The college basketball offseason is here, and we decided to have some fun over the next few months, ranking ALL 364 teams in D1. Number 188 is Fordham basketball.
Before you say we’re crazy – or that all of this is up for debate, let’s go over the very intricate process of how we came to this conclusion. We took a very statistical approach – with the help of Chat GPT – taking into consideration everything from March Madness wins and finishes, to AP Poll appearances, to conference players of the year. And then, a good friend of ours, Scott Blanchard, took our approach to the MAX.
Click here to visit the FIRST article, which explains how the formula works!
Here’s the breakdown of Fordham basketball!
NCAA Tournament Success
- Championships: 0
- Finals appearances: 0
- Final Fours: 0
- Elite Eights: 0
- Sweet 16s: 1
- NCAA wins: 2
- Bids: 4
Consistency Over Time
- Wins per season: 13.2
- Bids per season: 0.03
- AP Polls: 19
Player Quality & Talent
- All-Americans: 1
- NBA players drafted & played: 4
- Conference Players of the Year: 1
Conference & Other Success
- Conference regular season titles: 4
- Conference tournament titles: 3
- NIT titles: 0
- Other tournament titles: 0
Overall scoop on Fordham basketball
Fordham is the perfect school for a history lesson, because recently, for the past few decades, they haven’t been a major player in the Atlantic-10. Since their last NCAA Tournament bid in 1992, the Rams have had 34 seasons. In that time frame, they’ve finished with a winning record just four times. For some positivity, they went 17-15 last season in year one of Mike Magpayo.
But at one point, Fordham basketball was a beast in the Northeast. In the early 90s, Nick Macarchuk had a good start, with a winning record in four of his first five seasons. That includes the 1992 tourney bid. In the 1980s, Tommy Penders also had a good run, going 125-114 in eight seasons as the head coach.
But we have to go back even further to find the peak of Fordham’s success. From the 1902-03 season through 1931-32 – 25 seasons, Fordham never had a losing record. If the math isn’t mathing, there were a few seasons with unknown records, but we can only assume they were good, based on all the others. A few seasons after that run, in 1939, Bob Hassmiller was named their first and only Consensus All-American.
Then, in the 1950s, Fordham continued its national success. Head coach John Bach had a 277-205 record from 1949-68, with his best run in the early part of his career there. The Rams made the NCAA Tournament in 1953 and 1954, both years reaching as high as 7th in the AP Poll. Multiple players would go on to have pro careers, with Ed Conlin putting up some ridiculous numbers. In 1952-53, he averaged 18.2 points and 23.5 rebounds per game. The following season, Conlin went berserk, going for 23.4 PPG and 17.4 RPG. And as a senior, the Rams failed to make the big dance, but Conlin went even more nuts, averaging 25.0 PPG and 21.4 RPG, a remarkable and historic stat line.
But there is one season of Fordham basketball that stands out above all the rest. 1970-71 – the only season head coach Digger Phelps was in town. He led the Rams to a 26-3 overall record with wins over programs like Syracuse, St. John’s, Pittsburgh, Georgetown, Seton Hall, and a ranked Notre Dame team. They essentially played a bunch of current Power Five programs and ran through the schedule. In March, Fordham blew out Furman, but lost to Villanova in the Sweet 16, unfortunately ending a great chance at a national title. Phelps would go on to have a successful coaching career with Notre Dame and later, in broadcasting.
So for Fordham basketball, the history is remarkable and even though the last 30 plus seasons have been otherwise embarrassing, they can still hold their heads high.