The Dolphins played their first basketball game at home on December 7, 1948, a 41–39 loss to Siena. Le Moyne's first victory came on the road at Hobart in the Dolphins' second game.
In 1950, Le Moyne became a charter member of the Eastern Catholic Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (ECIAC).[1] After only one season, the ECIAC ceased publicizing itself as a conference and became an association of its member schools with no basketball champion crowned, leaving Le Moyne an independent again for 1951–52.[2]
In 1955, Le Moyne became a charter member of the new Middle Eastern College Athletic Association (MECAA).[3] The MECAA included teams that were also members of other conferences, a practice not uncommon at the time. When the NCAA split its members into the College Division and University Division in 1956,[4] the MECAA included four teams (St. Francis (NY), Iona, St. Bonaventure and Siena) that were placed into the University Division, while Le Moyne and Saint Peter's were placed into the College Division. St. Francis was also a member of the Metropolitan New York Conference, and St. Bonaventure was also a member of the Western New York Little Three Conference. Nevertheless, all six schools initially continued their affiliation with the MECAA after the split. Le Moyne remained a member of the MECAA, until it was dissolved following the 1975–76 season. The MECAA awarded its championship based on regular-season winning percentage and did not conduct a post-season tournament. The Dolphins took the title seven times during their 21 seasons of membership, the most championships of any conference member. Since conference membership crossed NCAA divisions, the MECAA champion was not awarded an automatic bid to any NCAA tournament. In December 1960, the MECAA conducted an in-season Christmas tournament that included five of its six teams as well as three non-members. Le Moyne defeated Saint Peter's, Iona and Long Island to win the tournament title.
Le Moyne became a Division II institution, when the College Division was split in 1973. Following the dissolution of the MECAA, the Dolphins played as an independent until joining the Mideast Collegiate Conference (MECC) in 1983, and remained a member of that conference until it 1991. Le Moyne won two MECC regular-season titles and one conference tournament during their eight years in the league.
After playing the 1991–92 season as an independent, Le Moyne joined the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) in 1992. The Dolphins won the NECC tournament in 1996, their final season in the league.
In 1996, the Dolphins joined the Northeast-10 Conference (NE10), where they remained until beginning reclassification to Division I as a member of the NEC in 2023. During their 26 seasons over a span of 27 years in the NE10 (the 2020–21 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic), Le Moyne won four regular-season conference championships and two conference tournaments.
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
Conference regular season champion
Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
Division regular season champion
Division regular season and conference tournament champion
Conference tournament champion
Notes
^Excludes two wins over Cobleskill State on January 22 and March 5, 1949, which are included in Le Moyne's official records. Cobleskill State was a two-year college offering associate's degrees only at the time. Under the Bevo Francis rule, the NCAA only counts games against four-year institutions as collegiate contests.
^Le Moyne finished tied with Iona. Le Moyne lost the only head-to-head matchup, 58–54, at Iona on February 14, 1959. Nevertheless, the MECAA recognized both teams as co-champions.[5]
^Up until the 1959–60 season, some MECAA teams had not played full round-robin conference schedules, and others played each league opponent with home-and-home series versus some but not all conference members. The uneven scheduling created controversy about which team deserved the league's championship in cases in which the title had been decided in favor of a team that had scheduled one extra or one fewer game, since the team with the best winning percentage against conference opponents was awarded the conference championship. In part to address this perceived inequity, the MECAA planned to stage this tournament annually in December to determine a champion with all conference teams on equal footing. The MECAA had six members at the time: Le Moyne, St. Francis (NY), Iona, King's, Saint Peter's and Siena. King's was not eligible for the 1960–61 regular-season MECAA championship, since it joined the conference in June 1960, and was able to schedule only three games against league members; King's did not participate in the 1960 MECAA tournament. Therefore, three other teams (Fairleigh Dickinson, Long Island and Wagner) were invited to create a full eight-team bracket and ensure the tournament champion would need to win three games. Despite the initial plans, the 1960 tournament was the only one the MECAA ever held. The tournament was unique, because it can be differentiated from a conference tournament, since it was not held at the end of the season and included non-member teams. It also does not resemble an in-season multiple-team event, since all five active MECAA teams participated rather than limiting tournament entries to one team per conference.
^Le Moyne finished tied for first place with Saint Peter's and won the head-to-head matchup, 81–80, on December 3, 1968. Nevertheless, the MECAA recognized both teams as co-champions.[6]
^Le Moyne finished tied for fourth place with Adelphi. The teams split their regular-season head-to-head matchups with Adelphi winning at home, 68–60, on January 26, 1985, and Le Moyne winning at home, 93–65, on February 9, 1985. Le Moyne was awarded the no. 4 seed in the conference tournament, based on a better overall record.
^Le Moyne finished tied for second place with Saint Michael's. The teams split their regular-season head-to-head matchups with Le Moyne winning at home, 87–81, on January 17, 1987, and Saint Michael's winning at home, 97–82, on February 7, 1987. Both teams were 0–2 versus first-place Gannon. Saint Michael's was awarded the no. 2 seed in the conference tournament, based on a 2–0 record versus fourth-place Pace, compared with the 1–1 record of Le Moyne, which was the no. 3 seed.
^Le Moyne finished tied for first place with Gannon and lost both regular-season head-to-head matchups, 87–85, in overtime at home on January 23, 1988, and 77–66, on the road on February 27, 1988. Both teams were recognized as regular-season co-champions. Gannon was seeded first in the MECC tournament.
^Le Moyne finished tied for fourth place with Buffalo and lost both regular-season head-to-head matchups, 70–59, at home on January 6, 1990, and 71–62, on the road on February 15, 1990. Adelphi finished in third place but was ineligible for postseason play. Buffalo was awarded the no. 3 seed in the conference tournament, and Le Moyne was the no. 4 seed.
^Le Moyne finished tied for third place with Gannon. The teams split their regular-season head-to-head matchups with Gannon winning at home, 87–84, in overtime on January 26, 1991, and Le Moyne winning at home, 97–75, on February 4, 1991. Philadelphia Textile and Pace finished tied for first place. Le Moyne and Gannon were each 1–1 versus Pace. Le Moyne was awarded the no. 3 seed based on a 1–1 record versus Phildelphia Textile, compared with the 0–2 record of Gannon, which was the no. 4 seed.
^Le Moyne finished tied for third place with UMass Lowell. The teams split their regular-season head-to-head matchups with UMass Lowell winning on the road, 71–68, on January 9, 1993, and Le Moyne winning on the road, 75–74, on February 21, 1993. Le Moyne was awarded the no. 3 seed in the conference tournament, based on a 1–1 record versus first-place New Hampshire College, compared with the 0–2 record of UMass Lowell, which was the no. 4 seed.
^Le Moyne finished tied for third place with UMass Lowell. The teams split their regular-season head-to-head matchups with both teams winning at home. Le Moyne won, 97–93, on January 7, 1995, and UMasss Lowell won, 87–73, on February 19, 1995. Both teams were winless against first-place New Hampshire College, split against second-place Bridgeport, split against Sacred Heart and Southern Connecticut, which finished tied for fifth place, split against sixth-place Franklin Pierce and swept both seventh-place New Haven and eighth-place Keene State, necessitating a coin flip, which was won by UMass Lowell, the no. 3 seed in the conference tournament. Le Moyne was the no. 4 seed.
^Le Moyne finished tied for second place with New Hampshire College. The teams split their regular-season head-to-head matchups with New Hampshire College winning at home, 65–64, on December 9, 1995, and Le Moyne winning at home, 77–69, on January 21, 1996. New Hampshire College was awarded the no. 2 seed in the conference tournament, based on a 1–1 record versus first-place Franklin Pierce, compared with the 0–2 record of Le Moyne, which was the no. 3 seed.
^Finished tied with Assumption and Stonehill and were seeded third in conference tournament based on tiebreaker procedure. The NE10 recognizes all three teams as regular-season conference co-champions.
^ abcHad best regular-season conference record of all NE10 teams, regardless of division.
^Le Moyne finished tied for fourth place with Fairleigh Dickinson. The teams split their regular-season head-to-head matchups with Le Moyne winning on the road, 74–63, on January 6, 2024, and Fairleigh Dickinson winning on the road, 68–58, on February 24, 2024. Le Moyne was awarded the no. 4 seed in the conference tournament, based on a 2–2 record versus Central Connecticut and Merrimack, which finished tied for first-place, compared with the 0–4 record of Fairleigh Dickinson, which was the no. 5 seed.
^Includes pre-division NCAA seasons through 1955–56 and Division I seasons. The Associated Press (AP) began publishing separate rankings of major programs and small colleges during the 1947–48 season, and the NCAA recognizes this differentiation. Le Moyne was included in the small college poll from the inception of its varsity program. Nevertheless, Le Moyne played a schedule that included a significant number of major program opponents from the 1948–49 season through the 1955–56 season. Of the 162 collegiate contests played by Le Moyne over those eight seasons, 59 (36%) of them featured opponents that were classified as major programs by the AP. Le Moyne was 20–39 in those 59 games, including 5–5 in 1954–55, when 10 (53%) of their 19 games were against major programs, and 5–4 in 1955–56, when nine (43%) of their 21 games were against major programs. Also, during those eight seasons, Le Moyne participated in two prestigious National Catholic Invitational Tournaments, a tournament that included both major programs and small colleges.
Postseason results
The NCAA tournament started in 1939, and the number of teams invited to participate has expanded a number of times over the years. Between 1939 and 1950, the tournament had only eight teams, and then, between 1951 and 1956, the number of participants varied between 16 and 25 teams. Le Moyne was never selected to participate in the tournament prior to the split of the NCAA into divisions.
The first College Division tournament was held in 1957, and Le Moyne was first selected to participate in 1959. The College Division tournament became the Division II tournament in 1974. Le Moyne participated in the tournament 14 times between 1957 and 2023.
The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) held a postseason tournament for College Division teams in 1973, and then annual combined tournaments for Division II and III teams from 1974 through 1980. Tournaments for Division II teams resumed in 1988, and were held each year until 2008, except for 2006. One more Division II tournament was held in 2014. ECAC member teams were invited to participate in these tournaments by a selection committee, if they did not receive a bid to the NCAA tournament. Le Moyne has been a member of the ECAC since 1958, but never participated in an ECAC tournament.
Since Le Moyne started their transition to Division I in 2023, they will become eligible to be selected or qualify for the Division I tournament starting in 2027, assuming they meet the new criteria under January 2025 NCAA legislation to have their four-year transition period reduced to three years and apply to the NCAA to do so.[7] As of 2025[update], 68 teams participate in the tournament each year.
The National Invitation Tournament (NIT), meanwhile, began in 1938, with only six teams. It expanded several times, reaching a peak of 40 participating teams between 2002 and 2006. After the split of the NCAA into divisions, the NIT had no rule that prevented College Division (or, later, Division II or Division III) teams from participating. In fact, Southern Illinois won the 1967 NIT in their final season as a College Division team. Maryland Eastern Shore participated in the 1974 NIT as a Division II team. Starting in 2006, the first year the NIT was operated by the NCAA, only Division I teams may be invited to the NIT. Le Moyne has never been invited to participate in the NIT. The Dolphins may not be selected to play in the NIT until 2027, assuming their transition period will have been completed by then. The NIT includes 32 teams per tournament as of 2025[update].
The College Basketball Invitational (CBI) and CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) are postseason tournaments that select Division I teams that are not participating in either the NCAA tournament or the NIT. The College Basketball Crown (CBC) is a postseason tournament that selects teams not participating in the NCAA tournament and may also extend invitations to teams that have qualified or been selected for the NIT. Since the CBC, CBI and CIT are not operated by the NCAA, they may invite transitioning Division I teams to participate, and Le Moyne was eligible starting with the 2024 postseason. In the past, both the CBI and the CIT have extended invitations to transitioning teams.
Tournament
Seed
Results
Ref.
1950 Utica Optimist Club tournament
Utica Optimist Club champion Won Semifinal vs. Brockport State, 67–60 Won Final vs. Utica, 59–57
^Hickey, Bill (March 21, 1951). "Dolphin Sportlights"(PDF). The Dolphin. p. 3. Archived from the original(PDF) on January 8, 2024. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
