About Florida Atlantic University Owls Men's Basketball at Abessinio Court at FAU Arena
The energetic Florida Atlantic University Owls Men's Basketball team represents Florida Atlantic University, a public university in Boca Raton that's part of the State University System of Florida. The NCAA Division I team is a member of Conference USA, and they made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 2002 as well as a 2011 National Invitation Tournament (NIT) appearance and a 2019 appearance in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT). The team also won the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament in 2002, and were the Sun Belt Conference Regular Season champs in 2011. In 2018, Dusty May took over as head coach. The Owls’ home court, affectionately called “The Burrow,” opened in 1984 and also holds Florida Atlantic University's volleyball and women's basketball home games.
Florida Atlantic University Owls Men's Basketball History
The Florida Atlantic University Owls Men's Basketball team played its first games during the 1988-89 season; in fact, the upstart team won their first-ever game in November 1988, beating Palm Beach Atlantic University 111-62. As the university's other sports teams amassed winning seasons and developed into talent powerhouses, the men's basketball Owls enjoyed similar success and growth. The Owls initially played as an NCAA Division II independent team until joining the Atlantic Sun Conference (and moving up to Division I) during the 1993-94 season. The team moved to the Sun Belt Conference starting with the 2006-07 season and then joined Conference USA in 2013.
Over the years, Florida Atlantic University's head coaches have been honored for their work during the team's winning seasons. Former UNLV star and Chicago Bulls player Sidney Green won Atlantic Sun Coach of the Year for the 2001-02 season, while in 2011, then-head coach Mike Jarvis was named the 2010 Sun Belt Conference Head Coach of the year.