VCU Rams men's basketball
The VCU Rams men's basketball team is the intercollegiate men's basketball team that represents Virginia Commonwealth University. The Rams joined the Atlantic 10 Conference in the 2012–13 season after previously competing in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). In 2017, VCU was ranked the 40th most valuable men's basketball program in the country by The Wall Street Journal. With a valuation of $56.9 million, VCU ranked second in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and second in the A-10 Conference. The team is coached by Ryan Odom.
| VCU Rams | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| University | Virginia Commonwealth University | ||
| First season | 1968–69 | ||
| All-time record | 1,039–565 (.648) | ||
| Head coach | Ryan Odom (1st season) | ||
| Conference | Atlantic 10 | ||
| Location | Richmond, Virginia | ||
| Arena | E. J. Wade Arena at the Siegel Center The Stu (Capacity: 7,637, expandable to 8,000) | ||
| Nickname | Rams | ||
| Student section | The Rowdy Rams | ||
| Colors | Black and gold | ||
| Uniforms | |||
| |||
| NCAA tournament Final Four | |||
| 2011 | |||
| NCAA tournament Elite Eight | |||
| 2011 | |||
| NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen | |||
| 2011 | |||
| NCAA tournament round of 32 | |||
| 1981, 1983, 1984, 1985, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016 | |||
| NCAA tournament appearances | |||
| 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1996, 2004, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2021*, 2023 | |||
| Conference tournament champions | |||
| 1980, 1981, 1985, 1996, 2004, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2015, 2023 | |||
| Conference regular season champions | |||
| 1981, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1996, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2016, 2019, 2023 Forfeit due to positive COVID-19 tests* | |||
Since 1999, the team has played home basketball games at the E.J. Wade Arena at the Stuart C. Siegel Center in Richmond, Virginia on the university's Monroe Park campus. Virginia Commonwealth has made it to the NCAA Final Four once in its program's history, in 2011. Additionally, the Rams won the 2010 CBI tournament and have ten conference tournaments; three being in the Sun Belt Conference, five being in the Colonial Athletic Association, and two in the Atlantic 10 Conference. The Rams have also won twelve regular season championships; four from the Sun Belt, five from the CAA, and three in the Atlantic 10. The official student supporter group is known as the Rowdy Rams.
The team is known for its Final Four run in the 2011 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. While the team had made nine NCAA tournament appearances beforehand, never had the Rams made it beyond the second round of the tournament. In 2011, the Rams' journey to the Final Four began in one of the four opening round games, commonly called "play-in" games, intended to narrow the field from 68 to 64 teams. Thus, VCU became the first team to advance from the "First Four" to the Final Four.
In another NCAA tournament-first, VCU became the first team ever to forfeit a game in the NCAA tournament when their First Round game in the 2021 NCAA tournament was declared a no-contest due to several positive COVID-19 tests in the VCU program.
VCU reached the NCAA tournament a state record seven consecutive times from 2011 to 2017.