The McNeese Cowboys basketball team represents

McNeese State University McNeese State University is a public university in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Founded in 1939 as Lake Charles Junior College, it was renamed McNeese Junior College after John McNeese, an early local educator. The present name was adopted in 1970. M ...

in Lake Charles,

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, United States. The school's team currently competes in the

Southland Conference The Southland Conference (SLC) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the South Central United States (specifically Texas and Louisiana). It participates in the NCAA's Division I for all sports; for football, it participates in ...

. They are led by head coach Bill Armstrong and play their home games at The Legacy Center. Currently members of the

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

, they were national champions of the NAIA in 1956. Since joining Division I in 1972-73, the Cowboys have appeared four times in the NCAA Tournament, most recently in

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

. McNeese won against Clemson in 2025 for their first NCAA tournament win in program history.

Postseason appearances

NCAA Division I Tournament

The Cowboys have appeared in four NCAA Division I Tournaments. Their combined record is 1–4.

NCAA Division II Tournament

The Cowboys have appeared in one NCAA Division II Tournament. Their record is 0–2.

NAIA Tournament

The Cowboys have appeared in one NAIA Tournament. Their record is 5–0. They were national champions in 1956, their only appearance in the tournament.

NIT

The Cowboys have appeared in three

National Invitation Tournament The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is an annual men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Since 2023, all rounds of the tournament are played at various sites across the country whi ...

s (NIT). Their combined record is 1–3.

CIT

The Cowboys have appeared in one CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT). Their record is 0–1.

Players

Retired numbers

Cowboys in the NBA

Six former Cowboys have appeared in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

. *

Tierre Brown Tierre Brown (born June 3, 1979) is an American basketball player. Career Brown graduated from McNeese State University and began his career with the NBA's Houston Rockets in 2001. He played fifteen games for the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2002-03 N ...

, 2002-2005 *

Joe Dumars Joe Dumars III ( ; born May 24, 1963) is an American professional basketball executive and former player who is the head of basketball operations for the New Orleans Pelicans. He could play either shooting guard or point guard on offense and was ...

, 1986-1999 * Trey Gilder, 2010 * Edmund Lawrence, 1981 * Anthony Pullard, 1993 * John Rudd, 1979

References

External links

* {{Louisiana-basketball-team-stub