Texas A&M–Commerce Lions men's basketball

Texas A&M–Commerce Lions men's basketball
2017–18 Texas A&M–Commerce Lions men's basketball team
University Texas A&M University–Commerce
All-time record 1301–1042 (.555)
Head coach Sam Walker
Conference Lone Star Conference
Location Commerce, Texas
Arena Texas A&M–Commerce Field House
(Capacity: 5,000)
Nickname Lions
Colors Blue and Gold[1]
         
Uniforms
Home
Away
Alternate
NCAA Tournament champions
1954–1955 (NAIA)
NCAA Tournament appearances
1940, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1958, 1964, 1974, 1977, 1978, 1979, (NAIA) 1996, 1997, 1998, 2005, 2015, 2017. (NCAA)
Conference tournament champions
2015
Conference regular season champions
1934, 1936, 1939, 1940, 1942, 1948, 1950, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1958, 1964, 1974, 1977, 1978, 1984, 1990, 1996, 1998 (North), 2005
For information on all Texas A&M University–Commerce sports, see Texas A&M–Commerce Lions

The Texas A&M–Commerce Lions men's basketball team (formerly the East Texas State Lions) is the men's intercollegiate basketball program representing Texas A&M University–Commerce. The school competes in the Lone Star Conference (LSC) in Division II of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Lions were members of the NAIA from 1940-1982, and joined the NCAA for the 82-83 season. The A&M–Commerce men's basketball team plays its home games at the University Field House on the university campus in Commerce, Texas. The Lions have won one national title and numerous conference titles. The team is currently coached by Sam Walker.

History

The East Texas State men's basketball team in 1920
The A&M-Commerce men's basketball team in action against the A&M-Kingsville Javelinas in 2015

The men's team was formed in 1916, and played the 1916–17 season under the first head coach John Garrity and went 3–3. The university joined the Lone Star conference in 1931 and since that time the team has won a grand total of 22 conference titles as well as one national title. The team has been to the national playoffs numerous times but since joining the NCAA they have not made it past the elite eight in the national tournament. The team is currently coached by Sam Walker who has coached the team since 2000 and has a combined record of 249–180, and 103–93 in conference games, he has more wins than any other basketball coach in the program's history. The team was featured as an opponent of Texas Western University's (now The University of Texas at El Paso) historic color barrier breaking team in the Walt Disney film Glory Road during the 1966 season. The game was shown as being played in Commerce as the arena it was shot in had very close resemblance to the University Fieldhouse, where the Lions play to this day. The team saw a lot of success under head coach Bob Rodgers, who has the highest winning percentage in the program's history to this day .769, he led them to the playoffs in 3 out of his 5 seasons and in the 1954–55 season he led the team to the national championship where they defeated Southeastern Oklahoma by a score of 71–54 for their first (and only) national title in addition to this he also led the team to 4 conference titles. The program also had lots of success throughout the 1970s under head coach Jim Grudger who led the team to three conference titles and took the team to the national tournament four times and came really close to winning a national title in 1978 when he took the team to the NAIA semi-finals and was defeated by Quincy by a score of 87–73. [2]

Coaches

Sam Walker, the current head coach of the A&M-Commerce men's basketball team

[3]

# Name Term GC OW OL OT O% CW CL CT C% PW PL CCs NCs
1 Garrity, JohnnyJohnny Garrity 1916 6 3 3 0 .500 0 0 0 – 0 0 0 0
2 Phillips, H.D.H.D. Phillips 1917–1918 15 5 10 0 .333 0 0 0 – 0 0 0 0
3 Tipton, E.M.E.M. Tipton 1919 5 2 3 0 .400 0 0 0 – 0 0 0 0
4 Cushman, CecilCecil Cushman 1920 8 5 3 0 .625 0 0 0 – 0 0 0 0
5 Jerrigan, RussellRussell Jerrigan 1921–1923 30 14 16 0 .467 0 0 0 – 0 0 0 0
6 Murphy, JoeJoe Murphy 1924–1927 55 27 28 0 .491 0 0 0 – 0 0 0 0
7 Acker, Will HillWill Hill Acker 1928–1930 65 46 19 0 .708 0 0 0 – 0 0 0 0
8 Sikes, J.V.J.V. Sikes 1931–1934 73 36 37 0 .493 22 16 0 .579 0 0 1 0
9 Petty, S.J.S.J. Petty 1935–1936 43 30 13 0 .698 12 4 0 .750 0 0 1 0
10 Vinzent, DennisDennis Vinzent 1937–1945 152 92 60 0 .605 39 26 0 .600 0 1 3 0
11 Tulley, DarrellDarrell Tulley 1946–1949 95 59 36 0 .621 32 16 0 .667 4 3 2 0
12 Smith, M.A.M.A. Smith 1950 22 13 9 0 .591 5 3 0 .625 0 0 0 0
13 Woodruff, JackJack Woodruff 1951 24 11 13 0 .458 5 5 0 .500 0 0 0 0
14 Rogers, BobBob Rogers 1952–1956 147 113 34 0 .769 48 10 0 .828 20 3 4 1
15 Pilgram, NormanNorman Pilgram 1957–1967 278 152 126 0 .547 81 70 0 .536 5 3 2 0
16 Andrews, PhilPhil Andrews 1968 27 9 18 0 .333 3 11 0 .214 0 0 0 0
17 Gudger, JimJim Gudger 1969–1982 392 202 190 0 .515 123 106 0 .537 11 5 3 0
18 Matthews, JerryJerry Matthews 1983–1990 225 99 126 0 .440 42 53 0 .442 0 0 2 0
19 Peak, PaulPaul Peak 1991–1999 252 134 118 0 .532 61 59 0 .508 3 3 2 0
20 Walker, SamSam Walker 2000–present 429 249 180 0 .580 103 93 0 .526 2 2 2 0

Arena

Texas A&M–Commerce Field House

The A&M-Commerce men and women's basketball teams both share the university field house along with volleyball . The field house was constructed in 1950 and has been home to Men's basketball for over six decades. The Field House covers 69,000 square feet and will seat 5,000 people for either a volleyball or basketball contest. The facility is also the host to the University's Athletic Administration staff, the Sports Medicine Department and the Health and Human Performance Department; in addition to the offices for the basketball, cross country and track and field, golf, soccer and volleyball teams.

The Field House is shaped like an airplane hangar and has space for three basketball courts crossways. The floor allows three games to be played at the same time under one roof. The one lengthwise court is reserved for A&M-Commerce basketball and volleyball matches. With an arched roof, 58 feet from the ground at the highest point, is supported on steel beams that are stationed at one end. The university recently upgraded the hardwood court and placed a giant lion head logo in the center of the court similar to the one at Memorial Stadium.

Notable former players

References

  1. ↑ TAMUC Branding Standards Guide (PDF). Retrieved April 19, 2016.
  2. ↑ Team History (Men)
  3. ↑ MBBall Coaches
  4. ↑
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