WPI Engineers men's basketball

The WPI Engineers men's basketball team is the college basketball program representing Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). The Engineers compete in the Division III (DIII) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the NEWMAC.^[2] WPI's men's basketball program began competing regularly as a varsity sport in 1918. The team is currently coached by Chris Bartley.

WPI Engineers men's basketball
University	Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Head coach	Chris Bartley (22nd season)
Conference	NEWMAC
Location	Worcester, Massachusetts
Arena	Harrington Auditorium (capacity: 3,000)
Nickname	Engineers
Student section	Goat Nation
Colors	Crimson and gray[1]
Uniforms
Home Away
NCAA tournament Elite Eight
1985, 2022
Other NCAA tournament results Sweet Sixteen 1985, 2005, 2022 Appearances 1982, 1985, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2020, 2022
Conference tournament champions
2005, 2006, 2013, 2022
Conference regular-season champions
2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2022

WPI plays its home games at Harrington Auditorium, located on the campus in Worcester, Massachusetts, with a capacity of 3,000.^[3]

History

Although an informal team played in 1902, the WPI Engineers basketball team was sponsored by the Athletic Association in 1903, but then was abolished in the spring of 1910.^[4] The sport was brought back in 1915, but only as an intramural.^[5] It wasn't until the winter of 1917–1918, that basketball became an intercollegiate sport again.^[6] The team won back to back New England Championships during the 1919–20 and 1920–21 and seasons.^[7] According to the Premo-Porretta Power Poll, the 1919–20 team would have been ranked 25th in the country.

The 1965–66 team was defeated by Army 71–62 on December 8, 1965. The win marked the first career coaching victory for the Hall of Fame coach, Bobby Knight.

During the 2012–13 season, the team was ranked second in the nation in National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division III and had their best start ever, going undefeated for their first 22 games. On February 24, 2013, WPI beat Springfield College in overtime to win the NEWMAC Championship and secure a place in the 2013 NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament.

The Engineers had a program record 27 victories during their 2021–22 season, which included a NEWMAC regular season championship, a NEWMAC tournament championship, and an Elite Eight appearance in the 2022 NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament. This marked the program's second NCAA quarterfinal game and first since 1985.^[8]