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Samford Bulldogs | |||
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University | Samford University | ||
Head coach | Bucky McMillan (4th season) | ||
Conference | SoCon | ||
Location | Homewood, Alabama | ||
Arena | Pete Hanna Center (capacity: 4,954) | ||
Nickname | Bulldogs | ||
Colors | Blue and red [1] | ||
Uniforms | |||
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NCAA tournament appearances | |||
1999, 2000, 2024 | |||
Conference tournament champions | |||
TAAC/A-Sun: 1999, 2000 SoCon: 2024 | |||
Conference regular season champions | |||
TAAC/A-Sun: 1996, 1997, 1999 SoCon: 2023, 2024 |
The Samford Bulldogs men's basketball team is the basketball team that represents Samford University in Homewood, Alabama, United States. The school's team currently competes in the Southern Conference. They are currently led by head coach Bucky McMillan and play their home games at the Pete Hanna Center. The Bulldogs have appeared three times in the NCAA tournament, most recently in 2024.
Samford University has sponsored a men's basketball team since 1901. [2] They have been NCAA Division I since 1972 as an independent, in the Trans-Atlantic Athletic Conference (now ASUN Conference), the Ohio Valley Conference, and presently the Southern Conference.
John Brady was the head men's basketball coach at Samford from the 1991-92 season through the 1996-97 season. While coaching at Samford, he led the program to back-to-back Trans America Athletic Conference West Division titles in 1996 and 1997. His record during his years at Samford was 89-77. He left Samford to become the head coach at LSU in 1997. He stayed with the Tigers until 2008, leading the program to SEC regular-season titles in 2000 and 2006, earning SEC Coach of the Year honors both years. He coached LSU to four NCAA Tournament appearances, reaching the Sweet 16 in 2000 and the Final Four in 2006. Following his years at LSU, Brady was the head coach at Arkansas State from 2008-16, winning a pair of Sun Belt West Division titles. He retired from coaching with a career record of 402-344. [3]
Jimmy Tillette was the head men’s basketball coach at Samford from 1997 to 2012. He led the program to back-to-back Trans America Athletic Conference (TAAC) Tournament titles and NCAA Tournament bids in 1999 and 2000. In his years in charge of the Samford program, Tillette won a school-record 229 games. His 1998-99 team won a school-record 24 games, going 24-6, winning the TAAC regular season and TAAC Tournament titles and earning the program’s first NCAA Tournament bid. For his efforts, Tillette was named the 1999 TAAC Coach of the Year. The following season, the team went 21-11, winning the TAAC Tournament and reaching the NCAA Tournament for a second-straight year. The 1999-2000 team also claimed impressive wins over Alabama and St. John’s. Tillette’s 2005-06 team posted a record of 20-11, reaching the finals of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament. [4]
Bennie Seltzer was the head men's basketball coach at Samford from 2012 to 2014. He led the program to a 24-41 record over his two seasons at the helm. [5]
Scott Padgett was the head men's basketball coach at Samford from 2014 to 2020. He led the program to a 84-115 record during his time at the University. The Bulldogs reached postseason play in 2017 as the team participated in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT). [6]
In just four seasons, McMillan has transformed the Samford program into one of the top programs in the prestigious Southern Conference. The 2023-24 season was the best in program history. The team set a school record with 29 wins, posting a 29-6 final record, marking the third-straight season of winning at least 20 games. The team won the Southern Conference regular-season title for a second-straight year with a 15-3 league mark, and the Bulldogs won the SoCon Tournament for the first time and earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2000. In the NCAA Tournament, the Bulldogs narrowly lost to perennial national power Kansas. [7]
McMillan was named the SoCon Coach of the Year three straight seasons from 2022 to 2024 [8] . He was also named the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Region 21 Coach of the Year for the 2023-2024 season. [9]
The Bulldogs have appeared three times in the NCAA Division I tournament. Their combined record is 0–3.
Year | Seed | Round | Opponent | Result |
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1999 | #14 | First Round | #3 St. John's | L 43–69 |
2000 | #13 | First Round | #4 Syracuse | L 65–79 |
2024 | #13 | First Round | #4 Kansas | L 89–93 |
The Bulldogs have appeared in one CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT). Their record is 1–1.
Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
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2017 | First Round Second Round | Canisius Liberty | W 78–74 L 58–66 |
John Emmett Brady is an American college basketball coach and the former head men's basketball coach at Arkansas State University.
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Jimmy Tillette is an American college basketball coach and the former head coach of the men's basketball team at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. Born in New Orleans, Louisiana. Tillette was the head coach of the Bulldogs team from 1997-2012, and is the school's winningest coach. He assumed his former position when John Brady left Samford to become the head basketball coach at LSU. In fifteen seasons as the coach of the Bulldogs, Tillette compiled record of 229–219, leading the Bulldogs to their only two appearances in the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship in 1999 and 2000 while they were a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference. The 1999–2000 season was highlighted by upset wins over traditional basketball powers St. John's and Alabama. Tillette most recently served as head coach of the boys' basketball team at Isidore Newman High School in New Orleans, Louisiana. He retired in 2019 and was replaced by former Co-National Player of the Year and Newman alum Randy Livingston.
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The 2019–20 Samford Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Samford University in the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bulldogs, led by sixth-year head coach Scott Padgett, played their home games at the Pete Hanna Center in Homewood, Alabama as members of the Southern Conference. They finished the season 10–23, 4–14 in SoCon play to finish in eighth place. They lost in the first round of the SoCon tournament to VMI.
Bucky McMillan is an American basketball coach. He is currently the head coach at Samford.
Mitch Cole is an American men's basketball coach, currently an assistant coach at Samford. He previously coached at Birmingham–Southern and Berry College.
The 2020–21 Samford Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Samford University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bulldogs, led by first-year head coach Bucky McMillan, played their home games at the Pete Hanna Center in Homewood, Alabama as members of the Southern Conference.
The 1999–2000 Samford Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Samford University in the 1999–2000 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bulldogs, led by third-year head coach Jimmy Tillette, played their home games at the Siebert Hall in Homewood, Alabama as members of the Trans America Athletic Conference. After finishing third in the TAAC regular season standings, Samford won the TAAC tournament for the second straight season to receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. As No. 13 seed in the Midwest region, the Bulldogs were defeated by No. 4 seed Syracuse in the opening round.
The 2021–22 Samford Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Samford University in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bulldogs, led by second-year head coach Bucky McMillan, played their home games at the Pete Hanna Center in Homewood, Alabama as a member of the Southern Conference. They finished the season 21–11, 10–8 in SoCon play to finish in a tie for third place. As the No. 3 seed in the SoCon tournament, they defeated UNC Greensboro before losing to Furman in the semifinals.
The 2022–23 Samford Bulldogs men's basketball team represents Samford University in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bulldogs, led by third-year head coach Bucky McMillan, play their home games at the Pete Hanna Center in Homewood, Alabama as a member of the Southern Conference.
The 1998–99 Samford Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Samford University in the 1998–99 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bulldogs, led by second-year head coach Jimmy Tillette, played their home games at the Pete Hanna Center in Homewood, Alabama as members of the Trans America Athletic Conference. After finishing first in the TAAC regular season standings, Samford won the TAAC tournament to secure the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament – the first appearance in school history. As No. 14 seed in the South region, the Bulldogs were defeated by No. 3 seed St. John's in the opening round.
The 2023–24 Samford Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Samford University in the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bulldogs, led by fourth-year head coach Bucky McMillan, played their home games at the Pete Hanna Center in Homewood, Alabama as a member of the Southern Conference. They finished the season 29–6, 15–3 in SoCon play to win the regular season championship. As No. 1 seed in the SoCon tournament, they defeated Mercer, Furman, and East Tennessee State to win the conference championship. As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament for the third time in school history and first since 2000. As the No. 13 seed in the Midwest region, they lost to Kansas in the First Round.