Drake Bulldogs

The Drake Bulldogs are the flagship program of a private university in Des Moines, Iowa, playing in the Missouri Valley Conference — one of the sport's most storied mid-major leagues. Drake basketball carries a scrappy, blue-collar identity, built on tenacious defense and disciplined execution rather than star power. Home games at the Knapp Center draw a tight-knit, loyal fan base that treats every Valley matchup like a rivalry game. It's a program that prides itself on overachieving and making March run for its money.

Drake fielded its first basketball team in the 1906-07 season and became a charter member of the Missouri Valley Conference the following year, one of the oldest continuous conference affiliations in the sport. The program's signature moment came in 1969, when Drake advanced to the Final Four and finished third in the nation, still the high-water mark in school history. The Bulldogs have made periodic NCAA Tournament appearances since, leaning on Valley championships to punch above their weight against bigger programs.