The Citadel Bulldogs basketball team represents The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina in the sport of men's college basketball. The program is classified in the NCAA's Division I, and the team competes in the Southern Conference 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 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 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 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 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 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, 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 - Two-time Southern Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year Art Musselman - played in the shadow of Jerry West for three years Pat Conroy - 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. 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. The Citadel Bulldogs retired numbers No.PlayerCareerYear Honored 3 1938–1940 2012 22 1963–1967 201833 1957–1960 2010 1982–1985 2011 C 1974–1985 2009

Coaches Below is a list of all coaches at The Citadel and their records through the 2020–21 season. Not Available1900–010–1No ConferenceJ. G. Briggs1912–132–3Darl Buse1913–146–1Hans Kangeter1914–169–4Harvey O'Brien1916–186–2C. F. Myers1918–2552–277–9Locke Brown1925–2610–64–1Benny Blatt1926–3052–228–4Johnny Douglas1930–3318–311–3Charlie Willard1933–3513–160–0Rock Norman1935–4045–3216–14Ben Parker1939–416–164–13Ben Clemons1941–42, 1943–444–52–8Bo Sherman1942–438–65–3Ernest Wehman1944–459–58–4Eugene Clark1945–468–102–6Whitey Piro1946–474–110–10Bernard O'Neil1947–5228–719–47Leo Zack1952–545–331–18Jim Browning1954–551–180–10Hank Witt1955–562–190–10Norm Sloan1956–6057–3833–19Mel Thompson1960–6767–9735–46Dick Campbell1967–7145–5421–27George Hill1971–7433–4211–18Les Robinson1974–85132–16261–99Randy Nesbit1985–9276–12132–72Pat Dennis1992–2006158–23372–146Ed Conroy2006–10, 2022–present49–7629–47Chuck Driesell2010–201542–11322–66Duggar Baucom2015–202277–13627–97

Rivalries The primary Bulldog rivals, as in other sports, are VMI, Furman, and College of Charleston. 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 College of Charleston 40–57 2009–10 L10 Furman 87–128 2017–18 L6 VMI 59–57 2020–21 W1

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. Chattanooga 19–68 2020–21 L1 East Tennessee State 18–48 2020–21 W1 Mercer 7–20 2018–19 L4 Samford 12–13 2018–19 L3 UNC Greensboro 9–33 2014–15 L16 Western Carolina 38–44 2020–21 W2 Wofford 50–62 2020–21 L1

Records vs in-state rivals Division 1, non-SoCon only Charleston Southern 19–17 2008–09 L4 Clemson 23–60 1978–79 L16 Coastal Carolina 4–6 2001–02 L2 Presbyterian 49–24 2020–21 W2 South Carolina 24–76 1988–89 L13 South Carolina State 8–3 2010–11 W1 USC Upstate 4–0 2016–17 W4 Winthrop 4–4 1997–98 L2

Notable seasons

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