List of Le Moyne Dolphins men's basketball seasons
The men's basketball team of Le Moyne College is referred to as the Le Moyne Dolphins, and they play in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the Northeast Conference (NEC). The Dolphins have played their home games on Ted Grant Court at the Le Moyne Events Center in DeWitt, New York since 1962.
The Dolphins played their first basketball game at home on December 7, 1948, a 41–39 loss to Siena. Le Moyne's first victory came on the road at Hobart in the Dolphins' second game.
In 1950, Le Moyne became a charter member of the Eastern Catholic Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (ECIAC).[1] After only one season, the ECIAC ceased publicizing itself as a conference and became an association of its member schools with no basketball champion crowned, leaving Le Moyne an independent again for 1951–52.[2]
In 1955, Le Moyne became a charter member of the new Middle Eastern College Athletic Association (MECAA).[3] The MECAA included teams that were also members of other conferences, a practice not uncommon at the time. When the NCAA split its members into the College Division and University Division in 1956,[4] the MECAA included four teams (St. Francis (NY), Iona, St. Bonaventure and Siena) that were placed into the University Division, while Le Moyne and Saint Peter's were placed into the College Division. St. Francis was also a member of the Metropolitan New York Conference, and St. Bonaventure was also a member of the Western New York Little Three Conference. Nevertheless, all six schools initially continued their affiliation with the MECAA after the split. Le Moyne remained a member of the MECAA, until it was dissolved following the 1975–76 season. The MECAA awarded its championship based on regular-season winning percentage and did not conduct a post-season tournament. The Dolphins took the title seven times during their 21 seasons of membership, the most championships of any conference member. Since conference membership crossed NCAA divisions, the MECAA champion was not awarded an automatic bid to any NCAA tournament. In December 1960, the MECAA conducted an in-season Christmas tournament that included five of its six teams as well as three non-members. Le Moyne defeated Saint Peter's, Iona and Long Island to win the tournament title.
Le Moyne became a Division II institution, when the College Division was split in 1973. Following the dissolution of the MECAA, the Dolphins played as an independent until joining the Mideast Collegiate Conference (MECC) in 1983, and remained a member of that conference, until it dissolved in 1991. Le Moyne won two MECC regular-season titles and one conference tournament during their eight years in the league.
After playing the 1991–92 season as an independent, Le Moyne joined the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) in 1992. The Dolphins won the NECC tournament in 1996, their final season in the league.
In 1996, the Dolphins joined the Northeast-10 Conference (NE10), where they remained until beginning reclassification to Division I as a member of the NEC in 2023. During their 26 seasons over a span of 27 years in the NE10 (the 2020–21 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic), Le Moyne won four regular-season conference championships and two conference tournaments.
Season results[edit]
| Season | Coach | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tommy Niland (Independent) (1948–1950) | ||||||||||
| 1948–49 | Tommy Niland | 12–7 | ||||||||
| 1949–50 | Tommy Niland | 10–12[a] | Utica Optimist Club champion | |||||||
| Tommy Niland (Eastern Catholic Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) (1950–1951) | ||||||||||
| 1950–51 | Tommy Niland | 17–7[b] | 2–3 | 6th | National Catholic Invitational third place Utica Optimist Club champion | |||||
| Tommy Niland (Independent) (1951–1955) | ||||||||||
| 1951–52 | Tommy Niland | 8–15 | National Catholic Invitational quarterfinalist Utica Optimist Club champion | |||||||
| 1952–53 | Tommy Niland | 12–8[c] | ||||||||
| 1953–54 | Tommy Niland | 10–6 | ||||||||
| 1954–55 | Tommy Niland | 11–8[d] | ||||||||
| Tommy Niland (Middle Eastern College Athletic Association) (1955–1973) | ||||||||||
| 1955–56 | Tommy Niland | 15–6 | 4–2 | T–2nd | ||||||
| 1956–57 | Tommy Niland | 10–9 | 3–4 | 4th | ||||||
| 1957–58 | Tommy Niland | 11–11 | 2–5 | 5th | ||||||
| 1958–59 | Tommy Niland | 18–6 | 4–1 | T–1st[e] | NCAA College Division Sweet 16 | |||||
| 1959–60 | Tommy Niland | 13–5 | 4–1 | 1st | NCAA College Division Regional fourth place | |||||
| 1960–61 | Tommy Niland | 16–7 | 2–2 | 3rd | 1960 MECAA Christmas Invitational champion[f] | |||||
| 1961–62 | Tommy Niland | 13–9 | 4–1 | 1st | ||||||
| 1962–63 | Tommy Niland | 12–10 | 3–2 | T–3rd | ||||||
| 1963–64 | Tommy Niland | 18–6 | 4–1 | 1st | NCAA College Division Sweet 16 | |||||
| 1964–65 | Tommy Niland | 18–5 | 4–1 | 1st | NCAA College Division Regional fourth place | |||||
| 1965–66 | Tommy Niland | 16–6 | 4–1 | 2nd | NCAA College Division Regional fifth place | |||||
| 1966–67 | Tommy Niland | 11–10 | 1–4 | 6th | ||||||
| 1967–68 | Tommy Niland | 14–8 | 2–3 | T–3rd | NCAA College Division Regional seventh place | |||||
| 1968–69 | Tommy Niland | 15–8 | 4–1 | T–1st[g] | NCAA College Division Regional fourth place | |||||
| 1969–70 | Tommy Niland | 11–10 | 2–2 | |||||||
| 1970–71 | Tommy Niland | 9–12 | 2–3 | |||||||
| 1971–72 | Tommy Niland | 13–10 | 2–3 | T–3rd | ||||||
| 1972–73 | Tommy Niland | 13–9 | 5–0 | 1st | ||||||
| Tommy Niland (Pre-division NCAA): | 95–69 (.579) | 6–5 (.545) | ||||||||
| Tommy Niland (College Division): | 231–141 (.621) | 52–35 (.598) | ||||||||
| Tommy Niland: | 326–210 (.608) | 58–40 (.598) | ||||||||
| Thomas Cooney (Middle Eastern College Athletic Association) (1973–1976) | ||||||||||
| 1973–74 | Thomas Cooney | 14–10 | 2–3 | T–4th | ||||||
| 1974–75 | Thomas Cooney | 14–11 | 2–3 | |||||||
| 1975–76 | Thomas Cooney | 12–12 | 1–4 | 6th | ||||||
| Thomas Cooney (Independent) (1976–1979) | ||||||||||
| 1976–77 | Thomas Cooney | 15–7 | ||||||||
| 1977–78 | Thomas Cooney | 13–13 | ||||||||
| 1978–79 | Thomas Cooney | 13–10 | ||||||||
| Thomas Cooney: | 81–63 (.563) | 5–10 (.333) | ||||||||
| Michael Lee (Independent) (1979–1983) | ||||||||||
| 1979–80 | Michael Lee | 6–19 | ||||||||
| 1980–81 | Michael Lee | 5–21 | ||||||||
| 1981–82 | Michael Lee | 10–15 | ||||||||
| 1982–83 | Michael Lee | 13–12 | ||||||||
| Michael Lee: | 34–67 (.337) | – | ||||||||
| John Beilein (Mideast Collegiate Conference) (1983–1991) | ||||||||||
| 1983–84 | John Beilein | 20–8 | 5–0 | 1st | ||||||
| 1984–85 | John Beilein | 19–10 | 4–6 | |||||||
| 1985–86 | John Beilein | 14–15 | 5–7 | |||||||
| 1986–87 | John Beilein | 20–10 | 8–4 | |||||||
| 1987–88 | John Beilein | 24–6 | 10–2 | T–1st | NCAA Division II Regional third place | |||||
| 1988–89 | John Beilein | 15–12 | 6–6 | |||||||
| 1989–90 | John Beilein | 17–12 | 5–7 | |||||||
| 1990–91 | John Beilein | 19–10 | 6–4 | |||||||
| John Beilein (Independent) (1991–1992) | ||||||||||
| 1991–92 | John Beilein | 15–11 | ||||||||
| John Beilein: | 163–94 (.634) | 49–36 (.576) | ||||||||
| Scott Hicks (New England Collegiate Conference) (1992–1996) | ||||||||||
| 1992–93 | Scott Hicks | 18–10 | 7–7 | |||||||
| 1993–94 | Scott Hicks | 16–11 | 11–5 | |||||||
| 1994–95 | Scott Hicks | 16–12 | 9–7 | |||||||
| 1995–96 | Scott Hicks | 24–6 | 16–4 | NCAA Division II first round | ||||||
| Scott Hicks (Northeast-10 Conference) (1996–1997) | ||||||||||
| 1996–97 | Scott Hicks | 13–17 | 7–11 | 7th | NCAA Division II first round | |||||
| Scott Hicks: | 87–56 (.608) | 50–34 (.595) | ||||||||
| Dave Paulsen (Northeast-10 Conference) (1997–2000) | ||||||||||
| 1997–98 | Dave Paulsen | 20–8 | 14–6 | T–1st[h] | ||||||
| 1998–99 | Dave Paulsen | 13–14 | 8–10 | T–6th | ||||||
| 1999–00 | Dave Paulsen | 9–17 | 2–16 | 10th | ||||||
| Dave Paulsen: | 42–39 (.519) | 24–32 (.429) | ||||||||
| Steve Evans (Northeast-10 Conference) (2000–2015) | ||||||||||
| 2000–01 | Steve Evans | 5–21 | 2–20 | 15th | ||||||
| 2001–02 | Steve Evans | 11–16 | 7–15 | T–11th | ||||||
| 2002–03 | Steve Evans | 17–12 | 12–10 | T–6th | ||||||
| 2003–04 | Steve Evans | 17–11 | 14–8 | T–4th | ||||||
| 2004–05 | Steve Evans | 11–17 | 9–13 | T–9th | ||||||
| 2005–06 | Steve Evans | 12–16 | 7–15 | 12th | ||||||
| 2006–07 | Steve Evans | 14–15 | 10–12 | T–9th | ||||||
| 2007–08 | Steve Evans | 15–14 | 12–10 | T–5th | ||||||
| 2008–09 | Steve Evans | 20–11 | 13–9 | 6th | ||||||
| 2009–10 | Steve Evans | 18–10 | 14–8 | T–4th | ||||||
| 2010–11 | Steve Evans | 12–15 | 10–12 | T–8th | ||||||
| 2011–12 | Steve Evans | 12–14 | 8–14 | T–13th | ||||||
| 2012–13 | Steve Evans | 13–14 | 10–12 | T–8th | ||||||
| 2013–14 | Steve Evans | 17–12 | 13–7 | 3rd Southwest |
NCAA Division II first round | |||||
| 2014–15 | Steve Evans | 16–13 | 10–10 | T–3rd Southwest |
||||||
| Steve Evans: | 210–211 (.499) | 151–175 (.463) | ||||||||
| Patrick Beilein (Northeast-10 Conference) (2015–2019) | ||||||||||
| 2015–16 | Patrick Beilein | 10–17 | 7–13 | T–4th Southwest |
||||||
| 2016–17 | Patrick Beilein | 22–7 | 16–4 | 1st[i] Southwest |
NCAA Division II first round | |||||
| 2017–18 | Patrick Beilein | 27–7 | 18–2 | 1st[i] Southwest |
NCAA Division II Elite Eight | |||||
| 2018–19 | Patrick Beilein | 18–10 | 14–6 | 1st Southwest |
NCAA Division II first round | |||||
| Patrick Beilein: | 77–41 (.653) | 55–25 (.688) | ||||||||
| Nate Champion (Northeast-10 Conference) (2019–2023) | ||||||||||
| 2019–20 | Nate Champion | 19–9 | 15–4 | 1st[i] Southwest |
No postseason held (COVID-19 pandemic). | |||||
| 2020–21 | Nate Champion | 0–0 | 0–0 | Season cancelled (COVID-19 pandemic). | ||||||
| 2021–22 | Nate Champion | 12–15 | 8–11 | 5th Southwest |
||||||
| 2022–23 | Nate Champion | 15–15 | 11–9 | T–5th | ||||||
| Nate Champion (Northeast Conference) (2023–present) | ||||||||||
| 2023–24 | Nate Champion | 15–17 | 9–7 | T-4th | ||||||
| Nate Champion (Division II): | 46–39 (.541) | 34–24 (.586) | ||||||||
| Nate Champion (Division I): | 15–17 (.469) | 9–7 (.563) | ||||||||
| Nate Champion: | 61–56 (.521) | 43–31 (.581) | ||||||||
| ECIAC: | 2–3 (.400) | |||||||||
| MECAA: | 61–47 (.565) | |||||||||
| MECC: | 49–36 (.576) | |||||||||
| NECC: | 43–23 (.652) | |||||||||
| NE10: | 271–267 (.504) | |||||||||
| NEC: | 9–7 (.563) | |||||||||
| Pre-division NCAA: | 95–69 (.579) | 6–5 (.545) | ||||||||
| Division II[j]: | 971–751 (.564) | 420–371 (.531) | ||||||||
| Division I: | 15–17 (.469) | 9–7 (.563) | ||||||||
| Major program[k]: | 110–86 (.561) | 15–12 (.556) | ||||||||
| Total: | 1,081–837 (.564) |
435–383 (.532) |
||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
| ||||||||||
- Notes
- ^ Excludes 75–72 loss at New York Athletic Club on February 10, 1950, which is included in the official Le Moyne College all-time game results, because the so-called Bevo Francis rule, ratified by the NCAA in 1953, defines collegiate contests as including only games between varsity teams of four-year degree-granting institutions and instructs the NCAA Statistics Service to retroactively remove all games that do not qualify as collegiate contests from official statistics back to 1948.
- ^ Excludes 74–68 loss at New York Athletic Club on December 1, 1950, which is included in the official Le Moyne College all-time game results, because the so-called Bevo Francis rule, ratified by the NCAA in 1953, defines collegiate contests as including only games between varsity teams of four-year degree-granting institutions and instructs the NCAA Statistics Service to retroactively remove all games that do not qualify as collegiate contests from official statistics back to 1948.
- ^ Excludes 74–67 loss vs. Marine Corps Base Quantico on February 19, 1953, which is included in the official Le Moyne College all-time game results, because the so-called Bevo Francis rule, ratified by the NCAA in 1953, defines collegiate contests as including only games between varsity teams of four-year degree-granting institutions and instructs the NCAA Statistics Service to retroactively remove all games that do not qualify as collegiate contests from official statistics back to 1948.
- ^ Excludes 85–77 loss at New York Athletic Club on February 25, 1955, which is included in the official Le Moyne College all-time game results, because the so-called Bevo Francis rule, ratified by the NCAA in 1953, defines collegiate contests as including only games between varsity teams of four-year degree-granting institutions.
- ^ Le Moyne finished tied with Iona. Le Moyne lost the only head-to-head matchup, 58–54, at Iona on February 14, 1959. Nevertheless, the MECAA recognized both teams as co-champions.[5]
- ^ Up to the 1959–60 season, some MECAA teams did not play full round-robin conference schedules, and others played each conference opponent with home-and-home series versus some but not all conference members. The uneven scheduling created controversy about which team deserved the league's championship, in cases in which the title had been decided in favor of a team that had scheduled one extra or one fewer game, since the conference champion was the team with the best winning percentage against conference opponents. This tournament was originally planned to be held annually in December to determine a champion with all conference teams on equal footing. The MECAA had six members at the time: Le Moyne, St. Francis (NY), Iona, King's, Saint Peter's and Siena. King's was not eligible for the 1959–60 regular-season MECAA championship, since it joined the conference shortly before the start of the season and had only three games scheduled against MECAA members; King's did not participate in the Christmas tournament. Therefore, three other teams (Fairleigh Dickinson, Long Island and Wagner) were invited to create a full eight-team bracket and ensure the tournament champion would need to win three games. Despite the initial plans, the 1960 Christmas tournament was the only tournament the MECAA ever held. The tournament was unique, because it can be differentiated from a conference tournament, since it was not held at the end of the season and included non-member teams. It also does not resemble an in-season multiple-team event, since five of the six MECAA teams participated rather than limiting tournament entries to one team per conference.
- ^ Le Moyne finished tied for first place with Saint Peter's and won the head-to-head matchup, 81–80, on December 3, 1968. Nevertheless, the MECAA recognized both teams as co-champions.[6]
- ^ Finished tied with Assumption and Stonehill and were seeded third in conference tournament based on tiebreaker procedure. The NE10 recognizes all three teams as regular-season conference co-champions.
- ^ a b c Had best regular-season conference record of all NE10 teams, regardless of division.
- ^ Includes College Division from 1956 to 1973.
- ^ Includes pre-division NCAA seasons through 1955–56 and Division I seasons. The Associated Press began publishing separate rankings of major programs and small colleges during the 1947–48 season, and the NCAA recognizes this differentiation. Le Moyne was included in the small college poll from the inception of its varsity program. Nevertheless, Le Moyne played a schedule that included a significant number of major program opponents from the 1948–49 season through the 1955–56 season. Of the 164 collegiate contests played by Le Moyne over those eight seasons, 62 (38%) of them featured opponents that were classified as University Division teams, when the NCAA was formally split into divisions in 1956. Le Moyne was 19–43 in those 62 games, including 5–5 in 1954–55, when 10 (53%) of their 19 games were against future University Division teams and 5–4 in 1955–56, when nine (43%) of their 21 games were against future University Division teams. Also, during those eight seasons, Le Moyne participated in the prestigious National Catholic Invitational Tournament, a tournament that included several major programs, twice.
Postseason results[edit]
The NCAA tournament started in 1939, and the number of teams invited to participate has expanded a number of times over the years. Between 1939 and 1950, the tournament had only eight teams, and then, between 1951 and 1956, the number of participants varied between 16 and 25 teams. Le Moyne was never selected to participate in the tournament prior to the split of the NCAA into divisions.
The first College Division tournament was held in 1957, and Le Moyne was first selected to participate in 1959. The College Division tournament became the Division II tournament in 1974. Le Moyne participated in the tournament 14 times between 1957 and 2023.
Since Le Moyne started its transition to Division I in 2023, it will become eligible to be selected or qualify for the Division I tournament starting in 2028, after its four-year transition period has been completed. As of 2024[update], 68 teams participate in the tournament each year.
The National Invitation Tournament (NIT), meanwhile, began in 1938, with only six teams. It expanded several times, reaching a peak of 40 participating teams between 2002 and 2006. After the split of the NCAA into divisions, the NIT had no rule that prevented College Division (or, later, Division II or Division III) teams from participating. In fact, Southern Illinois won the 1967 NIT in their final season as a College Division team. Nevertheless, after 1967, all NIT participants have been either University Division or Division I teams. Starting in 2006, the first year the NIT was operated by the NCAA, only Division I teams may be invited to the NIT. Le Moyne has never been invited to participate in the NIT. The Dolphins may not be selected to play in the NIT until 2028, when their transition period will have been completed. The NIT includes 32 teams per tournament as of 2024[update].
The College Basketball Invitational (CBI) and CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) are postseason tournaments that select Division I teams that are not participating in either the NCAA tournament or the NIT. Since the CBI and CIT are not operated by the NCAA, they may invite transitioning Division I teams to participate, and Le Moyne was eligible starting with the 2024 tournaments. In the past, both the CBI and the CIT have extended invitations to transitioning teams.
References[edit]
- General
- "Le Moyne College Men's Basketball All-time Game Results". Le Moyne Dolphins. December 22, 2023. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
- Van Valkenberg, James M. (March 4, 1992). "The Bevo Francis Rule" (PDF). The NCAA News. p. 11. Retrieved January 10, 2024.
- "NE10 Men's Basketball Record Book" (PDF). Northeast-10 Conference. 2023. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
- "Siena Basketball Record Book" (PDF). Siena College. 2022. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
- Specific
- ^ "Le Moyne is Founder-Member of E.C.I.A.C. As 1950–51 Conference Plans are Charted" (PDF). The Dolphin. September 20, 1950. p. 3. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
- ^ Butler, Jack (March 8, 1952). "Scholastic Slants". The Tablet. Brooklyn, New York. p. 18. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
- ^ "New Loop". Daily News. New York. June 4, 1955. p. 37. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
- ^ Hicks, Jay (August 20, 1956). "NCAA Group Opens Talks on Money Aid to Players". Kingsport Times. Kingsport, Tennessee. p. 7. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
- ^ "One-Point Win for MECAA Tie". The Tablet. Brooklyn, New York. March 7, 1959. p. 18. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
- ^ "St. Peter's Five Wallops Siena". The Troy Record. Troy, New York. March 5, 1969. p. 24. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
- ^ "Varsity Climaxes Season with Tourney Victory at Utica" (PDF). The Dolphin. March 22, 1950. p. 1. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
- ^ Hickey, Bill (March 21, 1951). "Dolphin Sportlights" (PDF). The Dolphin. p. 3. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
- ^ "Dolphins Place Third in Catholic Tourney" (PDF). The Dolphin. March 21, 1951. p. 1. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
- ^ "Dolphins Win Utica Tourney" (PDF). The Dolphin. March 13, 1952. p. 5. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
- ^ "Terriers Top Dolphins in NCIT" (PDF). The Dolphin. March 28, 1952. p. 6. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Division II Men's Basketball Championship (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. 2010. pp. 26–27, 29–30. Retrieved January 3, 2024.