The Patriot League is a collegiate athletic conference comprising private institutions of higher education and two United States service academies based in the Northeastern United States. Outside the Ivy League, it is among the most selective groups of higher education institutions in the NCAA, and has a very high student-athlete graduation rate for both the NCAA graduation success rate and the federal graduation rate.
The Patriot League men's basketball tournament is held at the conclusion of each regular season. The winner of the tournament is awarded an automatic bid to the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship.
The Lafayette Leopards represent the 23 Division I varsity athletic teams of Lafayette College and compete in the Patriot League. There are 11 men's teams, 11 women's teams, and one co-ed team. The club teams also compete as the Leopards. Though not a varsity sport, crew and ice hockey are very competitive at Lafayette and play in intercollegiate club leagues.
The Loyola Greyhounds men's basketball team represents Loyola University Maryland in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I competition. They are currently led by third-year head coach Tavaras Hardy. It became a member of the Patriot League along with the university's other intercollegiate athletic programs on July 1, 2013. Home matches are played at Reitz Arena.
The Army Black Knights men's basketball team represents the United States Military Academy in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college basketball. Army currently competes as a member of the Patriot League and plays its home games at Christl Arena in West Point, New York.
The Patriot League women's basketball tournament is the annual conference women's basketball championship tournament for the NCAA Division I Patriot League. The tournament has been held annually since 1991. It is a single-elimination tournament and seeding is based on regular season records.
The American Eagles men's basketball team represents American University in Washington, D.C. in NCAA Division I competition. The school's team competes in the Patriot League and play their home games in Bender Arena. Their rivals include Boston University, Bucknell University, and Navy.
The Lehigh Mountain Hawks men's basketball team represents Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in NCAA Division I competition. They have competed in the Patriot League since the circuit became an all-sport conference in 1990. After ending its independent status in 1974, they were a member of the East Coast Conference until 1990. Lehigh made their first NCAA Division I tournament in 1985, doing so by winning the conference tournament. With a 12-18 record, they became the first team to reach the Tournament with a record below .500. Its home games are played at Stabler Arena. The Mountain Hawks made their fifth appearance in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament in 2012. The Mountain Hawks are currently coached by Dr. Brett Reed.
The 1998–99 NCAA Division I men's basketball season concluded in the 64-team 1999 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament whose finals were held at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Connecticut Huskies earned their first national championship by defeating the Duke Blue Devils 77–74 on March 29, 1999. They were coached by Jim Calhoun and the NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player was Richard Hamilton.
The 2011 Patriot League men's basketball tournament was held in early March 2011, with the quarterfinals occurring March 2, semi-finals on March 6, and the championship game on March 11. The games were played at campus sites for the highest-seeded team playing in the game. In the championship game, Bucknell beat Lafayette at home to win its third Patriot League men's basketball championship. Bucknell also received an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, where it lost to eventual national champion Connecticut in the first round.
Matt Langel is the head coach for the Colgate Raiders men's basketball team. He previously served as an assistant for the Temple Owls men's basketball team for five seasons under Fran Dunphy.
The 2012 Patriot League men's basketball tournament was held at campus sites for the higher seeds. The quarterfinals were on February 29, the semi-finals on March 3, and the championship was held on March 7. The winner of the tournament, the Lehigh Mountain Hawks received an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
The 1997–98 NCAA Division I men's basketball season concluded in the 64-team 1998 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament whose finals were held at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. The Kentucky Wildcats earned their seventh national championship by defeating the Utah Utes 78–69 on March 30, 1998. They were coached by Tubby Smith and the NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player was Kentucky's Jeff Shepherd.
The 2013 Patriot League men's basketball tournament was held March 6, 9 and 13 at campus sites of the higher seed. The winner of the tournament, the BucknellBison received an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
The 2018 Patriot League men's basketball tournament was the postseason men's basketball tournament for the Patriot League for the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. It was held on February 27, March 1, 4, and 7, 2018 with the higher seed in each matchup hosting at their respective campus sites.
The 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball season concluded in the 64-team 1997 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament whose finals were held at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Arizona Wildcats earned their first national championship by defeating the Kentucky Wildcats 84–79 on March 31, 1997. They were coached by Lute Olsen and the NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player was Arizona's Miles Simon.
The 2019 Patriot League men's basketball tournament was the postseason tournament for the Patriot League during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. It was held on March 5, 7, 10, and 13, with the higher seed in each match up hosting at their respective campus sites. No. 1 seed Colgate defeated Bucknell 94–80 in the championship game to win the conference tournament championship, and the conference's automatic bid to the 2019 NCAA tournament. It was Colgate's first Patriot League tournament championship since 1996, and third overall.
The 2020 Patriot League men's basketball tournament was the postseason tournament for the Patriot League during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. It was held on March 3, 5, 8, and 11, with the higher seed in each match up hosting at their respective campus sites. No. 3 seed Boston University defeated Colgate 64–61 in the championship game to win the conference tournament championship and the conference's automatic bid to the 2020 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. The NCAA Tournament would be subsequently canceled in order to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. The Patriot League was the final conference to hold its championship game before all others remaining were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2021 Patriot League men's basketball tournament was the conference postseason tournament for the Patriot League. The tournament was held March 3, 6, 10, and 14, 2021 at campus sites of the higher seeds. The winner received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
The 2022 Patriot League men's basketball tournament was the conference postseason tournament for the Patriot League. The tournament was held on four dates during March 2022 at campus sites of the higher seeds. The winner, Colgate, received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
