| Tennessee State Tigers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
 | |||
| University | Tennessee State University | ||
| Head coach | Brian "Penny" Collins (6th season) | ||
| Conference | Ohio Valley | ||
| Location | Nashville, Tennessee | ||
| Arena | Gentry Complex (capacity: 9,100) | ||
| Nickname | Tigers | ||
| Colors | Reflex blue and white[1] | ||
| NCAA tournament runner-up | |||
| 1970*, 1973* | |||
| NCAA tournament Final Four | |||
| 1970*, 1972*, 1973*, 1975* | |||
| NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen | |||
| 1970*, 1971*, 1972*, 1973*, 1975* | |||
| NCAA tournament appearances | |||
| 1967*, 1970*, 1971*, 1972*, 1973*, 1974*, 1975*, 1993, 1994 *at Division II level | |||
| NAIA tournament champions | |||
| 1957, 1958, 1959 | |||
| NAIA semifinals | |||
| 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960 | |||
| Conference tournament champions | |||
| 1993, 1994 | |||
| Conference regular season champions | |||
| 1993, 1995 | |||
The Tennessee State Tigers basketball team represents Tennessee State University (TSU) in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. The school's team currently competes in the NCAA Division I's Ohio Valley Conference. They play their home games at the Gentry Complex and are led by sixth-year head coach Brian "Penny" Collins.[2]
While they were a member of the NAIA, they were three time national champions (1957, 1958, 1959). TSU was the first team to win three consecutive basketball national championships at any level of college basketball – a feat only repeated once as of 2021, by Kentucky State (1970, 1971, 1972) The 1957 championship made TSU the first historically black college to win a national championship. The team was coached by Harold Hunter from 1960 to 1968.[3] Hunter still holds the record as the second-winningest men's basketball coach in Tennessee State's history.[4] Hunter had succeeded outgoing coach John McLendon, who left in 1959.[3]
The Tigers joined NCAA Division I for the 1977-78 season and joined the OVC for the 1986-87 season. Since joining Division I, Tennessee State has appeared twice in the NCAA Tournament, most recently in 1994.
Seventeen former Tennessee State Tigers have played in the NBA; the best known are Ben Warley, Robert Covington, Dick Barnett, John Barnhill, Truck Robinson, Anthony Mason and Carlos Rogers.
- ^ Tennessee State University Brand Guide (PDF). December 31, 2020. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
- ^ Organ, Mike (March 26, 2018). "Brian 'Penny' Collins hired as Tennessee State basketball coach". The Tennessean. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
- ^ a b "Former Tennessee State basketball coach Harold Hunter dies". The City Paper. 2013-03-07. Archived from the original on 2013-11-02. Retrieved 2013-03-30.
- ^ "NBA pioneer Harold Hunter, an ex-Xavier coach, died Thursday". Times-Picayune. 2013-03-07. Retrieved 2013-03-30.