Basketball (Men's)

The Olivet Nazarene University men’s basketball program is focused on being #TiGERTOUGH. The Tigers strive every day to glorify God while continuing a rich tradition of excellence that has been taken to new heights in recent history. The men’s basketball program has achieved much, making 24 appearances in the NAIA National Tournament, including the last six postseasons, a program record. In addition, they have won 17 CCAC regular season championships, including the five of the last six seasons, including the first CCAC Regular Season 5-Peat in program history. In the last six seasons, the Tigers have won 79% of their games (144) — the most of any college program in the state of Illinois. In the classroom the last six seasons, our student-athletes combined have a cumulative GPA north of 3.40, including our current roster boasting a combined mark of 3.47. Not to mention, the Tigers had record number honorees in three academic award categories in 2024; NAIA Scholar-Athletes (8), CCAC All-Academic Team (13), and NABC Honors Court (7).

Our program continues to pursue championship-level effort each season and again achieved that goal on and off the floor. The Tigers have continued to experience success in multiple ways including in the classroom and in the community. In addition, we are very much devoted to giving the best student-athlete experience possible.

When making contributions directly to the Men’s Basketball team, know that your generous support will be applied towards the needs of our program. We plan on using the funds for:

Travel Expenses – For the entirety of our program’s history the Tigers have enjoyed traveling and experiencing new destinations. Over the years, our team has prioritized playing challenging opponents, including out-of-state competition, on those trips. It is a valuable experience and opportunity given to every player and coach during their time here at Olivet. Our program has appreciated recent trips to Arizona, California, Florida, and this past December the Tigers took a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Hawaii for the first time in 13 years. Looking ahead, there is much anticipation for this season’s (December 2024) trip to sunny Tampa, Florida, but it will come with its own expenses. 

New Uniforms – We have certainly always taken pride in how our team plays. While doing so we want to look our best while in action. This requires us to fit our players in the best Nike game apparel available. We are looking to update our home game (light-colored) uniforms in the near future. Moving forward, we are excited about continuing to represent the ONU and Nike brands in the process.

Equipment Needs – In order for our student-athletes to perform at their best, they need the best equipment and resources to do so. Our program is preparing to purchase new Spalding basketballs, new training hurdles, and other items used in practice and in the weight room.

McHie Arena Improvements – We are blessed to have the first-class facilities to use including McHie Arena. With that said, we would like to update a few things that are used within the arena. Our portable Porter basketball hoops we use need to be refurbished (padding, springs, cleaned, new shot clock, other repairs). These improvements will assist in allowing the portable hoops to be used in future years.

Locker Room Improvements – We are grateful for the opportunity to improve our individual locker finishes last summer, thanks to donations. We would like to keep our locker room space as nice as possible to last for years to come by making improvements again this summer.

Thanks for your support!