The ASUN Conference men's basketball tournament (formerly known as the Trans America Athletic Conference men's basketball tournament between 1979 and 2001) is the conference championship tournament in basketball for the ASUN Conference, formerly known as the Trans America Athletic Conference (TAAC) and Atlantic Sun Conference. The tournament has been held every year since 1979, except for 1992–93.
| ASUN men's basketball tournament | |
|---|---|
| Conference basketball championship | |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Conference | ASUN Conference (2002–present) Trans America Athletic Conference (1979–2001) |
| Number of teams | 8 |
| Format | Single-elimination tournament |
| Current stadium | campus sites |
| Current location | campus sites |
| Played | 1979–present |
| Last contest | 2024 |
| Current champion | Stetson Hatters (1) |
| Most championships | Belmont Bruins (5) |
| TV partner(s) | ESPN |
| Official website | ASUN men's basketball |
It is a single-elimination tournament and seeding is based on regular season records. The winner, declared conference champion, receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA men's basketball tournament, as long as it is eligible for NCAA-sponsored postseason play. The eligibility issue applied in both 2021 and 2022, with each final featuring a team representing a transitional member of Division I (North Alabama in 2021[1] and Bellarmine in 2022[2]). Under NCAA rules, a school transitioning from NCAA Division II is not eligible for NCAA-sponsored D-I postseason play (either the NCAA tournament or the NIT) during its four-year transitional period.[3] North Alabama began its transition in July 2018 and was thus ineligible for the NCAA tournament or NIT through the 2021–22 season; Bellarmine began its transition in July 2020 and is thus ineligible for said events through 2023–24. Should a transitional school win the tournament, ASUN rules call for the regular-season champion to receive the automatic bid. North Alabama lost its final, making the issue moot for 2021, but Bellarmine won in 2022, giving Jacksonville State that season's automatic bid.
The Atlantic Sun tournament is the earliest of the NCAA Division I men's tournaments and its champion is the first to lock in an NCAA bid.
History
Trans America Athletic Conference
| Year | Champion | Score | Runner-up | MVP | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Northeast Louisiana | 90–69 | Mercer | Calvin Natt, Northeast Louisiana[4] | Fant–Ewing Coliseum • Monroe, Louisiana |
| 1980 | Centenary | 79–77 | Northeast Louisiana | George Lett, Centenary[4] | |
| 1981 | Mercer | 72–67 | Houston Baptist | Tony Gattis, Mercer[4] | Hirsch Coliseum • Shreveport, Louisiana |
| 1982 | Northeast Louisiana | 98–85 | Centenary | Donald Wilson, Northeast Louisiana[4] | Fant–Ewing Coliseum • Monroe, Louisiana |
| 1983 | Georgia Southern | 68–67 | Arkansas–Little Rock | Jim Lampley, UALR[4] | Barton Coliseum • Little Rock, Arkansas |
| 1984 | Houston Baptist | 81–76 | Samford | Craig Beard, Samford[4] | Spring Branch Coliseum • Houston, Texas |
| 1985 | Mercer | 105–96 | Arkansas–Little Rock | Sam Mitchell, Mercer[4] | Hanner Fieldhouse • Statesboro, Georgia |
| 1986 | Arkansas–Little Rock | 85–63 | Centenary | Michael Clarke, UALR[4] | Barton Coliseum • Little Rock, Arkansas |
| 1987 | Georgia Southern | 49–46 | Stetson | Jeff Sanders, Georgia Southern[4] | |
| 1988 | Texas–San Antonio | 76–69 | Georgia Southern | Frank Hampton, UTSA[4] | Ocean Center • Daytona Beach, Florida |
| 1989 | Arkansas–Little Rock | 100–72 | Centenary | Jeff Cummings, UALR[4] | Barton Coliseum • Little Rock, Arkansas |
| 1990 | Arkansas–Little Rock | 105–95 | Centenary | Derrick Owens, UALR[4] | |
| 1991 | Georgia State | 80–60 | Arkansas–Little Rock | Chris Collier, Georgia State[4] | Edmunds Center • DeLand, Florida |
| 1992 | Georgia Southern | 95–82 | Georgia State | Charlton Young, Georgia Southern[4] | Hanner Fieldhouse • Statesboro, Georgia |
| 1993 | No tournament | ||||
| 1994 | Central Florida | 70–67 | Stetson | Victor Saxton, UCF[4] | UCF Arena • Orlando, Florida |
| 1995 | Florida International | 68–57 | Mercer | James Mazyck, FIU[4] | |
| 1996 | Central Florida | 86–77 | Mercer | Harry Kennedy, UCF[4] | Edmunds Center • DeLand, Florida |
| 1997 | College of Charleston | 83–73 | Florida International | Anthony Johnson, C of C[4] | John Kresse Arena • Charleston, South Carolina |
| 1998 | College of Charleston | 72–63 | Florida International | Sedric Webber, C of C[4] | |
| 1999 | Samford | 89–61 | Central Florida | Marc Salyers, Samford[4] | Jacksonville Coliseum • Jacksonville, Florida |
| 2000 | Samford | 81–68 | Central Florida | Marc Salyers, Samford[4] | |
| 2001 | Georgia State | 79–55 | Troy State | Thomas Terrell, Georgia State[4] | GSU Sports Arena • Atlanta, Georgia |
Atlantic Sun/ASUN Conference
Broadcasters
| Year | Network | Play-by-play | Analyst |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | ESPN2 | Mike Corey | Richard Hendrix |
| 2023 | Tim McCormick | ||
| 2022 | Bob Valvano | ||
| 2021 | ESPN | Anish Shroff | Jon Sundvold |
| 2020 | Mike Corey | Jon Crispin | |
| 2019 | Anish Shroff | Cory Alexander | |
| 2018 | |||
| 2017 | ESPN2 | Kevin Brown | |
| 2016 | Tom Hart | ||
| 2015 | |||
| 2014 | Jason Benetti | ||
| 2013[5] | Roy Philpott | Dereck Whittenburg | |
| 2012[6] | Adam Amin | Bob Valvano | |
| 2011[7] | Mark Jones | ||
| 2010[8] | Rob Stone | Tim McCormick | |
| 2009[9] | ESPN | Eric Collins | Bob Valvano |
| 2008 | |||
| 2007[10] | ESPN2 | Jon Sciambi | Bucky Waters |
| 2006 | ESPN | Lou Canellis | |
| 1998 | Dewayne Staats | Len Elmore |
Performance by school
| School | Championships | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Belmont[a] | 5 | 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012 |
| UCF[a] | 4 | 1994, 1996, 2004, 2005 |
| Arkansas-Little Rock[a][b] | 3 | 1986, 1989, 1990 |
| Georgia Southern[a] | 3 | 1983, 1987, 1992 |
| Florida Gulf Coast | 3 | 2013, 2016, 2017 |
| Liberty[a] | 3 | 2019, 2020, 2021 |
| Mercer[a] | 3 | 1981, 1985, 2014 |
| College of Charleston[a][c] | 2 | 1997, 1998 |
| East Tennessee State[a] | 2 | 2009, 2010 |
| Georgia State[a] | 2 | 1991, 2001 |
| Northeast Louisiana[a][d] | 2 | 1979, 1982 |
| Samford[a] | 2 | 1999, 2000 |
| Bellarmine | 1 | 2022 |
| Centenary[a] | 1 | 1980 |
| Florida Atlantic[a] | 1 | 2002 |
| Florida International[a][e] | 1 | 1995 |
| Houston Baptist[a][f] | 1 | 1984 |
| Kennesaw State[g] | 1 | 2023 |
| Lipscomb | 1 | 2018 |
| North Florida | 1 | 2015 |
| Stetson | 1 | 2024 |
| Troy[a] | 1 | 2003 |
| UTSA[a] | 1 | 1988 |
| TOTAL | 45 |
Teams in bold are ASUN members as of the upcoming 2023–24 NCAA basketball season.
- Among other current ASUN members:
- Jacksonville and North Alabama have advanced to the tournament final but have yet to win a championship.
- Austin Peay, Central Arkansas, and Eastern Kentucky have yet to advance to the tournament final.