Detroit Titans

The Detroit Mercy Titans play at Calihan Hall on Detroit Mercy's campus, carrying forward a basketball tradition tied to one of college basketball's most famous names. The program has cycled through highs and lows across the decades but retains a passionate niche following in a city defined by football and pro sports. Detroit Mercy competes as a Horizon League program with an identity built around toughness and a scrappy underdog mentality. Its history is inseparable from its most famous coach, who later became the sport's most recognizable broadcaster.

Detroit's program reached its high point in the mid-1970s under head coach Dick Vitale, who compiled a 78-30 record and led the Titans to a school-record 25-4 season in 1976-77. That team advanced to the NCAA Tournament's Sweet Sixteen, the deepest run in program history, famously beating eventual national champion Marquette on the road during a 21-game winning streak. Vitale left coaching after that season to become Detroit's athletic director before launching his broadcasting career at ESPN. The Titans have also reached the NCAA Tournament in other eras, including appearances in the late 1990s under coach Perry Watson.