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

Fort Myers, Florida Fort Myers (or Ft. Myers) is a city in southwestern Florida and the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 92,245 in 20 ...

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

ASUN Conference The ASUN Conference, formerly the Atlantic Sun Conference, is a collegiate athletic conference operating mostly in the Southeastern United States. The league participates at the NCAA Division I level, and began sponsoring football at the Divi ...

. 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 Andrew William Enfield (born June 8, 1969) is an American basketball coach who is the men's head coach for the USC Trojans of the Pac-12 Conference. He came to national prominence as head coach at Florida Gulf Coast when it made an unexpected run ...

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 USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses ** South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

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 p ...

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 origi ...

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 athleti ...

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, 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 ...

. This is "officially" the fourth-deepest run by a first-time tournament participant in NCAA history, behind only Indiana State advancing all the way to the national championship game in 1979 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 and 1983, respectively. Southwestern Louisiana, now known as Louisiana–Lafayette, advanced to the Sweet 16 in its first appearance as well, in 1972, but that appearance was vacated due to NCAA sanctions. Coach

was hired by

on April 1. To replace him, the Eagles hired

, an assistant from

Kansas Kansas () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its Capital city, capital is Topeka, Kansas, Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita, Kansas, Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebras ...

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 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 Cit ...

(NIT) two times. Their combined record is 0–2.

CIT results

The Eagles have appeared in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) one time. Their record is 0–1.

The Basketball Classic results

The Eagles have appeared in The Basketball Classic 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 college ...

(born 1998), American-Israeli basketball player for Hapoel Be'er Sheva in the

Israeli Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl ( he, ליגת העל, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is the top-tier level league of professional competition in Israeli club basketball, making it Israel's primary basketball c ...

References

External links

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