Huskies

Northeastern Huskies

General Information

NCAA Division: Division I
Conference: Colonial Athletic Association (2005-present)
City: Boston
Stadium: Matthews Arena

Championships:

NCAA Tournaments: 9 (1981, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1991, 2015, 2019)
National Championships: None
Conference Tournament Titles: 9 (1981, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1991, 2015, 2019)
Conference Regular Season Titles: 12 (1981, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 2013, 2015, 2018, 2021)

Past Conferences:

America East

Team History

The Northeastern Huskies are a Division I team based in Boston. Northeastern currently plays in the Colonial Athletic Association and is coached by veteran staple Bill Coen. Coen has been a steadying presence on the bench for 17 seasons, helping mold Northeastern into one of the better mid-majors in the Northeast.

The Huskies have won four CAA regular season titles (2013, 2015, 2018, 2021) and two tournament championships (2015, 2019) under Coen’s watch. They’ve twice made the NCAA Tournament during that time, building on the success they experienced throughout the 1980s as a member of the America East.

Becoming a Postseason Fixture With Calhoun

In their most recent tournament appearance in 2019, the 13th-seeded Huskies lost to powerhouse Kansas in the first round. Four years earlier, they were beaten as a No. 14 seed by Notre Dame, also in the opening round. That trip ended a 28-year drought.

The Huskies became a postseason fixture under the legendary Jim Calhoun, overcoming odds to win NCAA Tournament games in 1981 and 1982, and again in 1984. Altogether, they made six trips to the Big Dance in the 1980s. Calhoun left in 1986 for UConn, where he’d build a perennial national title contender. Karl Fogel, a protégé of Calhoun’s, took over and posted a .560 winning percentage over the next eight seasons.

Northeastern hit a lull, though, after 1991, going almost three decades until their next foray into March Madness. In between, the Huskies appeared three times in the National Invitational Tournament.

Additionally, the program has a small, albeit notable, history as a pipeline to the NBA, starting with Reggie Lewis. Lewis was drafted 22nd overall by the Boston Celtics in 1987 and became an All-Star in 1992, one year before his tragic death. Lewis remains the school’s all-time leading scorer (2,709.) J.J. Barea, the 2006 CAA Player of the Year, became a key reserve in the NBA after going undrafted. He averaged 8.9 points and 3.9 assists over 14 seasons and won a championship with the Dallas Mavericks in 2011.