East Tennessee State Buccaneers men's basketball

The East Tennessee State Buccaneers men's basketball team represents East Tennessee State University (ETSU), located in Johnson City, Tennessee, in men's college basketball. East Tennessee State is coached by Brooks Savage and currently competes in the Southern Conference. The team last played in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament in 2017. In March 2020 the Buccaneers won the SoCon championship.

East Tennessee State Buccaneers men's basketball
2024–25 East Tennessee State Buccaneers men's basketball team
University	East Tennessee State University
First season	1918 (1918)
All-time record	1,350–1,063 (.559)
Head coach	Brooks Savage (2nd season)
Conference	SoCon
Location	Johnson City, Tennessee
Arena	Freedom Hall Civic Center (capacity: 6,149)
Nickname	Buccaneers
Colors	Navy blue and gold
Uniforms
Home Away Alternate
NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen
1957*, 1968
NCAA tournament round of 32
1957*, 1992
NCAA tournament appearances
1957*, 1968, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2017 *at Division II level
Conference tournament champions
1968, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2017, 2020
Conference regular season champions
1968, 1990, 1991, 1992, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2017, 2020
Conference division season champions
2003

History

Conference affiliations

• Pre-1958 – Volunteer State Athletic Conference
• 1958–59 to 1977–78 – Ohio Valley Conference
• 1979–80 to 2004–05 – Southern Conference
• 2005–06 to 2013–14 – Atlantic Sun Conference
• 2014–15 to present – Southern Conference

Notes

Season-by-season results

Statistics overview

Season	Coach	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Madison Brooks (1948–1973)
1957–1958	Madison Brooks	7–18
1958–1959	Madison Brooks	13–10	5–7	4th
1959–1960	Madison Brooks	9–14	2–10	7th
1960–1961	Madison Brooks	9–15	1–11	7th
1961–1962	Madison Brooks	11–14	3–9	6th
1962–1963	Madison Brooks	14–8	7–5	3rd
1963–1964	Madison Brooks	12–10	8–6	6th
1964–1965	Madison Brooks	6–17	4–10	7th
1965–1966	Madison Brooks	7–14	3–11	7th
1966–1967	Madison Brooks	17–9	8–6	3rd
1967–1968	Madison Brooks	19–8	10–4	1st	NCAA Sweet 16
1968–1969	Madison Brooks	15–11	6–8	5th
1969–1970	Madison Brooks	15–11	8–6	3rd
1970–1971	Madison Brooks	12–12	8–6	4th
1971–1972	Madison Brooks	11–14	6–8	6th
1972–1973	Madison Brooks	9–17	2–12	8th
Madison Brooks:		377–281
Leroy Fisher (1973–1976)
1973–1974	Leroy Fisher	8–18	3–11	8th
1974–1975	Leroy Fisher	9–14	5–9	5th
1975–1976	Leroy Fisher	6–20	4–10	8th
Leroy Fisher:		23–53	12–30
Sonny Smith (1976–1978)
1976–1977	Sonny Smith	12–14	6–8	5th
1977–1978	Sonny Smith	18–9	10–4	2nd
Sonny Smith:		30–23	16–13
Jim Halihan (1978–1982)
1978–1979	Jim Halihan	16–11	1-5?	9th?
1979–1980	Jim Halihan	15–13	8–7	4th
1980–1981	Jim Halihan	13–14	9–7	4th
1981–1982	Jim Halihan	13–15	8–8	4th
Jim Halihan:		57–53	26–27
Barry Dowd (1982–1985)
1982–1983	Barry Dowd	22–9	12–4	3rd	NIT 1st Round
1983–1984	Barry Dowd	9–19	6–10	7th
1984–1985	Barry Dowd	9–18	3–13	9th
Barry Dowd:		40–46	21–27
Les Robinson (1985–1990)
1985–1986	Les Robinson	13–16	8–8	4th
1986–1987	Les Robinson	7–21	3–13	8th
1987–1988	Les Robinson	14–15	9–7	4th
1988–1989	Les Robinson	20–11	7–7	4th	NCAA 1st Round
1989–1990	Les Robinson	27–7	12–2	1st	NCAA 1st Round
Les Robinson:		81–70	39–37
Alan LeForce (1990–1996)
1990–1991	Alan LeForce	28–5	11–3	1st	NCAA 1st Round
1991–1992	Alan LeForce	24–7	12–2	1st	NCAA 2nd Round
1992–1993	Alan LeForce	19–10	12–6	2nd
1993–1994	Alan LeForce	16–14	13–5	2nd
1994–1995	Alan LeForce	14–14	9–5	2nd (North)
1995–1996	Alan LeForce	7–20	3–11	T-5th (North)
Alan LeForce:		108–70	60–32
Ed DeChellis (1996–2003)
1996–1997	Ed DeChellis	7–20	2–11	5th (North)	–
1997–1998	Ed DeChellis	11–16	6–9	T–5th	–
1998–1999	Ed DeChellis	17–11	9–7	3rd (North)	–
1999–2000	Ed DeChellis	14–15	8–8	4th (North)	–
2000–2001	Ed DeChellis	18–10	13–3	1st (North)	–
2001–2002	Ed DeChellis	18–10	11–5	T–1st (North)	–
2002–2003	Ed DeChellis	20–11	11–5	T–1st (North)	NCAA 1st Round
Ed DeChellis:		105–93	60–49
Murry Bartow (2003–2015)
2003–2004	Murry Bartow	27–6	15–1	1st (North)	NCAA 1st Round
2004–2005	Murry Bartow	10–19	4–12	5th (North)
2005–2006	Murry Bartow	15–13	12–8	5th
2006–2007	Murry Bartow	24–10	16–2	1st	NIT 1st Round
2007–2008	Murry Bartow	19–13	11–5	T–3rd
2008–2009	Murry Bartow	23–10	14–6	T–2nd	NCAA 1st Round
2009–2010	Murry Bartow	20–15	13–7	T–2nd	NCAA 1st Round
2010–2011	Murry Bartow	24–12	16–4	2nd	CIT Semifinals
2011–2012	Murry Bartow	17–13	10–8	T-4th
2012–2013	Murry Bartow	10–22	8–10	T–7th
2013–2014	Murry Bartow	19–16	10–8	4th	CIT 2nd Round
2014–2015	Murry Bartow	16–14	8–10	5th
Murry Bartow:		224–169	127–81
Steve Forbes (2015–2020)
2015–2016	Steve Forbes	24–12	14–4	2nd
2016–2017	Steve Forbes	27–8	14–4	T–1st	NCAA 1st Round
2017–2018	Steve Forbes	25–9	14–4	2nd
2018–2019	Steve Forbes	24–10	13–5	T–3rd	CIT 1st Round
2019–2020	Steve Forbes	30–4	16–2	1st	NCAA Tournament canceled due to COVID-19
Steve Forbes:		130–43	71–19
Jason Shay (2020–2021)
2020–2021	Jason Shay	13–12	8–7	5th
Jason Shay:		13–12	8–7
Desmond Oliver (2021–2023)
2021–2022	Desmond Oliver	15-17	7-11	8th
2022–2023	Desmond Oliver	12-20	8-10	T–5th
Desmond Oliver:		27-37	15-21
Brooks Savage (2023–present)
2023-2024	Brooks Savage	19-16	8-10	7th
Brooks Savage:		19-16	8-10
Total:		1,362–1,083
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

The Les Robinson / Alan LeForce era

Commonly referred to as "The Glory Days" of ETSU basketball, between 1989 and 1992, ETSU won 4 straight Southern Conference titles while compiling 99 wins. During this 4-year period ETSU had wins over prestigious programs such as Arizona, NC State (3 times), Wake Forest, Cincinnati, BYU, Xavier, Mississippi State, Southern Miss, Tennessee (twice) and Memphis. ETSU also suffered their most famous loss when they lost by 1 point to top ranked Oklahoma as a 16th seed in the 1989 NCAA tournament.

When Les Robinson left for NC State after the 1990 season, longtime assistant Alan Leforce took over a veteran team led by Senior Keith "Mister" Jennings. The team was ranked as high as 10th in the nation during the 1991 season and finished the year 17th in the AP poll and 15th in the Coaches poll. In the 1992 NCAA tournament ETSU upset the Arizona Wildcats in the opening round, but eventually fell in the second round to the Michigan Wolverines and the Fab Five.

The Buccaneers went into steep decline after that, bottoming out with a 7–20 record in 1995-96. LeForce resigned after the season.

The Ed Dechellis era

In 1996 Ed Dechellis replaced Alan Leforce who resigned after the 1995–1996 season. In 2001 Dechellis led ETSU to their first regular season conference title since the 91–92 season. In 2003 Dechellis helped ETSU win their first Southern Conference Tournament title and first NCAA berth since 1992. ETSU faced Wake Forest University in the first round where they lost in the final seconds 73–76 after having a chance to win the game with the last shot. After the 2003 season Dechellis left for Penn State.

Dechellis complied 105–93 record at ETSU but is mostly remembered for bringing prominence back to the ETSU basketball program that had struggled after the 1993 season.

The Murry Bartow era

In 2003 ETSU hired Murry Bartow after Ed Dechellis took the head coaching position at Penn State. Bartow took over a senior led team that won 27 games and nearly went undefeated in conference play in his first season; additionally, ETSU won their second straight Southern Conference Tournament and headed back to the NCAA tournament for the second straight year. ETSU had another close call in the 2004 NCAA tournament when they lost to Cincinnati 77–80 in the closing seconds, much like the Wake Forest game the previous year.

In the 2005–2006 season ETSU left the Southern Conference to join the Atlantic Sun Conference after the school dropped football. During his time in the Atlantic Sun ETSU has received 4 postseason bids. Back to Back NCAA tournaments in 2009 and 2010, the NIT in 2007 and the CIT in 2011. The Buccaneers rejoined the Southern Conference as part of reinstating football in 2016. After 12 years, an overall record of 224–169 (with a record of 16–14, 8–10 in SoCon play in the 2014–15 season), and three NCAA appearances at East Tennessee State, Bartow was fired due a five-season tournament drought with declining team performance.

The Steve Forbes era

After Murry Bartow was fired, Steve Forbes became the 16th head coach in ETSU's 95-year history on March 30, 2015. He served two seasons as an assistant coach at Wichita State Shockers men's basketball where he helped take the Shockers to the Sweet 16 the past season before taking the ETSU job. Forbes' recruiting ties and his extensive background as an assistant coach at the NCAA Division I level – which included a five-year stop at the University of Tennessee – made him a perfect fit for ETSU, according to ETSU Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Dr. Richard Sander. In five seasons at ETSU, Forbes tallied at least 24 wins each year. The 2017 team shared the Southern Conference regular season title and won the Southern Conference Tournament in Asheville to represent the league in the NCAA tournament. Forbes led the team to another conference regular season championship in 2019-20 and a school record 30 wins. On April 30, 2020, Forbes left ETSU to accept the head coaching job at Wake Forest.

Jason Shay

On May 7, 2020, a week after Forbes departed for Wake Forest, ETSU assistant coach Jason Shay was named the 17th head coach of the program. In the 2020-21 season, Shay led the Buccaneers to a 13-12 overall record and an appearance in the semifinals of the 2021 Southern Conference Tournament. On March 30, 2021, Shay decided to resign after one season as head coach.

The Desmond Oliver era

Six days after Jason Shay resigned, University of Tennessee assistant coach Desmond Oliver was named the 18th head coach of the program on April 5, 2021.

Desmond Oliver was let go on March 10, 2023. Dr. Richard Sander, ETSU's Athletic Director, stated “I met with Coach Oliver today, and we discussed the program is not meeting the expectations of the Athletics Department. We feel that parting ways is the best thing for our men’s basketball program and our student-athletes. We wish Coach Oliver the best in his future endeavors.”

Oliver had finished the second year of a five-year contract, the first 20-loss season for ETSU in a decade.

The Brooks Savage era

Brooks Savage was named the 19th head coach of ETSU men’s basketball on March 20, 2023.

Postseason

NCAA Division I tournament results

The Buccaneers have appeared in the NCAA Division I Tournament ten times. Their combined record is 2–11. They also qualified for the 2020 NCAA tournament, which was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Year	Seed	Round	Opponent	Result
1968		First round Sweet Sixteen Regional 3rd-place game	Florida State Ohio State Marquette	W 79–69 L 72–79 L 57–69
1989	#16	First round	#1 Oklahoma	L 71–72
1990	#13	First round	#4 Georgia Tech	L 83–99
1991	#10	First round	#7 Iowa	L 73–76
1992	#14	First round Second Round	#3 Arizona #6 Michigan	W 87–80 L 90–102
2003	#15	First round	#2 Wake Forest	L 73–76
2004	#13	First round	#4 Cincinnati	L 77–80
2009	#16	First round	#1 Pittsburgh	L 62–72
2010	#16	First round	#1 Kentucky	L 71–100
2017	#13	First round	#4 Florida	L 65–80

NCAA Division II tournament results

The Buccaneers have appeared in the NCAA Division II Tournament one time. Their record is 1–1.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1957	Regional semifinals Regional Finals	Centenary Kentucky Wesleyan	W 62–61 L 73–84

NAIA tournament results

The Buccaneers have appeared in the NAIA Tournament three times. Their combined record is 0–3.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1953	First round	Arizona State	L 79–81
1954	First round	Southwest Missouri State	L 72–77
1956	First round	Gustavus Adolphus	L 60–80

NIT results

The Buccaneers have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) two times. Their combined record is 0–2.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1983	First round	Vanderbilt	L 73–79
2007	First round	Clemson	L 57–64

Vegas 16 results

The Buccaneers have appeared in the Vegas 16 one time. Their record is 1–1.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
2016	Quarterfinals Semifinals	Louisiana Tech Oakland	W 88–83 L 81–104

CIT results

The Buccaneers have appeared in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) three times. Their combined record is 3–3.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
2011	First round Quarterfinals Semifinals	Furman Ohio Iona	W 76–63 W 82–73 L 80–83
2014	First round Second Round	Chattanooga Towson	W 79–66 L 77–83
2019	First round	Green Bay	L 94–102

Team records

Main article: East Tennessee State Buccaneers men's basketball statistical leaders

Record home crowds

Top 8 all-time home crowds to attend an ETSU basketball game in Johnson City.

Rank	Attendance	Event	Date
1	12,884	Chattanooga vs. ETSU	Feb. 4, 1991
2	12,240	NC State vs. ETSU	Dec. 29, 1990
3	12,208	VMI vs. ETSU	Feb. 25, 1991
4	11,341	Southern Mississippi vs. ETSU	Dec. 7, 1991
5	11,189	Appalachian State vs. ETSU	Feb. 1, 1992
6	10,727	Chattanooga vs. ETSU	Jan. 20, 1992
7	10,607	Appalachian State vs. ETSU	Jan. 5, 1991
8	10,475	Appalachian State vs. ETSU	Feb. 17, 1990

ETSU players in the NBA and ABA

3 players from ETSU have played in the NBA & ABA and a total of 8 players have been drafted.

Player	Draft Year	Career
Tommy Woods	Undrafted	1967-1968
Skeeter Swift	1969	1969–1974
Keith "Mister" Jennings	Undrafted	1992–1995

External links

• Official website