Providence Friars men's basketball

The Providence Friars men's basketball team represents Providence College in NCAA Division I competition. They were a founding member of the original Big East Conference from 1979 until 2013, and are now a member of the current Big East Conference. They play their home games at the Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, Rhode Island. The Friars have made two Final Four appearances in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, in 1973 and 1987. Four former players or coaches — Dave Gavitt, John Thompson, Rick Pitino, and Lenny Wilkens — are enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. In addition, two-time NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament champion, current Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan, helped lead the Friars (as a player) to the Final Four in 1987. History Early years: 1921-1955 Providence Friars basketball can be traced back to 1921, when the four-year-old school fielded its first basketball team on an informal basis. This first team only lasted two years, however, and did not return until the 1926–27 season when Archie Golembeski, the school's football coach, led to the team to a win over St. John's before devoting his time to football the next year. He was replaced by Al McClellan, who coached the team to four New England championships — 1929, 1930, 1932, and 1935 — and had an overall winning percentage over .700. In 1938, McClellan left and was replaced by Ed Crotty, who led the team to a 15–5 record in 1942–43 before the team suspended play the next year after the outbreak of World War II. After the war, the NCAA divided its teams into two divisions, the University Division and the College Division; with a smaller enrollment and no home court (the team played in an on-campus auditorium and then local high school gyms), the Friars were placed into the College Division and no longer faced the opponents they once played.