In 1950, Le Moyne became a charter member of the Eastern Catholic Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.[1] After only one season, the ECIAC ceased publicizing itself as a conference and became an association of its member schools with no champion crowned, leaving Le Moyne an independent again for 1951–52.[2]
In 1955, Le Moyne became a charter member of the new Middle Eastern College Athletic Association (MECAA).[3] The MECAA included teams that were also members of other conferences, a practice not uncommon at the time. When the NCAA split its members into the College Division and University Division in 1956, the MECAA included four teams (St. Francis Brooklyn, Iona, St. Bonaventure and Siena) that were placed into the University Division, while Le Moyne and Saint Peter's were placed into the College Division. St. Francis was also a member of the Metropolitan New York Conference, and St. Bonaventure was also a member of the Western New York Little Three Conference. Nevertheless, all six schools initially continued their affiliation with the MECAA, after the split. Le Moyne remained a member of the MECAA, until it was dissolved following the 1975–76 season. The MECAA awarded its championship based on regular-season winning percentage and did not conduct a post-season tournament. The Dolphins took the title six times during their 21 seasons of membership, the most championships of any member. Since conference membership crossed NCAA divisions, the MECAA champion was not awarded an automatic bid to any NCAA tournament. In December 1960, the MECAA conducted an in-season Christmas tournament that included five of its six teams as well as three non-members. Le Moyne defeated Saint Peter's, Iona and Long Island to win the tournament title.
Le Moyne became a Division II institution, when the College Division was split in 1973. Following the dissolution of the MECAA, the Dolphins played as an independent until joining the Mideast Collegiate Conference (MECC) in 1983, and remained a member of that conference, until it dissolved in 1991. After playing the 1991–92 season as an independent, Le Moyne joined the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) in 1992. In 1996, the Dolphins joined the Northeast-10 Conference (NE10), where they remained until beginning reclassification to Division I as a member of the NEC in 2023. The Dolphins play their home games on Ted Grant Court in the Le Moyne Events Center.
There have been nine head coaches in the history of Le Moyne basketball. The program has played 1,886 games across 74 seasons from the program's inaugural 1948–49 campaign through the end of the 2022–23 season.[4]
Tommy Niland had the longest tenure at Le Moyne, coaching for 25 seasons, and is the all-time leader in games coached (536) and wins at the school (326). Niland led the Dolphins to six NCAA tournament appearances, the most of any Le Moyne head coach.
The current head coach is Nate Champion, who played for the Dolphins from 2010 to 2014.
^1959, 1960, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1969 and 1973 MECAA championships. Le Moyne finished tied with Iona in 1959, and lost the only head-to-head matchup, 58–54, at Iona on February 14, 1959. Nevertheless, the MECAA recognized both teams as co-champions.[5] Le Moyne finished tied with Saint Peter's in 1969, and won the only head-to-head matchup at home on December 3, 1968. Nevertheless, the MECAA recognized both teams as co-champions.[6]
^1960 Middle Eastern College Athletic Association Christmas Tournament, which included all but one of the conference teams as well as three non-member guest teams.
