though time had not expired, but the officials ignored this. Pat Riley and the Laker players hurried back to their dressing room as the players and coaches on both teams were pummeled by the storming fans.


1988 NBA Finals, Series summary, Game 7
Worthy racked up a monster triple-double: 36 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists. It would prove to be the only triple-double in Worthy's Hall of Fame career. For that and his earlier efforts in the series, he was named the Finals MVP, cementing his nickname "Big Game James".


1988 NBA Finals, Series summary, Game 7
Michael Cooper, Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar are the only members of all 5 Lakers championship teams from the 1980s.


1988 NBA Finals, Series summary, Game 7
This was the Lakers' first Game 7 Finals victory since 1954; however, it was their first ever Game 7 win in the championship series since moving to Los Angeles in 1960; they were 0–5 in previous Game 7's since moving (1962, 1966, 1969, 1970, 1984). This would end up being the Lakers' last home win in the championship series until 2000.


1988 NBA Finals, Television coverage
The Detroit Pistons season documentary "Bad Boys", narrated by George Blaha recaps Detroit's run to the Finals and how they garnered the "Bad Boys" moniker while the Los Angeles Lakers documentary "Back To Back", narrated by Chick Hearn recaps the Lakers quest to become the first team since the Bill Russell-led Celtics to achieve NBA championships in consecutive years.


1988 NBA Finals, Television coverage
That year, CBS Sports used three sideline reporters which were Pat O'Brien (the Pistons' sideline), Lesley Visser (the Lakers' sideline) and James Brown (both teams). Dick Stockton and Billy Cunningham served as the play-by-play announcer and color analyst respectively. After the season, Cunningham left CBS to join the Miami Heat ownership group, and Hubie Brown was promoted the following season.


1988 NBA draft
The 1988 NBA draft took place on June 28, 1988, in New York City, New York. The length was reduced from seven rounds in the previous year to three rounds. This was also the first draft for the Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat, prior to their inaugural season.


1988 NBA draft, Notable undrafted players
This section is for players who were eligible for the 1988 NBA draft, did not get selected, but still later appeared in at least one NBA regular season or postseason game.


1988 NBA expansion draft
The 1988 NBA Expansion Draft was the eighth expansion draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on June 23, 1988, so that the newly founded Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat could acquire players for the upcoming 1988–89 season. Charlotte and Miami had been awarded the expansion teams on April 22, 1987. In an NBA expansion draft, new NBA teams are allowed to acquire players from the previously established teams in the league.


1988 NBA expansion draft
Not all players on a given team are available during an expansion draft, since each team can protect a certain number of players from being selected. In this draft, each of the twenty-three other NBA teams had protected eight players from their roster and the Hornets and the Heat selected eleven and twelve unprotected players respectively, one from each team. Prior to the draft, the league conducted a coin flip between the Hornets and the Heat to decide their draft order in this expansion draft and in the 1988 NBA draft. The Hornets won the coin flip and chose to have the higher pick in the 1988 Draft, thus allowing the Heat to receive the first selection and the right to select twelve players in this expansion draft.


1988 NBA expansion draft
The Heat were formed and owned by a group headed by Zev Buffman and former NBA player Billy Cunningham. Former Detroit Pistons assistant coach Ron Rothstein was hired as the franchise's first head coach. The Heat used their first pick to select former third-round pick Arvid Kramer from the Dallas Mavericks. Prior to the draft, the Heat agreed on a deal to select Kramer, who had not played in the NBA since the 1979–80 season, from the Mavericks in exchange for a first-round pick in the 1988 Draft.


1988 NBA expansion draft
The Heat also agreed three other deals not to select a particular player from the Los Angeles Lakers, the Boston Celtics and Seattle SuperSonics. The Heat's other selections included four former first-round picks, Billy Thompson, Jon Sundvold, Darnell Valentine and Dwayne Washington. However, Valentine and another draftee, Fred Roberts, were immediately traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers and Milwaukee Bucks respectively. The Heat also selected West German center Hansi Gnad, who had never played in the NBA. Four players from the expansion draft joined the Heat for their inaugural season, but only one played more than three seasons for the team. Sundvold played four seasons with the Heat until his NBA career ended in 1992.


1988 NBA expansion draft
The Hornets were formed and owned by a group headed by George Shinn. Former Indiana Pacers assistant coach Dick Harter was hired as the franchise's first head coach. The Hornets used their first pick to select former first-round pick Dell Curry from the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Hornets' other selections included one-time All-Star Rickey Green and three former first-round picks, Muggsy Bogues, Michael Brooks and Bernard Thompson. On the draft-day, the Hornets also acquired Kelly Tripucka from the Utah Jazz in exchange for Mike Brown, a draftee from the Chicago Bulls. Brooks and Thompson never played for the Hornets.


1988 NBA expansion draft
Brooks left the NBA and signed with a French team, while Thompson was traded to the Houston Rockets prior to the start of the season. Six players from the expansion draft joined the Hornets for their inaugural season, but only two played more than three seasons for the team. Curry played ten seasons with the Hornets and is currently the Hornets' career leader in points scored. Bogues, the shortest player in NBA history, played nine seasons with the Hornets and is currently the Hornets' career leader in assists and steals.


1988 NBA expansion draft, Trades, Pre-draft trades
Prior to the day of the draft, the following trades were made and resulted in exchanges of future draft picks between the teams, along with a particular agreement in the expansion draft.


1988 NBA expansion draft, Trades, Draft-day trades
The following trades involving drafted players were made on the day of the draft.


1988 NBA playoffs
The 1988 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1987–88 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers defeating the Eastern Conference champion Detroit Pistons 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals. James Worthy was named NBA Finals MVP. The Lakers became the first team since the Boston Celtics in 1969 to repeat as champions, a feat that coach Pat Riley guaranteed the previous offseason.


1988 NBA playoffs
This marked the first time since 1983 that the Celtics did not represent the East in the NBA Finals, but they did win one of the most memorable games of the 1988 playoffs, beating the Hawks 118–116 in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals in Boston Garden. Larry Bird scored 20 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter to help Boston overcome the 47 points scored by Dominique Wilkins.


1988 NBA playoffs
The Dallas Mavericks made their first trip to the Western Conference Finals, losing in 7 to the Lakers. They would not advance that far again until 2003, and would not face the Lakers again until 2011.


1988 NBA playoffs
The New York Knicks made the playoffs for the first time since 1984. They remained regulars until 2001, which included NBA Finals appearances in 1994 and 1999. On the other hand, the Washington Bullets did not return until 1997, and would not win a playoff game again until 2005 as the Wizards.


1988 NBA playoffs
In the first round against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Michael Jordan scored 50 or more points twice—50 points in Game 1, and 55 points in Game 2—becoming the first player to do so in the same series.


1988 NBA playoffs
This was the first time in NBA history that a game other than a Finals game was played during the month of June.


1988 NBA playoffs
Game 4 of the Hawks-Bucks series was the last game ever played at the MECCA, later known as the US Cellular Arena. The Bucks moved to the Bradley Center the next season; BMO Harris Bank purchased its naming rights in 2012. The Bucks played there for 30 seasons, moving into the Fiserv Forum for the 2018-19 season.


1988 NBA playoffs
Game 5 of the NBA Finals was the last NBA game ever played at the Pontiac Silverdome.


1988 NBA playoffs
This was the last NBA postseason to have back-to-backs in the conference finals (they would still occur in the conference semifinals until 2000).


1988 NBA playoffs, First Round, Eastern Conference First Round, (1) Boston Celtics vs. (8) New York Knicks
This was the 12th playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning six of the first 11 meetings.


1988 NBA playoffs, First Round, Eastern Conference First Round, (2) Detroit Pistons vs. (7) Washington Bullets
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Pistons winning the first meeting.


1988 NBA playoffs, First Round, Eastern Conference First Round, (3) Chicago Bulls vs. (6) Cleveland Cavaliers
This was the first playoff meeting between the Bulls and the Cavaliers.


1988 NBA playoffs, First Round, Eastern Conference First Round, (4) Atlanta Hawks vs. (5) Milwaukee Bucks
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Bucks winning the first meeting.


1988 NBA playoffs, First Round, Western Conference First Round, (1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (8) San Antonio Spurs
This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning the first three meetings.


1988 NBA playoffs, First Round, Western Conference First Round, (2) Denver Nuggets vs. (7) Seattle SuperSonics
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the SuperSonics winning the first meeting.


1988 NBA playoffs, First Round, Western Conference First Round, (3) Dallas Mavericks vs. (6) Houston Rockets
This was the first playoff meeting between the Mavericks and the Rockets.


1988 NBA playoffs, First Round, Western Conference First Round, (4) Portland Trail Blazers vs. (5) Utah Jazz
This was the first playoff meeting between the Trail Blazers and the Jazz.


1988 NBA playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Eastern Conference Semifinals, (1) Boston Celtics vs. (4) Atlanta Hawks
This was the ninth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning seven of the first eight meetings.


1988 NBA playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Eastern Conference Semifinals, (2) Detroit Pistons vs. (3) Chicago Bulls
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Bulls winning the first meeting.


1988 NBA playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Western Conference Semifinals, (1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (5) Utah Jazz
This was the first playoff meeting between the Lakers and the Jazz.


1988 NBA playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Western Conference Semifinals, (2) Denver Nuggets vs. (3) Dallas Mavericks
This was the first playoff meeting between the Mavericks and the Nuggets.


1988 NBA playoffs, Conference Finals, Eastern Conference Finals, (1) Boston Celtics vs. (2) Detroit Pistons
This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning the first three meetings.


1988 NBA playoffs, Conference Finals, Western Conference Finals, (1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (3) Dallas Mavericks
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning the first two meetings.


1988 NBA playoffs, NBA Finals: (W1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (E2) Detroit Pistons
This was the tenth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning eight of the first nine meetings.


1988 NBL Finals
The 1988 NBL Finals was the championship series of the 1988 season of Australia's National Basketball League (NBL) and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Canberra Cannons defeated the North Melbourne Giants in three games (2-1) for their third NBL championship.


1988 NBL Finals, Format
The 1988 National Basketball League Finals started on 14 July and concluded on 7 August. The playoffs consisted of two knockout Quarter finals, two best  of three Semi-finals and the best of three game Grand Final series. As the two top teams at the end of the regular season, the Adelaide 36ers and North Melbourne Giants both qualified for home court advantage during the Semi-finals.


1988 NBL Finals, Format
The finals series were played earlier than usual due to the 1988 Summer Olympic Games which were held at the time the NBL normally held their finals (September–October).


1988 NBL season
The 1988 NBL season was the tenth season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of 13 teams contested the league.


1988 NBL season, Clubs
Following the merger of the Sydney Supersonics and West Sydney Westars to form the Sydney Kings, the NBL had 13 clubs spread across all Australian states and territories with the exception of the Northern Territory.


1988 NBL season, Regular season
The 1988 regular season took place over 21 rounds between 12 February 1988 and 9 July 1988.


1988 NBL season, Ladder
This is the ladder at the end of season, before the finals. The top 6 teams qualified for the finals series.


1988 NBL season, Ladder
The NBL tie-breaker system as outlined in the NBL Rules and Regulations states that in the case of an identical win-loss record, the results in games played between the teams will determine order of seeding.


1988 NBL season, Ladder
1Head-to-Head between North Melbourne Giants and Brisbane Bullets (1-1). North Melbourne Giants won For and Against (+9).


1988 NBL season, Ladder
3Head-to-Head between Illawarra Hawks and Eastside Spectres (1-1). Illawarra Hawks won For and Against (+9).


1988 NBL season, Ladder
4Head-to-Head between Hobart Tassie Devils and Sydney Kings (1-1). Hobart Tassie Devils won For and Against (+12).


1988 NBL season, Finals, Elimination Finals
Both matches were single game elimination contests. The team that qualified 3rd at the end of the regular season would host the team that finished 6th, with the team finishing 4th hosting the team placed 5th. The teams that finished the regular season 1st and 2nd had a bye into the semi final stage.


1988 NBL season, Finals, Semi Finals
Each were played as a best of 3 game series


1988 NC State Wolfpack football team
The 1988 NC State Wolfpack football team represented North Carolina State University during the 1988 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team's head coach was Dick Sheridan. NC State has been a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) since the league's inception in 1953. The Wolfpack played its home games in 1988 at Carter–Finley Stadium in Raleigh, North Carolina, which has been NC State football's home stadium since 1966.


1988 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament
The 1988 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament was played at the end of the 1988 NCAA Division I baseball season to determine the national champion of college baseball. The tournament concluded with eight teams competing in the College World Series, a double-elimination tournament in its forty-second year. Eight regional competitions were held to determine the participants in the final event. Each region was composed of six teams, resulting in 48 teams participating in the tournament at the conclusion of their regular season, and in some cases, after a conference tournament. The forty-second tournament's champion was Stanford coached by Mark Marquess. The Most Outstanding Player was Lee Plemel of Stanford.


1988 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament, Regionals
The opening rounds of the tournament were played across eight regional sites across the country, each consisting of a six-team field. Each regional tournament is double-elimination, however region brackets are variable depending on the number of teams remaining after each round. In 1988, for the first time, the NCAA seeded all six teams in each regional. The winners of each regional advanced to the College World Series.


1988 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament, College World Series
After 38 seasons as a full double-elimination tournament, the format changed for 1988. Teams were split into two four-team double-elimination brackets, with the winners of each bracket meeting in a one-game championship. This format was used through 2002.


1988 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament, College World Series, Results
Of the 15 tournaments in which a single championship game was played, this was the only one where both teams entered the final with a loss.


1988 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships
The 1988 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships were the 50th annual NCAA Men's Division I Cross Country Championship and the 8th annual NCAA Women's Division I Cross Country Championship to determine the team and individual national champions of NCAA Division I men's and women's collegiate cross country running in the United States. In all, four different titles were contested: men's and women's individual and team championships.


1988 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships
Held on November 21, 1988, the combined meet was hosted by Iowa State University at Jester Park in Granger, Iowa. The distance for the men's race was 10 kilometers (6.21 miles) while the distance for the women's race was 5 kilometers (3.11 miles).


1988 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships
The men's team national championship was won by Wisconsin, their third national title. The individual championship was won by Bob Kennedy, also from Indiana, with a time of 29:20.


1988 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships
The women's team national championship was won by Kentucky, their first national title. The individual championship was won by Michelle Dekkers, from Indiana, with a time of 16:30.


1988 NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship
The 1988 NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship was the eighth women's collegiate field hockey tournament organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, to determine the top college field hockey team in the United States. The Old Dominion Lady Monarchs won their fourth championship, defeating the Iowa Hawkeyes in the final. The championship rounds were held at Franklin Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.


1988 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships
The 1988 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships were contested March 14−15, 1986 at the Myriad Convention Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to determine the individual and team national champions of men's and women's NCAA collegiate indoor track and field events in the United States. These were the 24th annual men's championships and the 6th annual women's championships.


1988 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships
Four-time defending champions Arkansas claimed the men's team title, the Razorbacks' fifth overall title and, ultimately, the fifth of twelve straight titles for Arkansas.


1988 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships
In the women's championship, meanwhile, Texas claimed their second overall team title and second in three years.


1988 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships, Qualification
All teams and athletes from Division I indoor track and field programs were eligible to compete for this year's individual and team titles.


1988 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game
The 1988 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game was the final round of the 1988 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament and determined the national champion for the 1987–88 NCAA Division I men's basketball season  The 1988 National Title Game was played on April 4, 1988 at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri. The 1988 National Title Game was played between the 1988 Southeast Regional Champions, #1-seeded Oklahoma and the 1988 Midwest Regional Champions, #6-seeded Kansas, both from the Big Eight Conference.


1988 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game
The game remains, as of the 2021 Championship game, the last time two teams from the same conference played for the National Championship. Kansas's upset of Oklahoma was the third-biggest point-spread upset in the national title game in NCAA Tournament history. After the win, the 1988 Kansas team was remembered as "Danny and the Miracles" due to Danny Manning's excellence throughout the tournament, including a double-double in the national championship game with 31 points and 18 rebounds.


1988 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament
The 1988 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's  NCAA Division I college basketball. The 50th annual edition of the tournament began on March 17, 1988, and ended with the championship game on April 4 returning to Kansas City, Missouri for the 10th time. A total of 63 games were played.


1988 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament
Kansas, coached by Larry Brown, won the national title with an 83–79 victory in the final game over Big Eight Conference rival Oklahoma, coached by Billy Tubbs. As of 2018, this was the last national championship game to feature two schools from the same conference. Danny Manning of Kansas was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.


1988 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament
Even though the Final Four was contested 40 miles (64 km) from its campus in Lawrence, Kansas, Kansas was considered a long shot against the top rated Sooners because Oklahoma had previously defeated the Jayhawks twice by 8 points that season—at home in Norman, Oklahoma and on the road in Kansas' Allen Fieldhouse. Kansas's upset was the third biggest point-spread upset in Championship Game history. After this upset, the 1988 Kansas team was remembered as "Danny and the Miracles."


1988 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Schedule and venues
The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 1988 tournament:


1988 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Schedule and venues
Kansas City returned as Final Four host for the first time since 1964, with Kemper Arena becoming the 25th arena to host it. 1988 saw two new host locations, in Chapel Hill, part of the Raleigh-Durham metropolitan area, and Pontiac, in suburban Detroit, which had never hosted games beforehand. The Silverdome became the seventh domed stadium to host tournament games. This would be the only appearance in the tournament for the Dean Smith Center, and would also be the last year hosting for Pauley Pavilion, the Joyce Center and Bob Devaney Sports Center.


1988 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Teams
(#) Kentucky was later stripped of its two NCAA tournament wins due to an ineligible player.


1988 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, Bracket, Southeast Regional – Birmingham, Alabama
(#) Kentucky was later stripped of its two NCAA tournament wins due to an ineligible player.


1988 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship
The 1988 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships were contested at the 50th annual NCAA-sanctioned golf tournament for determining the individual and team national champions of men's collegiate golf at the Division I level in the United States.


1988 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship
The tournament was held at the North Ranch Country Club in Thousand Oaks, California.


1988 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship
UCLA won the team championship, the Bruins' first NCAA title.


1988 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship
E.J. Pfister, from Oklahoma State, won the individual title, the third consecutive win for an OSU golfer.


1988 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
The 1988 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the culmination of the 1987–88 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season, the 41st such tournament in NCAA history. It was held between March 18 and April 2, 1988, and concluded with Lake Superior State defeating St. Lawrence 4-3 in overtime. All First Round and Quarterfinals matchups were held at home team venues with the 'Frozen Four' games being played at the Olympic Center in Lake Placid, New York.


1988 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
For the first time the NCAA tournament was expanded to 12 teams (four more than the previous seven years) partially as a result of an increasing number of programs as well as two additional conferences being created in the interim.


1988 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
This was the first tournament to include an independent school since 1960, more than a year before the ECAC was founded.


1988 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
The championship game is remembered for a missed infraction towards the end of regulation that should have given St. Lawrence a penalty shot but resulted in no call from the official.


1988 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Qualifying teams
The NCAA permitted 12 teams to qualify for the tournament and divided its qualifiers into two regions (East and West). Each of the tournament champions from the four Division I conferences (CCHA, ECAC, Hockey East and WCHA) received automatic invitations into the tournament with At-large bids making up the remaining 8 teams. The NCAA permitted one Independent team to participate in the tournament and placed it in the western bracket with the intention to place an additional independent in the eastern regional in 1989. As a result, the two western conferences (WCHA and CCHA) would split only three open spots as opposed to the East's four open spots.


1988 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Format
The tournament featured four rounds of play. The three odd-number ranked teams from one region were placed into a bracket with the three even-number ranked teams of the other region. The teams were then seeded according to their ranking with the top two teams in each bracket receiving byes into the quarterfinals.


1988 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Format
In the first round the third and sixth seeds and the fourth and fifth seeds played two-game aggregate series to determine which school advanced to the Quarterfinals with the winners of the 4 vs. 5 series playing the first seed and the winner of the 3 vs. 6 series playing the second seed. In the Quarterfinals the matches were two-game aggregates once more with the victors advancing to the National Semifinals. Beginning with the Semifinals all games were played at the St. Paul Civic Center and all series became Single-game eliminations. The winning teams in the semifinals advanced to the National Championship Game.


1988 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship
The 1988 tournament championship game was played at Syracuse University in front of 20,148 fans. The Syracuse Orangemen defeated the Cornell Big Red, 13-8 for the first of their three straight NCAA titles.


1988 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship, Tournament overview
The 1988 national champion Syracuse team is notable for being undefeated, 15–0, and for featuring the Gait brothers Paul and Gary Gait. Syracuse was ranked number one in the nation for most of this year, had averaged just under 18 goals a game and had only one close game, and overtime win over North Carolina, during the regular season. They had defeated the second seed in the tournament, Johns Hopkins, 19 to 7 early in the season.


1988 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship, Tournament overview
This NCAAs is also notable for being the tournament where Gary Gait took his famous "Air Gait" shot in a close semi-final game against Tony Seaman's University of Pennsylvania team. Penn played a tough zone defense to try to contain the Gaits and Syracuse. Gary Gait saw a way around the zone, by running directly at the goal from behind and slam dunking the ball into the goal past the shocked goaltender. At that time, a player was allowed to both touch the goal and land in the crease, provided the ball had first crossed the goal line. Gait scored on two "Air Gait" plays in that game. The NCAA outlawed that type of play a short while later. Syracuse won this semifinal game against Penn on a goal by Paul Gait with 3 seconds left.


1988 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship, Tournament overview
In a 23–5 quarterfinal win over Navy, Gary Gait scored a tournament record 9 goals.


1988 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament
The 1988 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament was the 29th organized men's college soccer tournament by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, to determine the top college soccer team in the United States.


1988 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament
The Indiana Hoosiers won their third national title by defeating the Howard Bison in the championship game, 1–0. The final match was played on December 4, 1988, in Bloomington, Indiana, at Bill Armstrong Stadium. All the other games were played at the home field of the higher seeded team.


1988 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships
The 1988 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships were contested in March 1988 at the Indiana University Natatorium in Indianapolis, Indiana at the 65th annual NCAA-sanctioned swim meet to determine the team and individual national champions of Division I men's collegiate swimming and diving in the United States. The men's and women's titles would not be held at the same site until 2006.


1988 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships
Texas topped the team standings, 54.5 points ahead of three-time defending champions Stanford. It was the Longhorns' second title and the second for coach Eddie Reese.


1988 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championships
The 1988 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championships were the 42nd annual championships to determine the national champions of NCAA Division I men's singles, doubles, and team collegiate tennis in the United States.


1988 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championships
Stanford defeated LSU, 5–2, in the final of the team championship, the Cardinal's ninth overall title.


1988 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championships, Host site
The tournaments were played at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia. The men's and women's tournaments would not be held at the same venue until 2006.


1988 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships
The 1988 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships were contested June 1−4, 1988 at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon in order to determine the individual and team national champions of men's and women's collegiate Division I outdoor track and field events in the United States.


1988 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships
These were the 66th annual men's championships and the seventh annual women's championships. This was the Ducks' sixth time hosting the event and the first since 1984.


1988 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships
In a repeat of the previous year's result, UCLA and LSU topped the men's and women's team standings, respectively; it was the Bruins' eighth men's team title and the second for the Lady Tigers. LSU's title would ultimately be the second of a record eleven consecutive national championships between 1987 and 1997.


1988 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament
The 1988 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament was the seventh annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA women's collegiate softball. Held during May 1988, twenty Division I college softball teams contested the championship, an expansion of four teams from the previous year. The tournament featured eight regionals of either two or three teams. The regions of two teams consisted of a simple best-of-three series whereas the regions of three teams consisted of a double elimination tournament of four or five games. The 1988 Women's College World Series was held in Sunnyvale, California from May 25 through May 29 and marked the conclusion of the 1988 NCAA Division I softball season. UCLA won the championship by defeating Fresno State 3–0 in the final game.


1988 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament
The 1988 event was the first WCWS played in Sunnyvale.


1988 NCAA Division I Tennis Championships
The 1988 NCAA Division I Tennis Championships refer to one of two NCAA-sponsored events held during May 1988 to determine the national champions of men's and women's collegiate tennis in the United States:


1988 NCAA Division I Tennis Championships
The men's and women's tournaments would not be held at the same site until 2006.


1988 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament
The 1988 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament began on March 16 and ended on April 3. The tournament featured 40 teams. The Final Four consisted of Long Beach State, Auburn, Tennessee, and Louisiana Tech. Louisiana Tech won its second title with a 56-54 victory over Auburn. Louisiana Tech's Erica Westbrooks was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.


1988 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Notable events
Long Beach state reached the Final Four averaging over 100 points per game. Long Beach beat Colorado 103–64 in their opening game. Long Beach then defeated the three seed Washington 104–78 in the West Regional semifinal. That matched Long Beach up with the one seed Iowa. Long Beach didn't score 100, but came close, beating the top seed in their regional by a score of 98–78, allowing Long Beach to reach the Final Four for the second straight year. Their opponent in the semifinal was Auburn, who had reached the Sweet Sixteen in 1985 and 1986, then followed it with a trip to the Elite Eight in 1987. This year Auburn advanced to the Final Four for the first time defeating Maryland in the Mideast Regional 103–74.


1988 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Notable events
In the semifinal game, the Long Beach 49ers team started out slowly, but their coach Joan Bonvicini wasn't worried; she was convinced they would come back. Auburn had a small lead in the second half when the 49ers scored 11 consecutive points to take a 46–42 lead. However, the Tigers tied the game at 46 apiece, then 48 then 50 apiece. Then the Tigers opened up a seven-point lead. The 49ers cut it back to five points, but too many turnovers were too much to overcome. Ruthie Bolton scored eleven points in the final six minutes for the Tigers to help seal the 68–55 victory, and the right to play for the national championship.


1988 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Notable events
The other semifinal game matched up Tennessee and Louisiana Tech. Tennessee was the defending national champion, having won their first national championship in 1987. They won the East Regional with a win over the two seed Virginia. Their opponent, Louisiana Tech, had won the first NCAA Tournament in 1982, and had finished as runner up to Tennessee in the previous year's championship game. The two teams met in the regular season, with Tennessee winning 76–74 in an overtime game played in Knoxville.


1988 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Notable events
The Lady Techsters were a two seed, but upset top ranked Texas 83–80 in the Midwest Regional to make it to the semifinal game. The Lady Techsters said they had been looking forward to this game ever since their loss in the prior year and they played like it. They took the lead early in the game and never relinquished it. Louisiana Tech held Tennessee to 33% shooting in the first half, and held on to win the game 68–59, and a berth in the championship game.


1988 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Notable events
The first half of the championship game was all Auburn. Two minutes went by before the Lady Techsters even took at shot, at which point they were down 6–0. Ruthie Bolton scored 16 points in the first half, a source of frustration for her defender Teresa Weatherspoon. Bolton's points held the Tigers head to halftime with a 31–19 lead. Weatherspoon made sure the second half was different, both offensively, with seven assists and defensively, holding Bolton to zero points and helping to force six turnovers. The Tigers still led by four points with under five minutes left, but behind Weatherspoon's defense, and  Erica Westbrooks' 25 points, Louisiana Tech came back to win their second national Championship by a score of 56–54.


1988 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Records
Ruthie Bolton was credited with ten steals in the National Semifinal game, the most ever recorded in a Final Four game since the statistic has been recorded (starting in 1988).


1988 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Qualifying teams - automatic
Forty teams were selected to participate in the 1988 NCAA Tournament. Eighteen conferences were eligible for an automatic bid to the 1988 NCAA tournament.


1988 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Qualifying teams - at-large
Twenty-two additional teams were selected to complete the forty invitations.


1988 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Bids by conference
Eighteen conferences earned an automatic bid. In eight cases, the automatic bid was the only representative from the conference. Two conferences, Southland and American South sent a single representative as an at-large team. Twenty additional at-large teams were selected from ten of the conferences.


1988 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, First and second rounds
In 1988, the field remained at 40 teams. The teams were seeded, and assigned to four geographic regions, with seeds 1-10 in each region. In Round 1, seeds 8 and 9 faced each other for the opportunity to face the 1 seed in the second round, while seeds 7 and 10 faced each other for the opportunity to face the 2 seed. In  the first two rounds, the higher seed was given the opportunity to host the first round game. In most cases, the higher seed accepted the opportunity. The exception:


1988 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, First and second rounds
The following table lists the region, host school, venue and the twenty-four first and second round locations:


1988 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Regionals and Final Four
The Regionals, named  for the general location, were held from March 24 to March 26 at these sites:


1988 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Regionals and Final Four
Each regional winner  advanced to the Final Four, held April 1 and April 3 in Tacoma, Washington at the Tacoma Dome, co-hosted by Seattle University & University of Washington.


1988 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Bids by state
The forty teams came from twenty-five states. Pennsylvania had the most teams with four. Twenty-five states did not have any teams receiving bids.


1988 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Brackets
First and second round games played at higher seed except where noted.


1988 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Record by  conference
Fifteen conferences had more than one  bid, or at least one win in NCAA Tournament play:


1988 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament, Record by  conference
Five conferences went  0-1: High Country, MAC, Missouri Valley Conference, Mountain West, and Ohio Valley Conference


1988 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship
The 1988 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship was the seventh annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national championship for Division I National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) women's college lacrosse. The championship game was played at Walton Field in Haverford, Pennsylvania during May 1988.


1988 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship
The Temple Owls won their second championship by defeating the Penn State Nittany Lions in the final, 15–7. This was a rematch of the previous year's final, won by Penn State. Furthermore, Temple's win secured an undefeated season (19–0) for the Owls.


1988 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship
The leading scorers for the tournament, all with 8 goals, were Gail Cummings (Temple), Denise Bourassa (Temple), Mandee Moore (Temple), and Tami Worley (Penn State). The Most Outstanding Player trophy was not awarded this year.


1988 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship, Qualification
All NCAA Division I women's lacrosse programs were eligible for this championship. In the end, 6 teams contested this tournament, an increase of two from the previous year.


1988 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament
The 1988 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament was the seventh annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA Division I women's collegiate soccer. This was the first championship for just Division I programs. The championship game was played again at Fetzer Field in Chapel Hill, North Carolina during December 1988.


1988 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament
North Carolina defeated rival NC State in the final, 4–1, to win their sixth national title. Coached by Anson Dorrance, the Tar Heels finished the season 18–0–3. This would go on to become the third of North Carolina's record nine consecutive national titles (1986–1994). It was also part of the Tar Heels' ten-year unbeaten streak that ran from the 1984 championship game all the way until the 1994 season.


1988 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament
The Most Outstanding Offensive Player was Shannon Higgins from North Carolina, and the Most Outstanding Defensive Player was Carla Werden, also from North Carolina. Higgins was also the tournament's leading scorer (4 goals, 1 assist).


1988 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament, Qualification
After the establishment of the NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Championship in 1988, only Division I women's soccer programs were eligible to qualify for the tournament. Nonetheless, the tournament field remained fixed at 12 teams.


1988 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships
The 1988 NCAA Women's Division I Swimming and Diving Championships were contested at the seventh annual NCAA-sanctioned swim meet to determine the team and individual national champions of Division I women's collegiate swimming and diving in the United States.


1988 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships
This year's events were hosted by the University of Texas at the Texas Swimming Center in Austin, Texas.


1988 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships
Hosts Texas once again topped the team standings, finishing 118.5 points ahead of Florida, claiming the Longhorns' fifth consecutive and fifth overall women's team title.


1988 NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championships
The 1988 NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championships were the seventh annual championships to determine the national champions of NCAA Division I women's singles, doubles, and team collegiate tennis in the United States.


1988 NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championships
Stanford defeated Florida, 5–2, to win their third consecutive and fifth overall national title.


1988 NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championships, Host sites
The tournaments were hosted by the University of California, Los Angeles at the Los Angeles Tennis Center in Los Angeles, California. The men's and women's tournaments would not be held at the same site until 2006.


1988 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament
The 1988 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament began with 32 teams and ended on December 17, 1988, when Texas defeated Hawaiʻi 3 games to 0 in the NCAA championship match.


1988 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament
Texas won the school's first NCAA championship and became the first non-California or Hawaii university to win the NCAA national championship (Texas also won the last AIAW national championship). After upsetting previously unbeaten and top ranked UCLA in the national semifinals, Texas swept Hawaiʻi in the final by the scores of 15-4, 16-14, 15-13, and became the first school to win every NCAA tournament match in sweeps (3-0), as they 15-0 in individual games.


1988 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
The 1988 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships were the 58th NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships to be held. The Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa hosted the tournament at Hilton Coliseum.


1988 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
Arizona State took home the team championship with 93 points despite having no individual champions.


1988 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
Scott Turner of North Carolina State was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler and Eric Voelker of Iowa State received the Gorriaran Award.


1988 NCAA Division I baseball rankings
The following polls make up the 1988 NCAA Division I baseball rankings. Baseball America began publishing its poll of the top 20 teams in college baseball in 1981. Beginning with the 1985 season, it expanded to the top 25. Collegiate Baseball Newspaper published its first human poll of the top 20 teams in college baseball in 1957, and expanded to rank the top 30 teams in 1961.


1988 NCAA Division I baseball rankings, Baseball America
Currently, only the final poll from the 1988 season is available.


1988 NCAA Division I baseball rankings, Collegiate Baseball
Currently, only the final poll from the 1988 season is available.


1988 NCAA Division I baseball season
The 1988 NCAA Division I baseball season, play of college baseball in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) began in the spring of 1988. The season progressed through the regular season and concluded with the 1988 College World Series. The College World Series, held for the forty second time in 1988, consisted of one team from each of eight regional competitions and was held in Omaha, Nebraska at Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium as a double-elimination tournament. Stanford claimed the championship for the second time.


1988 NCAA Division I baseball season, Conference winners
This is a partial list of conference champions from the 1988 season. The NCAA sponsored regional competitions to determine the College World Series participants. Each of the eight regionals consisted of six teams competing in double-elimination tournaments, with the winners advancing to Omaha. 27 teams earned automatic bids by winning their conference championship while 21 teams earned at-large selections.


1988 NCAA Division I baseball season, College World Series
The 1988 season marked the forty second NCAA Baseball Tournament, which culminated with the eight team College World Series. The College World Series was held in Omaha, Nebraska. The eight teams played a double-elimination format, with Stanford claiming their second championship with a 9–4 win over Arizona State in the final.


1988 NCAA Division I softball season
The 1988 NCAA Division I softball season, play of college softball in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level, began in February 1988. The season progressed through the regular season, many conference tournaments and championship series, and concluded with the 1988 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament and 1988 Women's College World Series. The Women's College World Series, consisting of the eight remaining teams in the NCAA Tournament and held in Sunnyvale, California at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium, ended on May 29, 1988.


1988 NCAA Division I softball season, Women's College World Series
The 1988 NCAA Women's College World Series took place from May 25 to May 29, 1988 in Sunnyvale, California.


1988 NCAA Division I softball season, Records
NCAA Division I season shutouts:36 – Debbie Nichols, Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters


1988 NCAA Division I softball season, Records
NCAA Division I season assists:237 – Charis Monroe, Cal State Fullerton Titans


1988 NCAA Division I softball season, Records
Sophomore class wins:50 – Debbie Nichols, Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters


1988 NCAA Division I softball season, Records
Junior class innings pitched:425.0 – Julie Carpenter, Texas A&M Aggies


1988 NCAA Division I-A football rankings
Two human polls comprised the 1988 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I-A football rankings. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship, instead that title is bestowed by one or more different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason—the AP Poll and the Coaches' Poll.


1988 NCAA Division I-A football season
The 1988 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with Notre Dame winning the national championship. The Fighting Irish won the title via a 34–21 defeat of previously unbeaten West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl in Tempe, Arizona. With 4 of the final Top 5 teams being independents (with the University of Miami and Florida State joining the Fighting Irish and Mountaineers), 1988 became a focus for fans and critics who wondered how the traditional conferences would deal with the indies (the answer ultimately involved all of these teams joining major conferences).


1988 NCAA Division I-A football season
Notre Dame had several notable victories this season, including a 19–17 victory over No. 9 Michigan, won on a last drive field goal, which started off the championship season. The season's marquee game was a 31–30 victory over No. 1 Miami. Entering the game, Miami had a 36-game regular season winning streak, 20 straight road victories and a 16-game winning streak overall. This year was also the first time Notre Dame and USC had ever met when ranked No. 1 and No. 2 . Most notable about this game is Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz's decision to leave behind two of his stars, Tony Brooks and Ricky Watters because they were late, cementing discipline as the main theme of this championship team.


1988 NCAA Division I-A football season
This year's edition of the UCLA–USC rivalry game featured a second ranked USC and a fourth ranked UCLA. For the second year in a row the Rose Bowl berth was on the line but for USC it also had national title implications as the rivalry game with Notre Dame was the following week. USC beat UCLA but lost to Notre Dame, and then lost to Michigan in the Rose Bowl.


1988 NCAA Division I-A football season
Oklahoma State running back Barry Sanders ran the Wing T offense all the way to the Heisman Trophy and numerous rushing records.


1988 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game
The 1988 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was a postseason college football game between the Georgia Southern Eagles and the Furman Paladins. The game was played on December 17, 1988, at Holt Arena in Pocatello, Idaho. The culminating game of the 1988 NCAA Division I-AA football season, it was won by Furman, 17–12.


1988 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game, Teams
The participants of the Championship Game were the finalists of the 1988 I-AA Playoffs, which began with a 16-team bracket.


1988 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game, Teams, Georgia Southern Eagles
Georgia Southern finished their regular season with a 9–2 record; one of their losses was to Florida State of Division I-A. Ranked second in the final NCAA I-AA in-house poll and seeded second in the tournament, the Eagles defeated The Citadel, Stephen F. Austin, and Eastern Kentucky to reach the final. This was the third appearance for Georgia Southern in a Division I-AA championship game, having won in 1985 and 1986.


1988 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game, Teams, Furman Paladins
Furman also finished their regular season with a 9–2 record (6–1 in conference); one of their losses was to Clemson of Division I-A. Ranked fourth in the final NCAA I-AA in-house poll and seeded fourth in the tournament, the Paladins defeated Delaware, Marshall, and top-seed Idaho to reach the final. This was the second appearance for Furman in a Division I-AA championship game, having lost to Georgia Southern in 1985.


1988 NCAA Division I-AA football rankings
The 1988 NCAA Division I-AA football rankings are from the NCAA Division I-AA football committee. This is for the 1988 season.


1988 NCAA Division I-AA football season
The 1988 NCAA Division I-AA football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division I-AA level, began in August 1988, and concluded with the 1988 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game on December 17, 1988, at Holt Arena in Pocatello, Idaho. The Furman Paladins won their first I-AA championship, defeating the Georgia Southern Eagles by a score of 17−12.


1988 NCAA Division I-AA football season, Conference champions
Big Sky Conference – IdahoColonial League – LafayetteGateway Collegiate Athletic Conference –  Western IllinoisIvy League – Cornell and PennMid-Eastern Athletic Conference –  Bethune-Cookman, Delaware State, and Florida A&MOhio Valley Conference – Eastern KentuckySouthern Conference – Furman and MarshallSouthland Conference – Northwestern StateSouthwestern Athletic Conference – Jackson StateYankee Conference –  Delaware and Massachusetts


1988 NCAA Division I-AA football season, Postseason
The top four teams were seeded, and thus assured of home games in the first round.


1988 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament
The 1988 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament involved 32 schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division II college basketball as a culmination of the 1987–88 NCAA Division II men's basketball season. It was won by the University of Lowell (now the University of Massachusetts Lowell), and Lowell's Leo Parent was the Most Outstanding Player.


1988 NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship
The 1988 NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship was the 17th annual tournament held by the NCAA to determine the top men's Division II college soccer program in the United States.


1988 NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship
Florida Tech defeated Cal State Northridge in the final, 3–2, to win their first Division II national title. The Panthers (15-6) were coached by Rick Stottler.


1988 NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship
The final match was played on December 4 in Northridge, California.


1988 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament
The 1988 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament was the seventh annual tournament hosted by the NCAA to determine the national champion of Division II women's  collegiate basketball in the United States.


1988 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament
Hampton defeated West Texas State in the championship game, 65–48, claiming the Lady Pirates' first NCAA Division II national title.


1988 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament
The championship field increased for the first time, from twenty-four to thirty-two teams, in 1988.


1988 NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Tournament
The 1988 NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Tournament was the first annual NCAA-sponsored tournament to determine the team national champion of Division II women's college soccer in the United States.


1988 NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Tournament
The championship of the inaugural event was played at Barry University in Miami Shores, Florida.


1988 NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Tournament
Cal State Hayward defeated hosts Barry in the final, 1–0, to claim their first national title.


1988 NCAA Division II football rankings
The 1988 NCAA Division II football rankings are from the Associated Press. This is for the 1988 season. The preseason poll and the first two weeks had 10 entries. From the third week onward, the poll was switched to a "Top 20".


1988 NCAA Division II football season
The 1988 NCAA Division II football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division II level, began in August 1988, and concluded with the NCAA Division II Football Championship on December 10, 1988, at Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence, Alabama, hosted by the University of North Alabama. The North Dakota State Bison defeated the Portland State Vikings, 35–21, to win their fourth Division II national title. The tournament bracket also expanded for the first time, from 8 teams to 16 teams.


1988 NCAA Division II football season
The Harlon Hill Trophy was awarded to Johnny Bailey, running back from Texas A&I, for the second consecutive year.


1988 NCAA Division II football season, Conference summaries
Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Winston-Salem StateGreat Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – HillsdaleGulf South Conference – Jacksonville State, Mississippi College, and Tennessee–MartinLone Star Conference – Texas A&IMissouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association – Central Missouri State, Southeast Missouri State, and Northeast Missouri StateNorth Central Conference – North Dakota StateNorthern California Athletic Conference – UC DavisNorthern Intercollegiate Conference – Minnesota State–MoorheadPennsylvania State Athletic Conference – Millersville (East), Shippensburg (West)Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference – Colorado MesaSouth Atlantic Conference – Carson-Newman, Catawba, and Lenoir-RhyneSouthern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Albany StateWestern Football League – Portland State


1988 NCAA Division II football season, Postseason
The 1988 NCAA Division II Football Championship playoffs were the 16th single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division II college football. The championship game was held at Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence, Alabama, for the third time.


1988 NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament
The 1988 NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament was played at the end of the 1988 NCAA Division III baseball season to determine the 13th national champion of college baseball at the NCAA Division III level. The tournament concluded with six teams competing at a new location at Muzzy Field in Bristol, Connecticut for the championship. Six regional tournaments were held to determine the participants in the World Series.


1988 NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament
Regional tournaments were contested in double-elimination format, with one region consisting of six teams, four regions consisting of four teams, and one region consisting of two teams, which was played as best-of-five, for a total of 24 teams participating in the tournament. The tournament champion was Ithaca, who defeated Wisconsin-Oshkosh for the championship.


1988 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament
The 1988 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament was the 14th annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champions of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men's Division III collegiate basketball in the United States.


1988 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament
Held during March 1988, the field included thirty-two teams and the final championship rounds were contested at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan.


1988 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament
Ohio Wesleyan defeated Scranton, 92–70, to claim their first NCAA Division III national title.


1988 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
The 1988 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the culmination of the 1987–88 season, the 5th such tournament in NCAA history. It concluded with Wisconsin-River Falls defeating Elmira in the championship series 3-0 in the deciding mini-game. All Quarterfinals matchups were held at home team venues, while all succeeding games were played in Elmira, New York.


1988 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
Plattsburgh State's tournament performance was later vacated due to NCAA violations.


1988 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
The NCAA stopped naming an all-tournament team beginning with this tournament. The all-tournament team would next be awarded in 2009. Additionally, the Tournament Most Outstanding Player was not awarded but it would be conferred the following season.


1988 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Qualifying teams
The following teams qualified for the tournament. There were no automatic bids, however, conference tournament champions were given preferential consideration. No formal seeding was used while quarter and semifinal matches were arranged so that the road teams would have the shortest possible travel distances. Because the semifinal series were played at home team venues the NCAA elected to select an equal amount of eastern and western teams.


1988 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Format
The tournament featured three rounds of play. Starting in 1988, each round of the tournament consisted of a two-game series with a 20-minute mini-game used to determine a winner. Mini-game scores are in italics. Also, in 1988, the third-place game was discontinued. The teams were seeded according to geographic proximity in the quarterfinals so the visiting team would have the shortest feasible distance to travel.


1988 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament
The 1988 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament was the seventh annual tournament hosted by the NCAA to determine the national champion of Division III women's collegiate basketball in the United States.


1988 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament
Concordia Moorhead defeated St. John Fisher in the championship game, 65–57, to claim the Cobbers' first Division III national title.


1988 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament
The championship rounds were hosted by Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota.


1988 NCAA Division III football season
The 1988 NCAA Division III football season, part of the college football season organized by the NCAA at the Division III level in the United States, began in August 1988, and concluded with the NCAA Division III Football Championship, also known as the Stagg Bowl, in December 1988 at Garrett-Harrison Stadium in Phenix City, Alabama. The Ithaca Bombers won their third Division III championship by defeating the Central (IA) Dutch, 39−24.


1988 NCAA Division III football season, Postseason
The 1988 NCAA Division III Football Championship playoffs were the 16th annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division III college football. The championship Stagg Bowl game was held at Garrett-Harrison Stadium in Phenix City, Alabama for the 14th time and for the fourth consecutive year. Like the previous three tournaments, this year's bracket featured sixteen teams.


1988 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans
The Consensus 1988 College Basketball All-American team, as determined by aggregating the results of four major All-American teams. To earn "consensus" status, a player must win honors from a majority of the following teams: the Associated Press, the USBWA, The United Press International and the National Association of Basketball Coaches.


1988 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans, Academic All-Americans
On February 28, 1988, GTE and CoSIDA announced the 1988 Academic All-America team, with Michael Smith headlining the University Division as the first men's college basketball Academic All-American of the Year. The following is the 1987–88 GTE Academic All-America Men's Basketball Team (University Division) as selected by CoSIDA:


1988 NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament
The 1988 NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament was the 19th annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA men's collegiate volleyball. The tournament was played at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana during May 1988.


1988 NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament
USC defeated UC Santa Barbara in the final match, 3–2 (15–17, 14–16, 15–10, 15–11, 15–9), to win their third national title. The Trojans (34–4) were coached by Bob Yoder.


1988 NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament
USC's Jen-Kai Liu was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Liu, along with five other players, also comprised the All-tournament team.


1988 NCAA Men's Volleyball Tournament, Qualification
Until the creation of the NCAA Men's Division III Volleyball Championship in 2012, there was only a single national championship for men's volleyball. As such, all NCAA men's volleyball programs, whether from Division I, Division II, or Division III, were eligible. A total of 4 teams were invited to contest this championship.


1988 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship
The 1988 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship was the 20th annual NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship to determine the national champion of NCAA men's collegiate water polo. Tournament matches were played at the Belmont Plaza Pool in Long Beach, California during December 1988.


1988 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship
California defeated UCLA in the final, 14–11, to win their eighth national title. Coached by Pete Cutino, the Golden Bears finished the season 33–3.


1988 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship
The Most Outstanding Player of the tournament was Kirk Everist (California). An All-Tournament Team of seven players was also named.


1988 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship
The tournament's leading scorer, with 12 goals, was Kyle Kopp from Long Beach State.


1988 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship, Qualification
Since there has only ever been one single national championship for water polo, all NCAA men's water polo programs (whether from Division I, Division II, or Division III) were eligible. A total of 8 teams were invited to contest this championship. Arkansas–Little Rock, who appeared for the first time this year, was the first team from the Southern United States to qualify for the tournament.


1988 NCAA Rifle Championships
The 1988 NCAA Rifle Championships were contested at the ninth annual competition to determine the team and individual national champions of NCAA co-ed collegiate rifle shooting in the United States. The championship was held at Kilbourne Hall at the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia.


1988 NCAA Rifle Championships
West Virginia, with a team score of 6,192, returned to the top of the team standings, finishing nine points ahead of defending champion Murray State. It was the Mountaineers fourth national title and fourth title in six years.


1988 NCAA Rifle Championships
The individual champions were, for the smallbore rifle, defending titlist Mike Anti (West Virginia), and, for the air rifle, Deena Wigger (Murray State).


1988 NCAA Rifle Championships, Qualification
Since there is only one national collegiate championship for rifle shooting, all NCAA rifle programs (whether from Division I, Division II, or Division III) were eligible. A total of seven teams ultimately contested this championship.


1988 NCAA Skiing Championships
The 1988 NCAA Skiing Championships were contested at the Middlebury College Snow Bowl in Hancock, Vermont as part of the 35th annual NCAA-sanctioned ski tournament to determine the individual and team national champions of men's and women's collegiate slalom skiing and cross country skiing in the United States.


1988 NCAA Skiing Championships
Two-time defending champions Utah, coached by Pat Miller, claimed their sixth team national championship, 37 points ahead of Vermont in the cumulative team standings.


1988 NCAA Skiing Championships, Venue
This year's championships were contested at the Middlebury College Snow Bowl in Hancock, Vermont. Middlebury College served as hosts.


1988 NCAA Skiing Championships, Venue
These were the sixth championships held in the state of Vermont (1955, 1961, 1973, 1980, 1986, and 1988).


1988 NCAA Women's Golf Championship
The 1988 NCAA Women's Golf Championships were contested at the seventh annual NCAA-sanctioned golf tournament to determine the individual and team national champions of women's collegiate golf in the United States. Until 1996, the NCAA would hold just one annual women's golf championship for all programs across Division I, Division II, and Division III.


1988 NCAA Women's Golf Championship
The tournament was held at the New Mexico State University Golf Course in Las Cruces, New Mexico.


1988 NCAA Women's Golf Championship
Tulsa won the team championship, but the Golden Hurricane's title was later vacated by the NCAA due to rules violations by the track and field team. Arizona State and Georgia remained tied for second place.


1988 NCAA Women's Golf Championship
Melissa McNamara, from Tulsa, won the individual title but likewise had her title subsequently vacated.


1988 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championship
The 1988 NCAA Women's Gymnastics championship involved 12 schools competing for the national championship of women's NCAA Division I gymnastics. It was the seventh NCAA gymnastics national championship and the defending NCAA Team Champion for 1986 was Georgia. The competition took place in Salt Lake City, Utah hosted by the University of Utah in the Jon M. Huntsman Center. The 1988 Championship was won by Alabama, the third first time champion since Utah in 1982 and Georgia in 1987.


1988 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championship
Georgia entered the competition as the defending champions while six-time champion Utah played host. UCLA finished the regular season unbeaten and Pac-10 Champions, while SEC Champions Alabama garnered the top overall seed. UCLA was ranked number 1 throughout most of the regular season but suffered a poor showing at regionals which resulted in them receiving a low seventh seed at the championship. The Bruins' regional also saw star gymnast Tanya Service suffer a dislocated elbow. Alabama won the title with a record score of 190.050, giving coach Sarah Patterson her first of six titles.


1988 NFL Draft
The 1988 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 24–25, 1988, at the Marriot Marquis in New York City, New York. The league also held a supplemental draft after the regular draft and before the regular season.


1988 NFL Draft
Notably, the first player selected at the quarterback position did not come until the third round (68th overall) with Tom Tupa, who was also selected because of his ability as a punter. This is the last draft in which the first quarterback was selected this late. In fact, only one draft since – 1996 – has gone without a quarterback being drafted in the first round.


1988 NFL season
The 1988 NFL season was the 69th regular season of the National Football League. The Cardinals relocated from St. Louis, Missouri to the Phoenix, Arizona area becoming the Phoenix Cardinals but remained in the NFC East division. The playoff races came down to the regular season's final week, with the Seattle Seahawks winning the AFC West by one game, and the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers winning their respective divisions in a five-way tie, with the New Orleans Saints and New York Giants losing the NFC Wild Card berth to the Los Angeles Rams on tiebreakers.


1988 NFL season
This season marked the final coaching season for the legendary Tom Landry.


1988 NFL season
The season ended with Super Bowl XXIII when the San Francisco 49ers defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 20–16 at the Joe Robbie Stadium in Florida.


1988 NFL season, Transactions, Draft
The 1988 NFL Draft was held from April 24 to 25, 1988 at New York City’s Marriott Marquis. With the first pick, the Atlanta Falcons selected linebacker Aundray Bruce from the University of Auburn.


1988 NFL season, Officiating changes
Johnny Grier became the first African-American in NFL history to be promoted to referee. Grier replaced long time referee Bob Frederic, who retired in the offseason. Grier was the field judge in the previous season's Super Bowl XXII, which was the same game that Doug Williams of the Washington Redskins became the first African-American quarterback to win the Super Bowl.


1988 NFL season, Preseason, American Bowl
A series of National Football League pre-season exhibition games that were held at sites outside the United States, the only American Bowl game in 1988 was held at London's Wembley Stadium.


1988 NFL season, Regular season, Scheduling formula
Inter-conferenceAFC East vs NFC CentralAFC Central vs NFC EastAFC West vs NFC West


1988 NFL season, Regular season, Tiebreakers
NOTE: Rams-Giants-Saints conference record tiebreaker: best winning percentage (2nd figure shown in parenthesis) vs same-conference opponents. NY Giants had finished 5th in NFC East in 1987. Because of two then-existing situations, division alignment as well as team-vs-team scheduling, any 5th place team would in the following season play 14 in-conference and 2 out-of-conference teams. For 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th place teams, it would have been 12 in-conference and 4 out-of-conference teams. This was the NFL's reason for breaking ties in this type situation by percentage rather than by simple won-loss.


1988 NFL season, Stadium changes
The relocated Phoenix Cardinals moved from Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis to Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona


1988 NHK Trophy
The 1988 NHK Trophy was held at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Tokyo. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing.


1988 NHL Entry Draft
The 1988 NHL Entry Draft was the 26th NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the Forum in Montreal, Quebec.


1988 NHL Entry Draft, Selections by round
Below are listed the selections in the 1988 NHL Entry Draft. Club teams are located in North America unless otherwise noted.


1988 NHL Supplemental Draft
The 1988 NHL Supplemental Draft took place in June 1988.


1988 NSL Cup
The 1988 NSL Cup was the twelfth season of the NSL Cup, which was the main national association football knockout cup competition in Australia. All 14 NSL teams from around Australia entered the competition.


1988 NSL First Division
The 1988 National Soccer League First Division was the fourth edition of the NSL First Division in South Africa. It was won by Mamelodi Sundowns.


1988 NSWRL season
The 1988 NSWRL season was the 81st season of professional rugby league football in Australia, and saw the first expansion of the New South Wales Rugby League Premiership outside the borders of New South Wales, and another expansion outside of Sydney, with the addition of three new teams: the Brisbane Broncos, Newcastle Knights and Gold Coast-Tweed Giants. The largest NSWRL premiership yet, sixteen clubs competed during the 1988 season, with the J J Giltinan Shield for minor premiers going to Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks. The finals culminated in a grand final for the Winfield Cup between the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and Balmain Tigers. This season NSWRL teams also competed for the 1988 Panasonic Cup.


1988 NSWRL season, Season summary
1988 was the year of the Australian Bicentenary celebrations, and on 4 March, the season opened with the first game of rugby league played at the newly built Sydney Football Stadium. The St. George Dragons defeated the Eastern Suburbs Roosters 24–14. Easts and South Sydney would use the SFS as their home venue from 1988. This saw the end of both the Sydney Sports Ground (which closed due to the building of the SFS) and Redfern Oval as regular venues.


1988 NSWRL season, Season summary
The brand new Brisbane Broncos club, featuring Australian Kangaroos captain Wally Lewis and starting their first ever season of football, played their first match against the previous season's premiers the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles and won 44–10.


1988 NSWRL season, Season summary
Eventual grand finalists the Balmain Tigers had a dreadful start to the season with six wins and five losses by the end of the first full round. But their plight was rescued by a masterstroke from their chief executive Keith Barnes. The Great Britain side was touring Australia that season and in strict secrecy Barnes negotiated to have the English captain and centre Ellery Hanley – judged the best player in the English competition the previous season and an undoubted world-class player – to join the Tigers. Barnes got to the NSWRL to register Hanley at 4:55 pm on 30 June, just five minutes inside the deadline for signing players for that season.


1988 NSWRL season, Season summary
The 1988 season's Rothmans Medallist was Cronulla-Sutherland's Barry Russell. The Dally M Award went to Russell's teammate Gavin Miller, and Rugby League Week gave its player of the year award to Balmian's hooker, Ben Elias.


1988 NSWRL season, Season summary
Twenty-two regular season rounds were played in total from March till August, with Cronulla-Sutherland winning their first ever minor premiership since joining the competition in 1967. Penrith and Balmain finished on equal points in fifth place and played each other for the place in the top five, alongside Cronulla, Canterbury, Canberra and Manly.


1988 NSWRL season, Season summary, Teams
This season saw the premiership's first expansion since 1982 with the addition of three newly created teams: the Brisbane Broncos, the Gold Coast-Tweed Giants and the Newcastle Knights. This brought the League another step closer to becoming a national competition as a total of sixteen teams, the largest number in the tournament's history, contested the premiership, including five Sydney-based foundation teams, another six from Sydney, two from greater New South Wales, two from Queensland, and one from the Australian Capital Territory.


1988 NSWRL season, Season summary, Teams
7th seasonGround: Wollongong StadiumCoach: Terry FearnleyCaptain: Perry Haddock → Paul Upfield


1988 NSWRL season, Season summary, Teams
81st seasonGround: Orana ParkCoach: Laurie Freier → John BaileyCaptain: Ian Schubert