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.
Regional Semifinals Regional Finals Elite Eight Final Four National Third Place
Armstrong Atlantic State Chattanooga Akron Old Dominion Assumption
W 63–53 W 82–81 W 72–69 L 60–77 L 80–88
NAIA Tournament results
The Tigers have appeared in seven NAIA Tournaments. Their combined record is 23–4 and are three time national champions (1957, 1958, 1959). Those same teams were later announced as inductees into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on April 6, 2019, with those teams being "the first collegiate team to win back-to-back-to-back championships."[5]
