Providence Friars men's basketball
| Providence Friars | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| University | Providence College | |||
| Conference | Big East | |||
| Location | Providence, RI | |||
| Head coach | Ed Cooley (6th year) | |||
| Arena |
Dunkin' Donuts Center (Capacity: 12,500) |
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| Nickname | Friars | |||
| Student section | Friar Fanatics | |||
| Colors | Black, White, and Silver |
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| Uniforms | ||||
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| NCAA Tournament Final Four | ||||
| 1973, 1987 | ||||
| NCAA Tournament Elite Eight | ||||
| 1965, 1973, 1987, 1997 | ||||
| NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen | ||||
| 1965, 1973, 1974, 1987, 1997 | ||||
| NCAA Tournament appearances | ||||
| 1964, 1965, 1966, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1977, 1978, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1994, 1997, 2001, 2004, 2014, 2015, 2016 | ||||
| Conference tournament champions | ||||
| 1994, 2014 | ||||
The Providence Friars men's basketball team represents Providence College in NCAA Division I competition, and they are a founding member of the Big East Conference. They play their home games at the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island. Since 2011, the head coach is Ed Cooley.
The Friars have made two Final Four appearances in the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, in 1973 and 1987. Four former players or coaches—Dave Gavitt, John Thompson, Rick Pitino, and Lenny Wilkens—are enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. In addition, two-time NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament champion, current Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Billy Donovan, helped lead the Friars (as a player) to the Final Four in 1987.
Providence Friars basketball can be traced back to 1921, when the four-year-old school fielded its first basketball team on an informal basis. This first team only lasted two years, however, and did not return until the 1926–27 season when Archie Golembeski, the school's football coach, led to the team to a win over St. John's before devoting his time to football the next year. He was replaced by Al McClellan, who coached the team to four New England championships – 1929, 1930, 1932, and 1935 – and had an overall winning percentage over .700. In 1938, McClellan left and was replaced by Ed Crotty, who led the team to a 15–5 record in 1942–43 before the team suspended play the next year after the outbreak of World War II. After the war, the NCAA divided its teams into two divisions, the University Division and the College Division; with a smaller enrollment and no home court (the team played in an on-campus auditorium and then local high school gyms), the Friars were placed into the College Division and no longer faced the opponents they once played.
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