College of Charleston Cougars men's basketball
| Charleston Cougars | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| University | College of Charleston | ||
| Conference | CAA | ||
| Location | Charleston, SC | ||
| Head coach | Earl Grant (3rd year) | ||
| Arena | TD Arena (Capacity: 5,100) |
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| Nickname | Cougars | ||
| Colors | Maroon and White |
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| NCAA Tournament Round of 32 | |||
| 1997 | |||
| NCAA Tournament appearances | |||
| 1994, 1997, 1998, 1999 | |||
| Conference tournament champions | |||
| TAAC/A-Sun: 1997, 1998 SoCon: 1999 |
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| Conference regular season champions | |||
| TAAC/A-Sun: 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998 SoCon: 1999, 2000, 2003 |
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The Charleston Cougars men's basketball team is an NCAA Division I college basketball team competing in the Colonial Athletic Association. Home games are played at TD Arena, located on College of Charleston's campus in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. While a member of the NAIA, they were National Champions in 1983.
The College of Charleston has sponsored a men's basketball team since 1898. They have been NCAA Division I since 1991 in the Trans-Atlantic Athletic Conference (now Atlantic Sun Conference), the Southern Conference and presently the Colonial Athletic Association. In 2012, ESPN ranked Charleston as the 73rd best college basketball program in the previous 50 years, which was the highest ranking of all Division I teams in the state of South Carolina.
Under head coach John Kresse, the team had its greatest success. In 1983, the Cougars won the NAIA Championship. In the 1991–92 season, the Cougars made the jump to Division I and beat UNC–Charlotte in their first game. In the 1998–99 season, the team joined the Southern Conference, winning its only SoCon tournament championship that year. In 1994, 1997, 1998 and 1999, the Cougars reached the NCAA tournament, with a record of 1–4, beating Maryland in the opening round in 1997. In 1995 and 1996, the Cougars made the NIT.
The program's biggest regular season win in school history was over then-No. 3 North Carolina on the road on December 6, 1998. Kresse's career record at Charleston is 560–143.
Many consider this a dark age for the program, as despite still recording winning seasons and a NIT berth in 2003. The Cougars' strength of schedule slid into decline and players with questionable reputations filled the roster. Tom Herrion's first Charleston team finished 25–8 in 2002–03, captured the Great Alaska Shootout title and advanced to the NIT. His 25 victories marked the highest total of any first-year NCAA Division I head coach during the 2002–03 season. Herrion also guided the Cougars to a 20–9 finish in 2003–04, 18–10 performance in 2004–05 and 17–11 record in 2005–06. Herrion's final record was 80–38.
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