The Citadel Bulldogs basketball team represents

The Citadel The Citadel Military College of South Carolina (simply known as The Citadel) is a public senior military college in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. Established in 1842, it is the third oldest of the six senior military colleges ...

in Charleston,

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

in the sport of men's

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 ...

. The program is classified in the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

's Division I, and the team competes in the

Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. Southern Conference College football, football teams c ...

South Division. Ed Conroy is in his second stint as the head coach, having previously held the position from 2006–2010. The team has never won a regular season or

Southern Conference men's basketball tournament This is a list of regular season and tournament champions in men's basketball of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, ath ...

championship or participated in the NCAA Tournament. Following Northwestern's 2017 NCAA Tournament bid, they are one of three schools playing Division I basketball at the time of the first NCAA basketball tournament to have never made an NCAA Tournament, along with

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

and William & Mary. ( St. Francis Brooklyn was also part of this group before it discontinued all athletics in 2023.) The team has made one postseason appearance, playing in the

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament, falling in the first round to eventual champion Old Dominion. In 1927 the Bulldogs claimed the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association Tournament title, defeating

Mercer Mercer may refer to: Business * Mercer (automobile), a defunct American automobile manufacturer (1909–1925) * Mercer (consulting firm), a human resources consulting firm headquartered in New York City, US * Mercer (occupation), a merchant or tra ...

for their only conference championship. In their history of SoCon play, they have reached past the quarterfinals just once, doing so when they went to the conference tournament final in

1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...

and lost to West Virginia. Notably, the Citadel is one of only two Division I schools that do not sponsor women's basketball. The other is fellow Southern Conference member and senior military college: VMI.

Facilities

The Bulldogs play their home games at the on-campus

McAlister Field House McAlister Field House is a 6,000-seat multi-purpose arena on the campus of The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. It was built in 1939 and is home to The Citadel Bulldogs basketball, wrestling and volleyball teams. Office sp ...

, a 6,000 seat arena formerly known as The Armory. The arena was heavily renovated in 1989. During the summer of 2011, The Citadel completed additional renovations to the Field House, building a new floor and revamping the Bulldogs locker room. Since the 1989 renovations, the Bulldogs have played before full capacity on three occasions: Duke (1991), South Carolina (1997), and College of Charleston (1999). Like all Citadel athletic teams, the Bulldogs utilize strength and conditioning, medical, and video spaces in Seignious Hall.

Notable Bulldogs

Regan Truesdale Regan Truesdale (born July 31, 1963) is an American former college basketball player at The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina. He was twice named Southern Conference Player of the Year, is the second-leading scorer in The Citadel Bu ...

- Two-time

Southern Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year The Southern Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year is an award given to the Southern Conference's (SoCon) most outstanding player. The award was first given following the 1951–52 season. Fred Hetzel of Davidson is the only player to ha ...

*Art Musselman - played in the shadow of

Jerry West Jerry Alan West (May 28, 1938 – June 12, 2024) was an American basketball player and executive. He played professionally for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and is widely regarded as one of the greatest ...

for three years *

Pat Conroy Donald Patrick Conroy (October 26, 1945 – March 4, 2016) was an American author who wrote several acclaimed novels and memoirs; his books ''The Water Is Wide (book), The Water is Wide'', ''The Lords of Discipline'', ''The Prince of Tides (no ...

- author famous, in part, for chronicling his life as a Citadel basketball player in the novels '' My Losing Season'' and '' The Lords of Discipline.''

Honored jerseys

The Citadel created the honored jersey in 2009, beginning with

Les Robinson Les Robinson (born September 23, 1942) is an American former 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 Uni ...

. Banners hang in McAlister Field House for each honored jersey. Since Robinson, four additional jerseys have been added. Pat Conroy's jersey was honored most recently, on February 3, 2018.

Coaches

Below is a list of all coaches at The Citadel and their records through the 2020–21 season.

Rivalries

The primary Bulldog rivals, as in other sports, are VMI, Furman, and

College of Charleston The College of Charleston (CofC or Charleston) is a public university in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1770 and chartered in 1785, it is the oldest university in South Carolina, the 13th-oldest institution of higher lea ...

. The Citadel also has historical rivalries with other schools within the state. The Bulldogs' records versus each rival are listed below, through the 2020–21 season.

Records vs rivals

Records vs conference rivals

:''Excludes Furman and VMI, listed above'' :''East Tennessee State, Mercer and VMI become SoCon members in basketball for the 2014 season.''

Records vs in-state rivals

:''Division 1, non-SoCon only''

Notable seasons

* 1926–27 The Citadel Bulldogs basketball team - first and only Conference Tournament championship * 1966–67 The Citadel Bulldogs basketball team - Chronicled in

's '' My Losing Season'' * 1978–79 The Citadel Bulldogs basketball team - first 20 win season * 2008–09 The Citadel Bulldogs basketball team - second 20 win season; first postseason appearance

References

External links

* {{Southern Conference men's basketball navbox