History of the Rams

The Virginia Commonwealth Rams have been a mainstay in college sports for decades, and their NCAA tournament appearances are the stuff of legends. Since joining the Atlantic 10 Conference in 1995, VCU has established itself as one of the top programs in men’s basketball. The Rams have made it to at least one NCAA tournament yearly since the 2004-05 season, including Final Four, running during the 2011 and 2019 seasons.

VCU's success is rooted deep within its history, dating back to 1968 when they joined Division I play as members of the Sun Belt Conference (now known as CAA). During this period, VCU had some great teams that consistently competed for conference championships but only managed two trips to March Madness before moving up conferences into A-10 play.

After joining the A-10 conference, things began shifting upward quickly with three consecutive NIT berths from 1997–2000, followed by an Elite Eight appearance under then-head coach Jeff Capel during the 2002–03 season, which was later vacated due to recruiting violations involving former player Lamar Butler who was declared ineligible after playing his entire senior year without being cleared by school officials or NCAA investigators. Despite this setback, the program continued on a steady rise reaching five straight tournaments between 2004–08 under current head coach Shaka Smart who took over coaching duties prior 2010 -11 season. This streak included another Sweet Sixteen run and four consecutive first-round exits until finally breaking through into Final Four behind star players Jamie Skeen & Joey Rodriguez led the team during the 2011 – 12 campaign.

Today, the VCUs basketball program continues strong, having reached seven straight tournaments since 2013 while also winning multiple regular season titles along the way, culminating with the most recent trip back into the final four last spring, where eventual national champion Texas Tech University eventually eliminated them despite putting up valiant effort throughout the game. With all these accomplishments combined, it’s easy to see why Virginia Commonwealth Rams should be considered among elite programs not just regionally but nationally too!