: ''For information on all Niagara University sports, see

Niagara Purple Eagles The Niagara Purple Eagles are athletics teams that represent Niagara University in College athletics, college sports. Part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I, the Purple Eagles field 19 varsity leve ...

'' The Niagara Purple Eagles men's basketball team is the

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

team that represents

Niagara University Niagara University (NU) is a private Catholic university in the Vincentian tradition in the census-designated place Niagara University, New York, in the town of Lewiston near Niagara Falls. It is run by the Congregation of the Mission and ...

in Lewiston,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, United States. The school's team currently competes in the

Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC, ) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I. Its current 13 full members are located in five Northeastern states: Connecticut, Maryland, Massachuse ...

. The team formerly played at the now-defunct Niagara Falls Convention and Civic Center from 1973 to 1982 and from 1988 to 1996.

History

Niagara has played in the NCAA Tournament three times. They last played in the

NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as March Madness, or The Big Dance, is a single-elimination tournament played in the United States to determine the men's college basketball national champion of the NCAA Division I, Di ...

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

. They played in the

National Invitation Tournament The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is an annual men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Since 2023, all rounds of the tournament are played at various sites across the country whi ...

on 14 occasions, advancing to the championship game in 1972 before losing to

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. Niagara has been ranked in the AP Final Polls twice, 16th in 1954 and 17th in 1970.

Roster

Postseason

NCAA tournament results

The Purple Eagles have appeared in three NCAA Tournaments. Their combined record is 2–4.

NIT results

The Purple Eagles have appeared in 14

s. Their combined record is 9–14.

CIT results

The Purple Eagles made their first appearance in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) in 2018. Their record is 0–1.

All time MAAC Awards

*Up to 2021-22 season

Seasons

Niagara wins vs. the AP Top 25

Retired jerseys

Niagara has retired nine jerseys.

Head coaches

*-Beilein was hired in March 2019 but resigned in October 2019 without having coached a game; Paulus was named interim head coach in his place.

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

* Joe Arlauckas * Al Butler * T. J. Cline (born 1994), American-Israeli basketball player * Larry Costello * Boo Ellis * Bo Erias * Ed Fleming * Sam Iorio (born 1998), American-Israeli basketball player in the

Israeli Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl (, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is a professional basketball league in Israel and the highest level of basketball in the country. The league's name is abbreviated as either BSL ...

Manny Leaks Emanuel Leaks Jr. (born November 27, 1945) is an American former professional basketball player. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Leaks was a 6'8" forward/center who played at Niagara University from 1965 to 1968. He averaged 17.3 points and 15.1 rebo ...

* Juan Mendez * Calvin Murphy * Zeke Sinicola * Joe Smyth *

Chris Watson John Christian Watson (born Johan Cristian Tanck; 9 April 186718 November 1941) was an Australian politician who served as the third prime minister of Australia from April to August 1904. He held office as the inaugural federal leader of the Au ...

(born 1975), American-Israeli basketball player in the

Israeli Premier League The Israeli Premier League (, Ligat HaAl, ) is a professional association football league in Israel and the highest level of the Israeli football league system. The league is contested by 14 clubs, and operates on a system of promotion and rele ...

. In the Niagara University Hall of Fame. * Andy Walker

References

External links

* {{Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference men's basketball navbox