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, near Fort Myers. 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 acc ...

Fort Myers, Florida Fort Myers (or Ft. Myers) is a city in and the county seat of Lee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 86,395; it was estimated to have grown to 95,949 in 2022, making it the List o ...

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

ASUN Conference The Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN) 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 Division I FCS level in 2022. ...

. The Eagles are currently coached by Pat Chambers. In 2002, Florida Gulf Coast became an independent member of

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is the 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 environment ...

. 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 head men's basketball coach at SMU Mustangs men's basketball, Southern Methodist University. He came to national prominence as head coach at Florida Gulf Coast ...

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 may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

. In 2006, Florida Gulf Coast applied for

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division 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 athlet ...

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. In total, the Eagles have appeared in three NCAA tournaments, most recently in 2017. 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 involved 68 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament that determined the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's basketball national champion for the 2012– ...

, their first since moving up to Division I. In the Round of 64 at the 2013 NCAA tournament, 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 U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. 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 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 ...

and Charlotte and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

reaching the Final Four in

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, 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 (no ...

and

1983 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 of the ...

, 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 Solar time, ...

, but that appearance was vacated due to NCAA sanctions. Coach

was hired by

on April 1. To replace him, the Eagles hired

Joe Dooley Joseph Dooley may refer to: *Joseph Brannon Dooley (1889–1967), United States federal judge *Joe Dooley (basketball) (born 1966), basketball player *Joe Dooley (Seir Kieran hurler) (born 1963), Irish hurling manager and former player *Joe Doo ...

, an assistant from

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

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 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 ...

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

CBI results

The Eagles have participated in one

College Basketball Invitational The College Basketball Invitational (CBI) is a men's college basketball tournament created in 2007 by The Gazelle Group. The inaugural tournament occurred after the conclusion of the 2007–08 men's college basketball regular season. The CBI sel ...

(CBI) tournament. Their record is 1–1.

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 The Basketball Classic presented by Eracism was a Single-elimination tournament, single-elimination, fully-bracketed men's college basketball postseason tournament created in 2022 as a successor to the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament af ...

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 (born 1998), American-Israeli basketball player for

Hapoel Be'er Sheva Hapoel Be'er Sheva Football Club (, ''Moadon HaKaduregel Hapoel Be'er Sheva'') is an Israeli professional association football, football club from the city of Beersheba, Be'er Sheva, that competes in the Israeli Premier League. The club was estab ...

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 ...

References

External links

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