The Memphis Tigers men's basketball team represents the

University of Memphis } The University of Memphis (UofM) is a public university, public research university in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 22,000 students. The university maintains the Herff College of Engineering ...

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

men's

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

. The Tigers have competed in the

American Athletic Conference The American Athletic Conference (The American or AAC) is an American collegiate athletic conference, featuring 11 member universities and five affiliate member universities that compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) ...

since 2013. As of 2020, the Tigers had the 26th highest winning percentage in

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

history.NCAA D1 Record Book
/ref> While the Tigers have an on-campus arena,

Elma Roane Fieldhouse The Elma Roane Fieldhouse is a 2,565-seat arena in Memphis, Tennessee. It is the home of the University of Memphis Tigers women's basketball team. Prior to moving to the Mid-South Coliseum in 1966, it was also home to the men's basketball team ...

(which is still the primary home for Tigers women's basketball), the team has played home games off campus since the mid-1960s. The Tigers moved to the

Mid-South Coliseum Mid-South Coliseum is an indoor arena in Memphis, Tennessee. The facility was opened in 1964, and became known “The Entertainment Capitol of the Mid-South” due its significance in hosting events such as concerts, sports games and professio ...

at the Memphis Fairgrounds in 1966, and then to downtown Memphis at

The Pyramid A pyramid is a structure with triangular lateral surfaces converging to an apex. Pyramid may also refer to: Anatomy and medicine * Petrous part of the temporal bone, the pyramid * Pyramid (brainstem), the anterior part of medulla oblongata Ga ...

, initially built for the team in 1991 and later home to the NBA's

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference ...

. In 2004, both teams moved to a new downtown venue,

FedExForum FedExForum is a multi-purpose arena located in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee. It is the home of the Memphis Grizzlies of the NBA and the NCAA Division I men's basketball program of the University of Memphis, both of whom previously played home ga ...

. ''ESPN Stats and Information Department'' ranked Memphis as the 19th most successful basketball program from 1962 to 2012 in their annual ''50 in 50'' list.

History

Early years

The predecessor of the University of Memphis, West Tennessee State Normal School, first put a basketball team on the court in 1920.

Zach Curlin Zachary Henry Curlin (January 31, 1890 – June 3, 1970) was an American football and basketball player and coach. Background and career Curlin attended Christian Brothers College (now University) in Memphis and the Webb School. and played pia ...

began coaching the team in 1924. The Tigers joined the Mississippi Valley Conference in 1928. The team played its early home games at a local high school gym, a local

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

, and in a room on campus called the "Normal Cage" which allowed only six inches from the court lines to the walls. In 1929, a $100,000 facility on campus named Memorial Gym became the Tigers' home.Tiger Basketball History :: The early years
/ref> Curlin's last season coaching the Tigers was in 1948, by which time the school had been renamed Memphis State College; it would become

Memphis State University } The University of Memphis (UofM) is a public university, public research university in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 22,000 students. The university maintains the Herff College of Engineering ...

in 1957. His successor was McCoy Tarry. In 1951, the new $700,000 Fieldhouse gym was opened for Tiger home games. In 1952, John Wallesea became the first Memphis State player to be drafted by the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

Forest Arnold A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

became the school's first All-American in 1954. The Tigers made the NCAA tournament for the first time, in

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

, under coach

Eugene Lambert Eugene Lambert (1928 – 22 February 2010) was an Irish puppeteer and actor from County Sligo. He was owner of the Lambert Puppet Theatre in Monkstown, County Dublin. He was noted for co-starring as O'Brien in the RTÉ television series ''W ...

Bob Vanatta Bob Vanatta (July 7, 1918 – October 22, 2016) was an American basketball coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head basketball coach for Central Methodist, Missouri State University, Army, Bradley, Memphis State, Missouri ...

became the team's coach in 1956 and took the Tigers to the NIT final. Win Wilfong became the team's second All-American in 1957. In 1962, Dean Ehlers took over coaching duties. The Tigers began playing its home games at the

in 1964.

Moe Iba Henry W. "Moe" Iba (born May 31, 1939) is an American former basketball coach. He served as the head men's basketball coach at Memphis State University, now known as the University of Memphis, from 1966 to 1970, Nebraska from 1980 to 1986, and Te ...

became the team's coach in 1966, the same year the team joined the

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the third-oldest collegiate athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the midwest. History The MVC was established ...

. Iba's four years running the program are considered the low point in the history of Memphis basketball, with the team suffering 19 and 20 loss seasons before Iba's dismissal. However, the Tigers did not remain down for long.

1970s

In 1970,

Gene Bartow Bobby Gene Bartow (August 18, 1930 January 3, 2012) was an American men's college basketball coach. The Browning, Missouri, native coached 36 years at six universities after coaching two high schools in Missouri for six years. In 1972 Bartow coac ...

was named head coach. The 1970 season also saw the first games of

Larry Finch Larry O. Finch (February 16, 1951 – April 2, 2011) was a player and coach for the University of Memphis men's basketball team. He is perhaps most famous for leading the Memphis Tigers to the NCAA men's basketball championship game in 1973 in a ...

and Ronnie Robinson, two all-time greats. Larry Finch scored 24 points in his first appearance as a freshman. In 1971, the Tigers led by Finch and Robinson upset conference rival

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

. At 11–2, they were ranked #19 after not reaching the Top 20 in a decade. Early in the 1971–1972 season, Memphis State fell in a heart breaker to No. 2 Marquette after leading by five points with five minutes to go. After defeating Louisville in

Freedom Hall Freedom Hall is a multi-purpose arena in Louisville, Kentucky, on the grounds of the Kentucky Exposition Center, which is owned by the Commonwealth of Kentucky. It is best known for its use as a basketball arena, previously serving as the home ...

, the Tigers shared the Missouri Valley Conference title in 1972 with Louisville. Louisville won a playoff to represent the MVC in the NCAA Tournament while the Tigers went to the NIT for their fifth time. During the 1972–1973 season, seniors Finch and Robinson led the Tigers to one of their most successful seasons. Memphis State won the MVC outright in 1972 after winning 14 straight games. They went to the NCAA tournament where they handily beat South Carolina and Kansas State after a first round bye to reach the Final Four. After beating Providence, the Tigers went to play for the national championship against the

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pac-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). ...

led by legendary coach

John Wooden John Robert Wooden (October 14, 1910 – June 4, 2010) was an American basketball coach and player. Nicknamed the Wizard of Westwood, he won ten National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) national championships in a 12-year period as head ...

and led by star

Bill Walton William Theodore Walton III (born November 5, 1952) is an American television sportscaster and former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for coach John Wooden and the UCLA Bruins, winning three consecutive national ...

. Keeping it close in the first half, the Tigers were overwhelmed in the second half eventually losing by 21, 87–66. Bartow won the NABC

National Coach of the Year The AFCA Coach of the Year Award is given annually to a college football coach by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA). The award has had several different sponsors over the years, including Eastman Kodak Corporation, and thus also ...

award that season and Larry Finch was named a consensus All-American. Also on the Finals team was

Larry Kenon Larry Joe Kenon (born December 13, 1952) is an American former professional basketball player. A 6'9" forward who had a productive career in both the American Basketball Association (ABA) and the National Basketball Association (NBA), Kenon pla ...

who went on to be a 2-time All-Star in the

. He remains one of the most successful NBA players in Memphis history. Wayne Yates took over for Bartow in 1974 when Bartow left for Illinois. Yates led Memphis State to three straight 20-win seasons, including an NCAA Tournament berth in 1976. The Tigers left the Missouri Valley Conference to become one of the inaugural members of the

Metro Conference The Metropolitan Collegiate Athletic Conference, popularly known as the Metro Conference, was an NCAA Division I athletics conference, so named because its six charter members were all in urban metropolitan areas, though its later members did n ...

in 1976. Dana Kirk became head coach in 1979.

1980s

In the 1980s, the Tigers made seven NCAA tournaments and won three Metro Conference titles, amassing a record of 230–87 (.726). Keith Lee began playing for the Tigers in 1982, and Memphis was ranked number one in both major national polls for the first time the same year. However, that same night they were knocked off by

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

69–56 in Blacksburg. In the 1983 NCAA tournament, the Tigers beat Georgetown led by

Patrick Ewing Patrick Aloysius Ewing (born August 5, 1962) is a Jamaican-American basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the Georgetown University men's team. He played most of his career as the starting center for the N ...

, whom Lee dominated in the paint. They lost their next game to top-seed

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

led by

Hakeem Olajuwon Hakeem Abdul Olajuwon (; ; born January 21, 1963), nicknamed "the Dream", is a Nigerian Americans, Nigerian-American former professional basketball player. From 1984 to 2002, he played Center (basketball), center in the National Basketball Ass ...

. After finishing 24–3 in the regular season, the 1984–1985 season proved to be another memorable one in Tiger history. Lee eventually led the team to another NCAA tournament in 1985. Memphis State beat Penn, UAB, Boston College and Oklahoma to reach the school's second Final Four. They were defeated by eventual champion Villanova and finished the season 31–4. All but one of the 12 players on this team were from Memphis or Shelby County. Lee was named a consensus All-American for the third time in his four-year career. In 1986, Kirk was forced out after becoming the subject of a criminal investigation. He was also found to have committed many NCAA violations as well. The Tigers were forced to sit out the 1987 NCAA tournament and were stripped of all of their NCAA tournament appearances from 1982 to 1986, including the 1985 Final Four run. Kirk's top assistant, Larry Finch, one of the leaders of the fabled 1972–73 team, took over head coaching duties in 1986. One of Finch's first recruits,

Elliot Perry Elliot Lamonte Perry (born March 28, 1969) is an American former professional basketball player. The 6'0" (1.83 m) point guard from Memphis State University (now the University of Memphis), was selected with the tenth pick of the second round (3 ...

, began playing for the team in 1987. Perry led Memphis State to the

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

and 1989 NCAA Tournaments and was drafted to the

where he became a successful player. In the 1988–89 season, the Tigers set a school record by starting the game against arch-rival

with a 24–0 run.

1990s

In 1990, Finch landed the country's highest rated high school recruit,

Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway Anfernee Deon "Penny" Hardaway (born July 18, 1971) is an American college basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the Memphis Tigers men's basketball team in the American Athletic Conference (AAC). Hardaway pla ...

. The Tigers also moved to the

Great Midwest Conference The Great Midwest Conference was an NCAA Division I athletics conference that existed from 1991 to 1995. History It was formed in 1990 with six members: Cincinnati and Memphis State (now Memphis) from the Metro Conference, UAB from the Sun Bel ...

and began playing their home games at the new

Pyramid Arena The Memphis Pyramid, formerly known as the Great American Pyramid and the Pyramid Arena, is a building located in downtown Memphis, Tennessee, United States, at the banks of the Mississippi River. Built in 1991 as a 20,142-seat arena, the facilit ...

(affectionately known as the "Tomb of Doom") in 1991. Stand-out Hardaway led Memphis State to the 1992 NCAA tournament, where the Tigers were defeated in the Elite Eight by rival

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

. The following summer, Hardaway was named All-American and earned a chance to train with the

Dream Team Dream Team may refer to: Sport Basketball * Dream Team, the 1992 United States men's Olympic basketball team in Barcelona * Dream Team II, the 1994 U.S. men's national basketball team at the FIBA World Championship * Dream Team III, the 1996 ...

before the

Barcelona Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

. During the 1992–93 season, Hardaway earned Memphis State's first triple-double and then the first back-to-back triple-doubles in wins over

Georgia State Georgia state or ''variation'', may refer to: Primarily * Georgia State University ("State", "Georgia State"), a state university * Georgia (U.S. state) ("Georgia state"), a state of the United States of America Sports * sports teams of Georgia St ...

and Vanderbilt. On February 6, 1993, the school achieved its 1,000th all-time basketball victory in an upset over No. 4 Cincinnati. After the season, Penny Hardaway left for the NBA draft where he was selected third overall by the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

. He became the most successful NBA player in history to matriculate from the Memphis basketball program. In 1994, Memphis State changed its name to the University of Memphis. In 1995, the Memphis team included future NBA players David Vaughn, Cedric Henderson, and

Lorenzen Wright Lorenzen Vern-Gagne Wright (November 4, 1975 – July 19, 2010) was an American professional basketball player for 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association. He was drafted seventh overall in the 1996 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Clippers ...

, and they made it to the 1995 NCAA tournament where they lost in the Sweet Sixteen. Memphis joined

Conference USA Conference USA (C-USA or CUSA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose current member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. C-USA's offices are l ...

in 1995 as a founding member with long-time rivals Louisville and Cincinnati. Finch stepped down as head coach in 1997 and

Tic Price George "Tic" Price (born November 29, 1955) is an American college basketball coach. He last coached the Lamar Cardinals men's basketball team. From 2002 to 2007, he served as head coach at McNeese State. Prior to that, he served as head coach ...

took over thereafter. Price's three years were one of the Tigers' least successful since the 1960s. He was forced to resign just days before the start of the 1999–2000 season after school officials discovered he was involved in an inappropriate relationship with a student at the university. Johnny Jones spent one year as interim head coach while the school looked for a replacement.

2000s

John Calipari John Vincent Calipari (born February 10, 1959) is an American basketball coach. Since 2009, he has been the head coach of the University of Kentucky men's team, with whom he won the NCAA Championship in 2012. He has been named Naismith College C ...

was named Memphis' head coach in 2000. Under his leadership, the Tigers won the

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

NIT championship, then made the NCAA tournament in

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

and

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

. The Tigers left

to play home games in the

in 2004. The 2005–06 Tigers were led by

Darius Washington Darius Myron Washington Jr. (born December 6, 1985) is an American-Macedonian professional basketball player who last played for Phoenix Brussels. He is a combo guard and played college basketball with the University of Memphis. He has also play ...

Shawne Williams Shawne Brian Williams (born February 16, 1986) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the University of Memphis before being selected 17th overall in the 2006 NBA draft by the Indiana Pacers. High ...

and

Rodney Carney Rodney Dion Carney (born April 15, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the University of Memphis and was selected in the 2006 NBA draft by the Chicago Bulls and shortly afterwards traded to ...

and set a school record by going 30–3 and reaching a No. 3 ranking during a regular season that was capped by a

championship. In the 2006 NCAA tournament, the Tigers received a number one seed, and they advanced to the Elite Eight before falling to eventual tournament runner-up

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

. Despite losing their top three scorers from the prior season to the NBA and graduation, the 2006–07 Tigers duplicated the previous year's regular season record of 30–3, were ranked as high as No. 5, and again won the Conference USA championship, going undefeated in conference play. The Tigers earned a number two seed in the 2007 NCAA tournament. The Tigers defeated 15 seed

North Texas North Texas (also commonly called North Central Texas) is a term used primarily by residents of Dallas, Fort Worth, and surrounding areas to describe much of the north central portion of the U.S. state of Texas. Residents of the Dallas–Fort Wor ...

in the first round, 7 seed

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

in the second round, and 3 seed

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

in the Sweet Sixteen, and lost to 1 seed and eventual tournament runner-up

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

in the Elite Eight. Derrick-Rose-2008-Final-Four-UCLA

The

2007–08 Memphis Tigers men's basketball team The 2007–08 Memphis Tigers men's basketball team represented the University of Memphis in the 2007–08 college basketball season, the 87th season of Tiger basketball. The Tigers were coached by eighth-year head coach John Calipari, and they ...

achieved a No. 1 ranking in the Associated Press basketball poll in January 2008, the school's first No. 1 ranking in the poll since 1982, and went on to win their third straight Conference USA title on March 15, 2008. After a month, they lost this ranking when they were defeated by in-state rival and No. 2-ranked

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

at home. Led by First-Team All-American

Chris Douglas-Roberts Chris Douglas Roberts (born January 8, 1987) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the University of Memphis. High school career Douglas-Roberts played high school basketball at Cass Technical Hig ...

and future No. 1 overall pick

Derrick Rose Derrick Martell Rose (born October 4, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played one year of college basketball for the Memphis Tigers before being drafted ...

, the team received a No. 1 seed in the 2008 NCAA tournament and defeated No. 16 seed

Texas-Arlington The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA or UT Arlington) is a public research university in Arlington, Texas. The university was founded in 1895 and was in the Texas A&M University System for several decades until joining the University of T ...

in round one, No. 8 seed

Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univer ...

in round two, and No. 5 seed

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

in the Sweet Sixteen. Memphis convincingly defeated No. 2 seed

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

in the Elite Eight round to advance to the school's first Final Four since 1985. Following this win, Memphis went on to beat No. 1 seed

on April 5, 2008, advancing to the National Championship game on April 7, 2008. With this win, Memphis became the first team in NCAA history to achieve 38 wins in a single season.Could this year's champ be 'greatest ever'
" ''

MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and political ...

.'' April 2, 2008. Retrieved on April 5, 2008. After holding a nine-point lead with two minutes and 12 seconds left in regulation, the Tigers lost to

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 the ...

in the National Championship in overtime by the final score of 75–68, becoming the second NCAA runner-up team in Memphis history. The 2008–09 Tigers, led by another freshman guard,

Tyreke Evans Tyreke Jamir Evans (born September 19, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for the Indios de Mayagüez of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN). After playing college basketball for the Memphis Tigers, he was selected with the f ...

, again went undefeated in Conference USA and earned a two seed in the 2009 NCAA tournament. The Tigers were defeated by the No. 3-seed

Missouri Tigers The Missouri Tigers intercollegiate athletics programs represent the University of Missouri, located in Columbia. The name comes from a band of armed Union Home Guards called the Fighting Tigers of Columbia who, in 1864, protected Columbia fro ...

in the Sweet Sixteen. Evans left after one year and was named NBA Rookie of the Year in 2010, the second straight Tiger to do so after Rose. On March 31, 2009, Calipari resigned to become the head coach at the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...

. In the months following Calipari's departure, nearly all of the incoming recruits who had committed to play basketball for the University of Memphis decommitted from Memphis and committed to Kentucky or other schools. The recruits included

Xavier Henry Xavier Henry (; born March 15, 1991) is an American former professional basketball player. He played one year of college basketball with the Kansas Jayhawks before he was drafted in the 2010 NBA draft by the Memphis Grizzlies. Henry's brother, ...

DeMarcus Cousins DeMarcus Amir Cousins (born August 13, 1990) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "Boogie", he played college basketball for the Kentucky Wil ...

, Nolan Dennis, and Darnell Dodson. On May 28, 2009, the NCAA formally accused the Tigers of allowing an ineligible player to participate in their games during the 2007–08 season. On August 20, 2009, the NCAA Committee on Infractions announced that Memphis must vacate all 38 wins for that season as well as their appearance in the NCAA tournament and spend three years on probation. The NCAA alleged that Derrick Rose, a Chicago native, had obtained a fraudulent SAT score when another person took the test for him in Detroit, Michigan and his brother Reggie Rose was provided nearly $1,700 in free travel and lodging with the Memphis team. The University of Memphis was not charged with knowingly fielding an ineligible player given that Rose had originally been cleared by the testing company and the NCAA. Rather, the NCAA imposed the penalty on a "strict liability" standard which held that Memphis must vacate their wins regardless of whether the school had any knowledge of wrongdoing by Rose and regardless of the NCAA's original clearance of Rose.

2010s – present

On April 7, 2009,

Josh Pastner Joshua Paul Pastner (born September 26, 1977) is an American college basketball coach, and the current head coach of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Pastner was a player on the 1997 Arizona Wildcats men's basketball national championship team, ...

was named the team's head coach. Pastner was hired as an assistant at Memphis in 2008 after serving as an assistant coach under

Lute Olson Robert Luther "Lute" Olson (September 22, 1934 – August 27, 2020) was an American basketball coach, who was inducted into both the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. He was the head co ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

for six years. Pastner gained a reputation as a strong recruiter during his tenure at

. In his first year as coach at Memphis, Pastner brought in Elliot Williams, a transfer from Duke, who led the team in scoring and was drafted to the NBA. Williams was permitted to play his first season after departing Calipari took with him Memphis' top-ranked recruiting class. In 2011 Pastner led the Tigers back to the NCAA tournament for the first time in his coaching career, though they lost in the first round to his former team, Arizona. During the 2011–12 season, the Tigers announced they were leaving Conference USA to join the

Big East Conference The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and M ...

starting in 2013 ( later renamed the

). They began the season strong, moving as high to No. 13 in the country before falling out of the rankings (a phenomenon which would become a recurrent theme of the Pastner era). In the last game of the season, Josh Pastner's victory over

Tulsa Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma and List of United States cities by population, 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

gave him 72 career victories, the most by a Memphis head coach over his first three seasons. Memphis made its second straight NCAA Tournament after winning the Conference USA tournament. An 8-seed, the Tigers lost in the first round to 9-seeded Saint Louis. After the season, sophomore star

Will Barton William Denard Barton III (born January 6, 1991) is an American professional basketball player for the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for Memphis, where he was named the Conference ...

left for the NBA. In 2012–13, the Tigers, led by CUSA player of the year Joe Jackson, won the Conference USA regular season and tournament titles in their last season in CUSA. The Tigers began competition in the then newly formed

in 2013. AAC competition was not as kind to the Pastner-led Tigers, as they earned an NCAA tournament berth in only 1 of the team's first 3 seasons in the AAC. On April 8, 2016, facing mounting criticism in Memphis, Pastner took the job of head men's basketball coach at

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

. A few days later, the Tigers hired

Tubby Smith Orlando Henry "Tubby" Smith (born June 30, 1951) is an American college basketball coach. He was the men's basketball coach at High Point University, his alma mater. Smith previously served in the same role at the University of Tulsa, the Univers ...

to take over the head coaching job. Smith had just won the Big 12 coach of the year award as well as some national coaching awards for his season at

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

. Smith was fired on March 14, 2018, after failing to reach the NCAA Tournament in both of his two years as head coach.

Penny Hardaway Anfernee Deon "Penny" Hardaway (born July 18, 1971) is an American college basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the Memphis Tigers men's basketball team in the American Athletic Conference (AAC). Hardaway pla ...

was later confirmed as Smith's replacement. On March 28, 2021, the Tigers won their second NIT tournament with a 77–65 win over the #4 seed Mississippi State Bulldogs, finishing their season at 20–8. On June 11, 2021 speculation began to circulate that Penny Hardaway was a candidate for multiple head coaching jobs in the

, including his former team the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was establ ...

. On June 28, reports emerged that Hardaway had in fact interviewed and emerged as a top candidate for the Magic's vacant head coaching job. Two days later, via Instagram, Hardaway confirmed he was not leaving the University of Memphis, and reports emerged the same day that

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

coach Larry Brown had accepted an offer to be his assistant.

NCAA tournament results

The Tigers have appeared in the NCAA Tournament 27 times. Their overall record is 35–27. However, wins in 1982–1986 and 2008 have been vacated. ''* = vacated by NCAA''

NIT results

The Tigers have appeared in the

National Invitation Tournament The National Invitational Tournament (NIT) is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Played at regional sites and traditionally at Madison Square Garden (Final Four) in New York City ...

(NIT) 19 times. Their combined record is 24–17 and they were NIT champions in 2002 and 2021.

All-Time coaches list

Source:
''* Denotes interim coach''
''** 38 victories from 2007 to 2008 vacated by NCAA''NCAA may 'vacate' Memphis Tigers victories
by Dana O'Neil, ESPN

Awards

College Basketball Hall of Fame

The Memphis program has included multiple coaches that are members of the National College Basketball Hall of Fame. The school has yet to produce any players that have been inducted. Larry Brown was hired as an assistant in 2021 and was already a member of both the College and Naismith Memorial Basketball halls of fame.

All-Americans

Memphis has had 8 players chosen as All-Americans by the four sources used by the NCAA to determine consensus teams, the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

, the

United States Basketball Writers Association The United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) was founded in 1956 by National Collegiate Athletic Association director Walter Byers to serve the interests of journalists who cover college basketball. Scholarships The USBWA annually awa ...

, the

National Association of Basketball Coaches The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, is an American organization of men's college basketball coaches. It was founded in 1927 by Phog Allen, head men's basketball coach at the University o ...

and ''

The Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

'' (which replaced the

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ...

in 1998). Three players have been unanimous first team selections ( Keith Lee,

Anfernee Hardaway Anfernee Deon "Penny" Hardaway (born July 18, 1971) is an American college basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the Memphis Tigers men's basketball team in the American Athletic Conference (AAC). Hardaway pla ...

, and

). Keith Lee was the only Tiger to be selected more than once, eventually being selected three of his four years at Memphis. * The NCAA uses points to determine consensus teams, awarding 3 points for a 1st team selection, 2 points for 2nd team, and 1 point for 3rd team. * The NCAA began calculating points to determine consensus in 1984. Point totals are shown before 1984 for comparative purposes. Source:

School recognized

According to the program's records, the school recognizes the following bodies for their selection of All-America teams:

UPI United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th c ...

Converse Converse may refer to: Mathematics and logic * Converse (logic), the result of reversing the two parts of a definite or implicational statement ** Converse implication, the converse of a material implication ** Converse nonimplication, a logical c ...

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

, ''

Basketball Times ''Basketball Times'' was an American basketball magazine that was in circulation from 1978 to 2021, and was published by Akers Ink LLC. ''Basketball Times'' published monthly and mainly focused on college basketball. The headquarters was in Matthew ...

'', ''

Basketball Weekly Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

'',

USBWA The United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) was founded in 1956 by National Collegiate Athletic Association director Walter Byers to serve the interests of journalists who cover college basketball. Scholarships The USBWA annually awar ...

, ''

'',

Scripps-Howard The E. W. Scripps Company is an American broadcasting company founded in 1878 as a chain of daily newspapers by Edward Willis "E. W." Scripps and his sister, Ellen Browning Scripps. It was also formerly a media conglomerate. The company is he ...

Wooden Award The John R. Wooden Award is an award given annually to the most outstanding men's and women's college basketball players. The program consists of the men's and women's Player of the Year awards, the Legends of Coaching award, and recognizing the ...

, CBSSports.com, FOXSports.com, Collegehoops.net,

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

, NABC, ''

College Sports College athletics encompasses non-professional, collegiate and university-level competitive sports and games. World University Games The first World University Games were held in 1923. There were originally called the ''Union Nationale des ...

'',

Collegeinsider.com Collegeinsider.com is a sports website based in Boston that is noted particularly for its basketball polls, awards and sponsored tournament. The website was founded by Joe Dwyer and Angela Lento and traces it history to 1995 as regional basketball ...

, ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...

'', NaismithLives.com and Rupp Trophy. They recognize all levels including honorable mentions and freshman teams. The University of Memphis currently recognizes 38 players as All-Americans: *

(1954, 1955, 1956) * Orby Arnold (1958) *

Sean Banks Sean Anthony Banks (born January 20, 1985) is a 6'8" American retired professional basketball forward. He attended the University of Memphis, where he was named the Conference USA Freshman of the Year in 2004 after leading all freshman in the co ...

(2004) *

(2012) * Hunter Beckman (1962) * William Bedford (1986) *

James Bradley James Bradley (1692–1762) was an English astronomer and priest who served as the third Astronomer Royal from 1742. He is best known for two fundamental discoveries in astronomy, the aberration of light (1725–1728), and the nutation of the ...

(1977, 1978, 1979) * Antonio Burks (2004) * Mike Butler (1968) *

(2006) *

Bill Cook William Osser Xavier Cook (October 8, 1895 – May 5, 1986) was a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger who played for the Saskatoon Crescents of the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL) and the New York Rangers of the National Hockey Le ...

(1974, 1975, 1976) * James Douglas (1971) *

(2007, 2008) *

(2009) *

(1972, 1973) *

Sylvester Gray Sylvester Gray (born July 8, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player. He was selected by the Miami Heat in the second round (35th overall) of the 1988 NBA draft. A 6'6" small forward from Memphis State University, Gray played i ...

(1987) *

(1992, 1993) * Cedric Henderson (1994) * Marion Hillard (1975, 1976) * Otis Jackson (1982) * Rich Jones (1969) *

(1973) * George Kirk (1963, 1964) * Keith Lee (1982, 1983, 1984, 1985) * Todd Mundt (1990) *

Bobby Parks Bobby Ray Parks Sr. (November 26, 1961 – March 30, 2013) was an American professional basketball player from Grand Junction, Tennessee. He played for Memphis State University (now the University of Memphis) from 1980-1984 and played inte ...

(1983) *

(1988, 1989, 1990) * Dexter Reed (1977) * Ronnie Robinson (1972, 1973) *

(2008) *

Andre Turner Andre Devalle Turner (born March 13, 1964) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is currently the head coach for Lane College. A 5'11", point guard, he played collegi ...

(1983, 1986) *

David Vaughn III David Vaughn III (born March 23, 1973) is an American retired professional basketball player. Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Vaughn attended Whites Creek High School in Tennessee, and was a ''USA Today'' All-USA First-Team selection. He was later draf ...

(1992) *

Dajuan Wagner Dajuan Marquett Wagner Sr. (born February 4, 1983) is an American former professional basketball player. He is the son of former University of Louisville and National Basketball Association (NBA) player Milt Wagner and left the NBA early into hi ...

(2002) * Darius Washington Jr. (2005, 2006) * Win Wilfong (1956, 1957) *

(2006) *

(1995, 1996) * Wayne Yates (1961)

Conference Player of the Year

Memphis Tigers in the NBA

Since the NBA draft began in 1947, 52 players from Memphis have been drafted, with an additional nine played after being signed as undrafted free agents. Of the 52 drafted players, 28 played in at least one NBA (or ABA) game. Memphis has produced 14 first-round picks, including 8 top-ten picks and one number-one pick (

). Three former Tigers have been named

NBA All-Stars The National Basketball Association (NBA) NBA All-Star Game, All-Star Game is an annual exhibition basketball game. It is the main event of the NBA All-Star Weekend. Originally, the All-Star Game featured a conference-based format, featuring a ...

(twice),

(4 times), and Derrick Rose (3 times). Four have gone on to win the NBA Championship: Win Wilfong with the

St. Louis Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

in 1958, William Bedford with the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at Li ...

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

Earl Barron Earl Daniel Barron Jr. (born August 14, 1981) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is a video and player development assistant for the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college bas ...

with the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Southe ...

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, and

James Wiseman James Monteinez Wiseman (born March 31, 2001) is an American professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is currently in the NBA G League for the Santa Cruz Warriors. He played ...

with the

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

. In 2010, Memphis became the second college to produce two consecutive

NBA Rookie of the Year The National Basketball Association's Rookie of the Year Award is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given to the top rookie(s) of the regular season. Initiated following the 1952–53 NBA season, it confers the Eddie Gottl ...

winners: Derrick Rose in 2009 and

in 2010 (the first being

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

with winners Walter Davis in

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

and Phil Ford 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 song ...

). In 2011, Rose became the first former Tiger to be named the NBA Most Valuable Player. Many Memphis players since the 1960s that have gone undrafted or had unsuccessful NBA careers have also played in professional leagues in Europe, Asia and/or Latin America.

Current NBA Players

As of the

2022–23 NBA Season The 2022–23 NBA season is the 77th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA), the regular season began on October 18, 2022, and is scheduled to end on April 9, 2023. The 2023 NBA All-Star Game is scheduled to be played on February 1 ...

, seven former Tigers are currently signed to NBA rosters. *

, New York Knicks (since 2021) *

, Washington Wizards (since 2022) *

, Golden State Warriors (since 2020) *

Precious Achiuwa Precious Ezinna Achiuwa (born September 19, 1999) is a Nigerian professional basketball player for the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Memphis Tigers. He finished his high school ...

, Toronto Raptors (since 2021) *

Jalen Duren Jalen Montez Duren (born November 18, 2003) is an American professional basketball player for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Memphis Tigers. A center, he stands and weighs ...

, Detroit Pistons (since 2022) * Josh Minott, Minnesota Timberwolves (since 2022) *

Lester Quiñones Lester Quiñones (born November 16, 2000) is a Dominican-American professional basketball player for the Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA G League. He attended St. Benedict's Preparatory School and played a postgraduate season at IMG Academy. He the ...

, Golden State Warriors (since 2022)

Memphis Tigers in International Competition

* competed internationally as NBA players * Though American by birth, Washington is a naturalized citizen of North Macedonia (known before February 2019 as Macedonia) where he is known as Darius Vašington (Дариус Вашингтон).

Retired jerseys

The University of Memphis has retired nine jerseys.

, guard/forward from 2005 to 2008, declined the University of Memphis' invitation to have his #14 jersey retired in 2017. On November 2, 2022, the school announced their intention to retire the #55 jersey of the late

, All-American center from 1994 to 1996, at a game to be determined with his family. ;Notes

Notes and references

External links

* {{American Athletic Conference men's basketball navbox Basketball teams established in 1920