Bryant Bulldogs

The Bryant Bulldogs represent one of the newest faces in Division I basketball, playing out of the Chace Athletic Center on Bryant University's Smithfield, Rhode Island campus. Having climbed from the NAIA through Division II before arriving in Division I in 2008, the Bulldogs are a genuine college basketball upstart. Now competing in the America East Conference, Bryant has proven it can win a league title and dance with the big boys in March, capturing the program's first-ever conference championship in dramatic fashion in 2022.

Bryant's basketball program traces to 1963, competing in the NAIA before moving to NCAA Division II in 1977 as a charter member of the Northeast-10 Conference. The Bulldogs began their Division I transition in 2008 and became postseason-eligible in 2012-13. In 2022, Bryant won the Northeast Conference tournament for the first time, securing its first-ever NCAA Division I Tournament berth, and the program has since moved on to the America East Conference, adding a second NCAA appearance in 2025.