- Valparaiso Crusaders men's basketball
Infobox CBB Team
name = Valparaiso Crusaders
logo_size = 150
university = Valparaiso University
conference = Horizon League
conference_short = Horizon League
division =
city = Valparaiso
stateabb = IN
state = Valparaiso, IN
coach =Homer Drew
tenure = 18th
arena =Athletics-Recreation Center
capacity = 5,000
nickname = Crusaders
color1 = Brown
color2 = Gold
hex1 = 964B00
hex2 = FFD700
a_pattern_b=
a_body=FFD700
a_shorts=FFD700
a_pattern_s=_whitesides
NCAAchampion =
NCAAfinalfour =
NCAAsweetsixteen = 1998
conference_tournament = 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004 (Summit League)
conference_season = 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 (Summit League)The Valparaiso Crusaders Basketball team is the basketball team that represent
Valparaiso University in Valparaiso,Indiana . The school's team currently competes in theHorizon League . The team last played in theNCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament in 2004. The Crusaders are currently coached byHomer Drew , who is in his 18th year. The Crusaders play in theAthletics-Recreation Center , which has a capacity of 5,000.History
The beginning
The Crusaders' first game was in 1917. Under the coaching of
Sidney Winters , the team lost to Chicago. The team would finish 7-2 that year [http://www.valpo.edu/athletics/assets/mediaguides/MBB-2006-2007-01.pdf]The tallest team
The 1944-1945 team was billed as "The World's Tallest Team." [http://www.valpo.edu/athletics/assets/mediaguides/MBB-2006-2007-01.pdf] That year, they defeated
Long Island University in a game played inMadison Square Garden .Conference affiliation
The Crusaders would join the
Indiana Collegiate Conference for the 1950-1951 season. The Crusaders advanced to the NCAA tournament for the first time in 1961-1962. In 1968-1969, they hosted an NCAA tournament game for the first time.Division I
The Crusaders joined Division I before the 1978-1979 season. After four years as an independent, they became charter members of the AMCU.
NCAA tournament
Under coach
Homer Drew , the Crusaders became a conference power. They won their first Mid-Continent championship in 1995, led by star playerBryce Drew . However, the team was not invited to the NCAA Tournament. The Crusaders won the 1996 conference championship and received their first invitation to the Division I NCAA Tournament. In the 1998 Tournament, the Crusaders won their first Tournament game, defeating theUniversity of Mississippi with the shot. The Crusaders would go on to win their second round game againstFlorida State University before losing in the Sweet 16 to theUniversity of Rhode Island . The Crusaders would win the Mid-Continent Conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament every year until 2001, whenSouthern Utah University won the conference tournament. In CoachScott Drew 's only year as head coach, the team advanced to the National Invitation Tournament where they lost to theUniversity of Iowa in their first game televised byESPN . They would play in the title game of the Mid-Continent Conference Tournament every year between 1995 and 2004.All time tournament results
The Crusaders have appeared in seven NCAA Tournament. Their combined record is 2-7.
Radio
All Crusader games are broadcast for free on the Valparaiso website at www.valpo.edu/athletics and on
WVUR-FM .
=Crusaders in the NBA=*
Don Bielke
*Bob Dille
*Bryce Drew
*John Janisch
*Milt Schoon ee also
*
Valparaiso Crusaders
*The Shot (Valparaiso University)
*2007-08 Valparaiso Crusaders men's basketball team
*Valparaiso University External links
* [http://www.basketball-reference.com/colleges/valpo.html Players who attended Valparaiso]
* [http://www.valpo.edu/athletics/ Valparaiso University athletics web site]
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