Cleveland State Vikings men's basketball is the men's college basketball team that represents Cleveland State University. Prior to rebranding from Fenn College, they were known as the Fenn College Foxes. Cleveland State has been in Division I since 1972 and are currently led by first-year head coach Rob Summers. They have been a member of the Horizon League since 1994. Cleveland State was formerly in the Mid-Continent Conference (1982–1994). Prior to 1982, Cleveland State was an independent program. The Vikings have appeared in three NCAA Tournaments, most recently in 2021. In 1986, Cleveland State advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16.

History

The 1985–86 season is arguably the most memorable in Vikings history, as they achieved the improbable in becoming the first ever 14th seeded team to make it to the Sweet Sixteen of the 1986 NCAA tournament. Coach Kevin Mackey's squad, led by Ken 'Mouse' McFadden and Eric Mudd, upset Bobby Knight's 3rd seeded Indiana Hoosiers, by a final of 83-79. Following a 75-69 second round win against 6th seeded St.Joseph's, the Vikings would ultimately lose to Navy 71-70 on a clutch basket in the waning seconds by future Hall of Famer, David Robinson. Cleveland State would qualify for the NIT Tournament the following two seasons, but went 23 seasons until returning to the NCAA Tournament.

On December 15, 2008, Cleveland State had their biggest regular season victory in school history, upsetting the #11 Syracuse Orange, 72-69, on a last-second, three-quarter court shot from senior guard Cedric Jackson. It was CSU's third-ever win over a Top 25 ranked opponent, and first ever on the road.Jackson's Half-Court Shot Sends Vikings Past No. 11 Syracuse, 72-69 - Cleveland State Official Athletic SiteCleveland State stuns No. 11 Syracuse 72-69 - College Basketball - Rivals.com They would pick up their fourth and fifth wins over Top 25 opponents later that same season when they won at #17 Butler in the championship game of the Horizon League Tournament 57-54, and then in the first round of the 2009 NCAA tournament when, as the 13th seeded team in the Midwest bracket, they routed 4th seeded and #12 Wake Forest by a final score of 84-69.

Records

Record versus Horizon League Records vs. Horizon League schools as of the end of the 2020–2021 school year. Rival Record (W-L) Win % Detroit 27–45 Green Bay 32–51 UIC 48–40 IUPUI 6–4 Milwaukee 26–31 Northern Kentucky 6–7 Oakland 11–11 Purdue Fort Wayne 6–2 Robert Morris 10–7 Wright State 35–42 Youngstown State 53–44

Record versus Ohio schools Records vs. Ohio schools as of the end of the 2015–2016 school year.

Rival Record (W-L) Win %Akron 31–37 Ashland 5–26 .161Baldwin Wallace 1–11 .083Bowling Green 8–10 Case Tech 3–12 .200Case Western Reserve 1–0 1.000Cedarville 5–8 Central State 3–6 .333Cincinnati 0–11 .000Dayton 3–3 .500Defiance 0–1 .000Denison 1–0 1.000Findlay 1–10 .091Heidelberg 1–11 .083Hiram 29–35 .453John Carroll 15–31 .326Kent State 20–28 Kent State-Canton 4–0 1.000Kenyon 8–20 .286Malone 9–2 Marietta 2–1 .667Miami (OH) 0–5 .000Muskingum 2–0 1.000

Rival Record (W-L) Win %Mount Union 1–20 .048Mount Vernon Nazarene 1–0 Notre Dame (OH) 4–0 Oberlin 3–13 .188Ohio 2–11 Ohio Chiropody 3–0 1.000Ohio Dominican 1–0 1.000Ohio Northern 4–6 .400Ohio State 1–7 .125Ohio Wesleyan 2–0 1.000Otterbein 0–2 .000Rio Grand 3–0 1.000Tiffin 3–0 Toledo 5–9 Urbana 1–0 1.000Walsh 6–1 .857Western Reserve 9–29 .237Wilberforce 3–0 1.000Wilmington (OH) 1–0 1.000Wooster 2–7 Wright State 33–33 Xavier (OH) 8–5 .615Youngstown State 44–39

Individual career records

Cleveland State wins vs. the AP Top 25

YearOpponentDateScoreSite1985-86#16 Indiana 3-14-86W 83–79Neutral 2007-08#12 Butler 1-17-08W 56-52Home2008-09#11 Syracuse #17 Butler #12 Wake Forest 12-15-083-10-093-20-09W 72-69W 57–54W 84-69AwayAwayNeutral 2011-12#7 Vanderbilt 11-13-11W 71-58Away

Awards

AMCU/Mid Continent Player of the Year

Ken McFadden – 1988

AMCU/Mid Continent Coach of the Year

Kevin Mackey - 1985, 1986 Mike Boyd - 1993

AMCU/Mid Continent Newcomer of the Year

Clinton Smith - 1985 Sam Mitchell, 1993

Horizon League Player of the Year

Norris Cole - 2011

Horizon League Newcomer of the Year

Damon Stringer - 2000 Bryn Forbes - 2013 Je’Shawn Stevenson - 2025

Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year

Cedric Jackson - 2009 Norris Cole - 2011 Tre Gomillion - 2021 D'Moi Hodge - 2022

Horizon League Sixth Man of the Year

Jon Harris - 2014 Chase Robinson - 2025

Horizon League Coach of the Year

Gary Waters - 2008 Dennis Gates - 2020, 2021

HoopDirt.com Division I Coach of the Year

Dennis Gates - 2021

Attendance

Year-by-year Year Rank Games Total Average 1978 248 13 15,338 1,180 1979 200 11 22,839 2,076 1980 213 15 29,147 1,943 1981 177 14 34,781 2,484 1982 217 13 25,744 1,980 1983 236 10 15,808 1,581 1984 243 18 25,071 1,393 1985 208 16 32,349 2,022 1986 171 15 37,211 2,481 1987 158 14 43,347 3,096 1988 152 15 50,868 3,391 1989 198 13 31,370 2,413 1990 251 15 24,730 1,649 1991 225 13 26,574 2,044 1992 130 15 60,681 4,045 1993 129 12 50,960 4,247 1994 ? 14 47,400 3,386 1995 ? 11 36,037 3,276 1996 ? 13 23,013 1,770 1997 ? 12 55,070 4,589 1998 ? 13 53,912 4,147 1999 ? 14 53,838 3,846 2000 ? 14 50,685 3,620 2001 ? 13 41,884 3,222 2002 ? 16 48,968 3,061 2003 ? 13 23,694 1,823 2004 ? 13 32,327 2,487 2005 ? 12 29,016 2,418 2006 ? 16 32,197 2,012 2007 ? 14 36,662 2,619 2008 ? 14 36,888 2,635 2009 ? 15 35,918 2,395 2010 ? 17 39,968 2,351 2011 ? 20 62,242 3,112 2012 ? 14 45,640 3,260 2013 ? 14 30,332 2,167 2014 ? 15 33,545 2,236 2015 ? 16 29,943 1,996 2015-16 ? 10 14,093 1,409 2016-17 ? 13 18,195 1,400 2017-18 ? 14 16,066 1,148 2018-19 296 17 18,956 1,115 2019-20 -- 14 21,014 1,501

Largest Crowds

Wolstein Center Attendance Opponent Date 13,055 Michigan December 7, 1991 11,534 North Carolina November 29, 2003 10,123 Michigan November 30, 1996 9,568 Georgetown November 23, 1996 9,106 Valparaiso February 20, 1993 8,490 Butler February 5, 2011 8,106 Cincinnati January 13, 1993 7,333 Butler February 10, 2001 7,163 Michigan State December 7, 1993 6,912 Xavier January 5, 1995 6,203 Michigan State December 6, 1997 6,109 Temple December 27, 1999

Woodling Gym Attendance Opponent Date 3,688 Eastern Illinois February 24, 1986 3,599 Southwest Missouri State February 22, 1986 3,429 Valparaiso March 2, 1985 3,355 Illinois State February 23, 1981 3,333 Valparaiso February 1, 1981 3,302 Western Illinois January 20, 1986 3,282 Illinois Chicago February 22, 1988 3,262 Southwest Missouri State February 15, 1988 3,252 Northern Iowa January 18, 1986 3,247 Northern Iowa March 2, 1987

Public Auditorium Attendance Opponent Date 7,443 Illinois State March 16, 1987 7,441 Marquette January 29, 1981 5,424 Illinois State March 18, 1988 4,437 Michigan State December 12, 1983 4,132 Wilberforce January 28, 1978 4,130 Southwest Missouri State January 28, 1989

NBA draft history 8 total NBA draft picks.Cleveland State NBA draft history

Regular Draft Year Round Pick Overall Player Team 1965 11 4 87 Weldon Kytle St. Louis Hawks 1977 7 11 142 Dave Kyle Boston Celtics 1978 6 14 124 Dave Kyle Milwaukee Bucks 1981 1 22 22 Franklin Edwards Philadelphia 76ers 1981 9 4 187 Paul Roba Cleveland Cavaliers 1982 1 23 23 Darren Tillis Boston Celtics 1986 5 4 97 Clinton Smith Golden State Warriors 2011 1 28 28 Norris Cole Chicago Bulls

Record by year