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Oakland Golden Grizzlies
Oakland Golden Grizzlies
	2024–25 Oakland Golden Grizzlies men's basketball team
University	Oakland University
Head coach	Greg Kampe (41st season)
Conference	Horizon League
Location	Auburn Hills, Michigan
Arena	Athletics Center O'rena ; (capacity: 4,005)
Nickname	Golden Grizzlies
Colors	Black and gold;
Uniforms
Home	Away ;
NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen
	1997*
NCAA tournament round of 32
	1994, 1997, 2024
NCAA tournament appearances
	1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2005, 2010, 2011, 2024; *at Division II level
Conference tournament champions
	Summit League: 2005, 2010, 2011; Horizon League: 2024
Conference regular season champions
	Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference; 1996, 1997 Summit League; 2000, 2010, 2011 Horizon League; 2017, 2024

The Oakland Golden Grizzlies men's basketball team represents Oakland University in Auburn Hills, Michigan, United States. The school's team competes in the Horizon League and plays their home games at the Athletics Center O'rena. The Golden Grizzlies are coached by Greg Kampe. Kampe is the longest-tenured active Division I head coach.^[2] Oakland last played in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament in 2024.

Through the 2022–23 season, Oakland has made a three-point field goal in 1,093 consecutive games, the fourth-longest active NCAA Division I streak. They last finished a game without a three-pointer on January 30, 1988.^[3]

History

The Oakland men's basketball program began competing in the 1967 season, 10 years after the university opened. Originally nicknamed the Pioneers, they won their first NCAA game 109–106 in overtime against Albion. The Pioneers were without a conference until 1974 when they joined the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC).

The first year as members of the GLIAC, Oakland hired Greg Kampe, who is still the head coach at the university. Kampe had the fifth-longest tenure of all active Division I coaches, as of 2012.^[4] Oakland won two regular season GLIAC championships, in 1995–96 and 1996–97, their final two seasons in the league. In a 1993 game against Madonna, Oakland scored 91 points in the first half, on their way to a 189–107 victory.^[5] That game set school records for most points in a half (98) and largest margin of victory (82). The next three seasons, OU scored more than 100 points 30 times, winning 29 of those games.^[5]

Oakland played at the Division II level until 1997 when they changed their nickname to the Golden Grizzlies and began the transition to Division I. OU opened the Athletics Center O'rena in 1998 against Michigan State. When the O'rena was being built, home basketball games were played in the Sports Dome, an inflatable "bubble" used for practice by Oakland's athletic teams during the winter.^[6] The original basketball stadium was in the Hollie L. Lepley Sports Center.^[7]

The Golden Grizzlies completed the transition to Division I in 1999 and joined the Mid-Continent Conference (now known as The Summit League).

The Golden Grizzlies joined the Horizon League starting in the 2013–14 season.

In 2021, The Golden Grizzlies lose their 1,000 day streak of winning against Detroit Mercy.^[8]

In 2022, Oakland looks to build upon this game to challenge for its first Horizon League trophy since 2017.^[9]

In the 2023-24 season, the Golden Grizzlies won the Horizon League Tournament for the first time, securing an automatic bid to that season's NCAA Tournament. In the Round of 64, the 14th seeded Golden Grizzlies upset #3 Kentucky, 80-76, shocking the country and sending shockwaves throughout the tournament. Senior transfer Jack Gohlke caught the nation's eye with 10 three-pointers in the game, ending with 32 points. Kampe labelled it the "biggest win of (his) career" in post-game interviews.

Postseason history

Oakland competed in NCAA Division II since the inception of the basketball program in 1967 until they moved to NCAA Division I in 1997. The Golden Grizzlies reached the Division II postseason four times in their final four seasons at that level.

NCAA Division I Tournament results

The Golden Grizzlies have appeared in four Division I NCAA Tournaments. Their overall record is 2–4.

Year	Seed	Round	Opponent	Result
2005	#16	Opening Round First Round	#16 Alabama A&M #1 North Carolina	W 79–69 L 68–96
2010	#14	First Round	#3 Pittsburgh	L 66–89
2011	#13	First Round	#4 Texas	L 81–85
2024	#14	First Round Second Round	#3 Kentucky #11 NC State	W 80–76 L 73–79 ^OT

NCAA Division II Tournament results

Oakland appeared in four Division II NCAA Tournaments. Their overall record was 3–5.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1994	First Round Regional Semifinals Regional Third Place	Quincy Wayne State Kentucky Wesleyan	W 105–98 L 97–99 L 91–118
1995	First Round	Quincy	L 94–116
1996	First Round	Northern State	L 92–98
1997	First Round Regional Semifinals Regional Finals	Grand Valley State Indianapolis Northern Kentucky	W 79–74 W 75–72 L 87–101

NIT results

The Golden Grizzlies have appeared in one National Invitation Tournament. Their overall record is 1–1.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
2017	First Round Second Round	Clemson Richmond	W 74–69 L 83–87

Vegas 16 results

The Golden Grizzlies participated in the first and only Vegas 16. Their record was 2–1.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
2016	Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals	Towson East Tennessee State Old Dominion	W 90–72 W 104–81 L 67–68

CIT results

The Golden Grizzlies have appeared in Four CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournaments (CIT). Their overall record is 4–4.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
2009	First Round Quarterfinals	Kent State Bradley	W 80–74 L 75–76
2012	First Round Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals	Bowling Green Buffalo Rice Utah State	W 86–69 W 84–76 W 77–70 L 81–105
2013	First Round	Youngstown State	L 87–99
2015	First Round	Eastern Illinois	L 91–97

All-time win–loss record

Through 2022–23 season

Statistics overview
Season	Coach	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Dick Robinson (1967–1968)
1967–68	Robinson	6–15
Dick Robinson:		6–15
Gene Bolden (1968–1976)
1968–69	Bolden	11–10
1969–70	Bolden	9–14
1970–71	Bolden	14–12
1971–72	Bolden	14–12
1972–73	Bolden	15–11
1973–74	Bolden	17–11
1974–75	Bolden	4–22	2–9
1975–76	Bolden	5–22	3–13
Gene Bolden:		89–114	5–22
Jim Mitchell (1976–1979)
1976–77	Mitchell	9–19	5–11
1977–78	Mitchell	6–22	3–11
1978–79	Mitchell, Frederick	12–15	5–9
Jim Mitchell:		27–56	13–31
Lee Frederick (1979–1984)
1979–80	Frederick	13–14	3–11
1980–81	Frederick	8–19	3–13
1981–82	Frederick	18–9	8–8
1982–83	Frederick	11–16	4–12
1983–84	Frederick	13–14	7–9
Lee Frederick:		63–72	25–53
Greg Kampe (1984–present)
1984–85	Kampe	13–15	5–11	T-7th
1985–86	Kampe	13–15	5–11	8th
1986–87	Kampe	20–8	10–6	4th
1987–88	Kampe	19–9	11–5	3rd
1988–89	Kampe	20–8	10–6	3rd
1989–90	Kampe	19–9	10–6	4th
1990–91	Kampe	16–13	10–6	3rd
1991–92	Kampe	16–13	8–8	T-4th
1992–93	Kampe	15–11	9–7	T-3rd
1993–94	Kampe	21–10	11–7	4th	NCAA Regional Semi-Final
1994–95	Kampe	20–9	12–6	2nd	NCAA First Round
1995–96	Kampe	21–8	13–5	T-1st	NCAA First Round
1996–97	Kampe	24–7	14–3	1st (South)	NCAA Regional Final
1997–98	Kampe	15–12
1998–99	Kampe	12–15	8–8	N/A
1999–00	Kampe	13–17	11–5	1st
2000–01	Kampe	12–16	8–8	5th
2001–02	Kampe	17–13	10–4	T-2nd
2002–03	Kampe	17–11	10–4	T-2nd
2003–04	Kampe	13–17	6–10	T-7th
2004–05	Kampe	13–19	7–9	T-5th	NCAA First Round
2005–06	Kampe	11–18	6–10	7th
2006–07	Kampe	19–14	10–4	2nd
2007–08	Kampe	17–14	11–7	3rd
2008–09	Kampe	23–13	13–5	3rd	CIT quarterfinals
2009–10	Kampe	26–9	17–1	1st	NCAA first round
2010–11	Kampe	25–10	17–1	1st	NCAA first round
2011–12	Kampe	20–16	11–7	3rd	CIT semifinals
2012–13	Kampe	16–17	10–6	4th	CIT first round
2013–14	Kampe	13–20	7–9	T-5th
2014–15	Kampe	16–17	11–5	T-3rd	CIT first round
2015–16	Kampe	23–12	13–5	T-2nd	Vegas 16 finals
2016–17	Kampe	25–9	14–4	T-1st	NIT second round
2017–18	Kampe	19–14	10–8	4th
2018–19	Kampe	16–17	11–7	3rd
2019–20	Kampe	14–19	8–10	6th
2020–21	Kampe	12–18	10–10	5th
2021–22	Kampe	20–12	12–7	5th
2022–23	Kampe	13–19	11–9	5th
Greg Kampe:		670–514	361–223
Total:		810–726
National champion Postseason invitational champion Conference regular season champion Conference regular season and conference tournament champion Division regular season champion Division regular season and conference tournament champion Conference tournament champion

Rivalries

Detroit Mercy Titans

The rivalry between the Detroit Mercy Titans and Oakland is known as the Metro Series. Oakland has historically dominated the series since its inception, with Detroit Mercy having only won three games against them since the Golden Grizzlies first joined the Horizon League and winning ten straight matchups from 2017 to 2021. Oakland leads the series against Detroit Mercy 20-10. Both schools first played against each other in 1985 with Detroit Mercy winning the first matchup against Oakland 77-62. Oakland won the last matchup in 2023 65-50.

Records

Media

OU men's basketball games are broadcast on WDFN (1130 AM). The play-by-play commentator is Neal Ruhl, with former Oakland and professional player, Dan Waterstradt.^[10] Oakland home games are simulcast on ESPN3, WMYD and WDFN.

Mario Impemba, also the play-by-play commentator for the Detroit Tigers on Fox Sports Detroit, broadcast Oakland games from 2006–2013.^[11]

Oakland players who played in the NBA

Footnotes

^a The official Oakland record book lists Reggie Hamilton in third place with 548 career assists from 2010–2012. That includes the assists he accumulated while at UMKC from 2007–2009, which is inconsistent with how the rest of the record book handles transfer player statistics.

^b The official Oakland record book lists Marshall's total at 199,^[5] but the addition of his individual season's statistics makes the total 198 (80 in 2002–03,^[12] 59 in 2003–04,^[13] 59 in 2004–05^[14]).

^c There is a discrepancy between sources for Brock's 2016–17 season block total. The official Oakland record book lists 72, while other sources list the total as 69. This is due to a difference in total blocks for the December 10, 2016, game against Robert Morris. Both school box scores list 7 blocks^[15] while ESPN and sports-reference.com list 5.^[16]^[17]

References

^ "Oakland University Athletics Branding Guidelines". March 14, 2019. Retrieved April 24, 2019.
^ "It's Gordon's night for Hoosiers in victory". Associated Press. December 10, 2013. Archived from the original on December 11, 2013. Retrieved December 11, 2013.
^ "11:14 Game Notes BGSU (PDF)" (PDF). Oakland University Athletics. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
^ "Player Bio: Greg Kampe". Ougrizzlies.com. Archived from the original on January 26, 2012. Retrieved January 28, 2012.
^ ^a ^b ^c "2011–12 Men's Basketball Record Book" (PDF). Oakland University. Retrieved January 23, 2012.
^ "Campus timeline". 1996 entry on timeline. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved November 23, 2013.
^ "Campus timeline". 1998 entry on timeline. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved November 23, 2013.
^ Willard, Maggie, et al. Basketball Teams Win the Weekend, The Oakland Post, Oakland University's Independent Student Newspaper, Volume 46 Issue 19. January 27, 2021.
^ "The Oakland Post 2022-02-02". Oakland Sail, Inc. 2 February 2022. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
^ Paul, Tony (October 13, 2016). "Matt Dery joins Oakland as basketball analyst". Detroit News. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
^ Kampe, Paul (October 30, 2013). "Oakland announces 2013-14 radio broadcasts, Mario Impemba's departure". Oakland Press. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
^ "Oakland 2002–03 Season Statistics". Oakland University. Archived from the original on March 8, 2012. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
^ "Oakland 2003–04 Season Statistics". Oakland University. Archived from the original on March 8, 2012. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
^ "Oakland 2004–05 Season Statistics". Oakland University. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
^ "Men's Basketball vs Oakland on 12/10/2016 - Box Score". Robert Morris University Athletics. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
^ "Oakland vs. Robert Morris - Box Score - December 10, 2016 - ESPN".
^ "Isaiah Brock 2016-17 Game Log". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 29 April 2024.