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.
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.
More information Tournament, Seed ...
Tournament |
Seed |
Results |
Ref. |
1950 Utica Optimist Club tournament |
|
Utica Optimist Club champion Won Semifinal vs. Brockport State, 67–60 Won Final vs. Utica, 59–57 |
[7] |
1951 Utica Optimist Club tournament |
|
Utica Optimist Club champion Won Semifinal vs. Utica, 86–69 Won Final vs. Hartwick, 86–65 |
[8] |
1951 National Catholic Invitational tournament |
|
National Catholic Invitational third place Won First Round vs. Saint Michael's, 95–57 Won Quarterfinal vs. Siena, 57–53 Lost Semifinal vs. St. Francis (NY), 66–84 Won Third-Place Game vs. Mount St. Mary's, 63–61 |
[9] |
1952 Utica Optimist Club tournament |
|
Utica Optimist Club champion Won Semifinal vs. Utica, 72–42 Won Final vs. Hartwick, 72–61 |
[10] |
1952 National Catholic Invitational tournament |
|
National Catholic Invitational quarterfinalist Won First Round vs. Providence, 67–63 Lost Quarterfinal vs. St. Francis (NY), 61–75 |
[11] |
1959 NCAA College Division tournament |
|
NCAA College Division Sweet 16 Won Regional Semifinal vs. Williams, 72–66 Lost Sweet 16 vs. Saint Michael's, 70–71 |
[12]: 26 |
1960 NCAA College Division tournament |
|
NCAA College Division Regional fourth place Lost Regional Semifinal vs. St. Anselm, 75–108 Lost Regional Third-Place Game vs. Assumption, 68–94 |
[12]: 26 |
1964 NCAA College Division tournament |
|
NCAA College Division Sweet 16 Won Regional Semifinal vs. Youngstown State, 64–53 Lost Sweet 16 vs. Akron, 38–62 |
[12]: 26 |
1965 NCAA College Division tournament |
|
NCAA College Division Regional fourth place Lost Regional Semifinal vs. Assumption, 58–76 Lost Regional Third-Place Game vs. Hartwick, 68–70 |
[12]: 26 |
1966 NCAA College Division tournament |
|
NCAA College Division Regional fifth place Lost First Round vs. Philadelphia Textile, 61–83 Won Consolation Game vs. Potsdam State, 86–63 |
[12]: 26 |
1968 NCAA College Division tournament |
|
NCAA College Division Regional seventh place Lost First Round vs. Buffalo State, 66–83 Lost Consolation Game vs. Northeastern, 54–67 |
[12]: 27 |
1969 NCAA College Division tournament |
|
NCAA College Division Regional fourth place Lost Regional Semifinal vs. Montclair State, 75–79 Lost Regional Third-Place Game vs. Albany State (NY), 70–71 |
[12]: 27 |
1988 NCAA Division II tournament |
|
NCAA Division II Regional third place Lost Regional Semifinal vs. California (PA), 88–91 Won Regional Third-Place Game vs. Kutztown, 89–81 |
[12]: 29 |
1996 NCAA Division II tournament |
5 |
NCAA Division II first round Lost First Round vs. Franklin Pierce, 53–83 |
[12]: 29 |
1997 NCAA Division II tournament |
6 |
NCAA Division II first round Lost First Round vs. Saint Rose, 76–92 |
[12]: 30 |
2014 NCAA Division II tournament |
6 |
NCAA Division II first round Lost First Round vs. Saint Anselm, 62–73 |
|
2017 NCAA Division II tournament |
1 |
NCAA Division II first round Lost First Round vs. Merrimack, 68–72OT |
|
2018 NCAA Division II tournament |
1 |
NCAA Division II Elite Eight Won First Round vs. Jefferson, 75–57 Won Regional Semifinal vs. Saint Rose, 67–63 Won Sweet 16 vs. Bloomfield, 75–59 Lost Elite Eight vs. West Texas A&M, 73–87 |
|
2019 NCAA Division II tournament |
3 |
NCAA Division II first round Lost First Round vs. St. Thomas Aquinas, 59–61 |
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