At the University of Tampa, national championships have become the expectation. UT now has 30 of them — in six different sports — at the NCAA Division II level.

The first one, accomplished 45 years ago, might have been the most memorable. In the 1981 NCAA championship game, Coach Jay Miller’s men’s soccer team (15-0-3) defeated Cal State-Los Angeles 1-0 on Peter Johansson’s 30-yard free-kick blast two minutes into overtime.

When Spartan players spilled onto the frozen field at Yale University in New Haven, Conn., Miller dropped to his knees, feeling a combination of relief and jubilation.

Miller arrived in 1978, when UT’s athletic program struggled following the elimination of football three years earlier. There was red ink, minimal athletic scholarships and sparse funding. Miller promptly predicted a men’s soccer national championship within five years. And he beat that deadline.

Five players from the 1981 Spartans have been inducted into UT’s Athletic Hall of Fame (Johansson, Keith Fulk, Tom Graham, Alfonso Smith and Mike Fall, along with Miller as the head coach and the entire 1981 team).

The defensive-minded Spartans allowed just 14 goals in 18 games. The only blemishes were the three ties against Seattle-Pacific (1-1), Florida International University (2-2) and the USF (2-2) in the annual Mayor’s Cup game.

“Sports are not everything, but I do think they are important to a school,’’ Miller said. “We were the first (to win a UT national title). I think we opened a door and I think it helped put the university on its front foot. Great things began to happen and that has continued through to today. The growth of UT athletics — and the school as a whole — is simply amazing.’’