The Florida Gulf Coast Eagles men's basketball team is the men's basketball team that represents

Florida Gulf Coast University Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) is a public university in Lee County, Florida. It is part of the State University System of Florida and is its second youngest member. The university was established on May 3, 1991, and is accredited by the ...

in Fort Myers, Florida, United States. The school's team currently competes in the ASUN Conference. In 2002, Florida Gulf Coast became an independent member of

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

. Florida Gulf Coast also started its men's basketball team, with Dave Balza as head coach from the inaugural 2002–03 to the 2010–11 season. He was succeeded by Andy Enfield from 2011–13, who took the Eagles to the Sweet Sixteen as the first ever 15-seed to do such. After putting FGCU on the map with their new "Dunk City" moniker, Enfield accepted the men's basketball position at USC.

Joe Dooley Joe Dooley (born 13 November 1963) is an Irish former hurler and manager. Dooley enjoyed a successful playing career at club level with Seir Kieran and is the only Offaly player ever to have won three All-Ireland titles. After a spell as pl ...

then assumed the role from 2013-2018 before accepting the Head Coach position at

East Carolina East Carolina University (ECU) is a public research university in Greenville, North Carolina. It is the fourth largest university in North Carolina. Founded on March 8, 1907, as a teacher training school, East Carolina has grown from its orig ...

Michael Fly served as head coach from 2018 to 2022, before being replaced by former Penn State head coach

Pat Chambers Patrick Brian Chambers (born December 13, 1970) is an American college basketball coach and is the current head coach at Florida Gulf Coast University. He is formerly the head men's basketball coach at Penn State and Boston University. Biograph ...

. In 2006, Florida Gulf Coast applied for

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athletic ...

status and became a transitory Division I effective in the 2007–08 season. Florida Gulf Coast became a full Division I member on August 11, 2011. The Eagles men's basketball team is best known for their run in the

2013 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The 2013 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament was a single-elimination tournament that involved 68 teams playing to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 19, 2013, and concluded wit ...

, their first since moving up to Division I. In the Round of 64, the Eagles defeated the #2 seed Georgetown 78–68. It was only the seventh time that a 15th seed had defeated a 2nd seed, and the second-highest margin of victory for one.
ESPN Two days later in the Round of 32, the Eagles defeated the #7 seed 2012–13 San Diego State Aztecs men's basketball team, San Diego State 81–71, becoming the first 15th seed to ever advance to the Sweet 16.
ESPN The school was referred to as "Dunk City" or "Florida Dunk Coast" on many media outlets such as ESPN and CBS due to their high-flying athletic finishing style.

Season results

The Eagles participated in their first Division I postseason tournament in 2013, qualifying for the NCAA Tournament by winning the ASUN Conference Championship, beating top-seeded Mercer Bears men's basketball, Mercer in the conference tournament final. On March 22, 2013, the Eagles, the 15th seed in the South Region, scored one of the biggest upsets in NCAA Tournament history, defeating second-seeded Georgetown 78–68. They were only the seventh #15 seed to defeat a #2 seed, the first being Richmond in its 1991 victory over Syracuse. Two days later, they defeated seventh seeded 2012–13 San Diego State Aztecs men's basketball team, San Diego State to become the first #15 seed ever to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. Their run ended there in a 62–50 loss to third seeded

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. This is "officially" the fourth-deepest run by a first-time tournament participant in NCAA history, behind only

Indiana State Indiana State University (ISU) is a public university in Terre Haute, Indiana. It was founded in 1865 and offers over 100 undergraduate majors and more than 75 graduate and professional programs. Indiana State is classified among "D/PU: Doctor ...

advancing all the way to the national championship game in

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...

and

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

reaching the Final Four in

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...

and

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

, respectively. Southwestern Louisiana, now known as Louisiana–Lafayette, advanced to the Sweet 16 in its first appearance as well, in

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...

, but that appearance was vacated due to NCAA sanctions. Coach Andy Enfield was hired by USC on April 1. To replace him, the Eagles hired

, an assistant from

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

Postseason

NCAA Division I Tournament results

The Eagles have appeared in the NCAA Division I Tournament three times. Their combined record is 3–3. Their highest seed was #14 in 2017.

NIT results

The Eagles have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) two times. Their combined record is 0–2.

CIT results

The Eagles have appeared in the

CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament The CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) was an American men's college basketball postseason tournament founded by Collegeinsider.com. The tournament was oriented toward schools that did not get selected for the NCAA Division I men's ...

(CIT) one time. Their record is 0–1.

The Basketball Classic results

The Eagles have appeared in

The Basketball Classic The Basketball Classic presented by ERACE is a single-elimination, fully-bracketed men's college basketball postseason tournament created in 2022 as successor to the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament, featuring 32 National Collegiate A ...

one time. Their record is 1–1.

NCAA Division II Tournament results

The Eagles have appeared in the NCAA Division II Tournament one time. Their record is 0–1.

Notable international players

Eli Abaev Eli Abaev (Hebrew: אלי אבייב; born December 13, 1998) is an American-Israeli basketball player who last played for Hapoel Be'er Sheva in the Israeli Basketball Premier League, at the power forward and center positions. He played colleg ...

(born 1998), American-Israeli basketball player for

Hapoel Be'er Sheva Hapoel Be'er Sheva Football Club ( he, מועדון הכדורגל הפועל באר שבע, ''Moadon HaKaduregel Hapoel Be'er Sheva'') is an Israeli football club from the city of Be'er Sheva, that competes in the Israeli Premier League. The c ...

in the Israeli Basketball Premier League

References

External links

* {{ASUN Conference men's basketball navbox 2002 establishments in Florida Basketball teams established in 2002