Central Connecticut State Blue Devils

The Central Connecticut Blue Devils play in the William H. Detrick Gymnasium in New Britain, representing Connecticut's oldest publicly funded university. A longtime Northeast Conference member, the Blue Devils built their identity on a small-college dynasty before rising to Division I in the mid-1980s. Central Connecticut's basketball program carries a scrappy, blue-collar reputation befitting a teachers'-college-turned-university that has never been afraid to compete above its size.

Basketball at Central Connecticut dates to the 1934-35 season, and the Blue Devils spent their first five decades at the NAIA and Division II levels, winning three straight Division II national championships from 1972 to 1974. Central moved up to Division I in 1986 and has since made three NCAA Tournament appearances, most recently in 2007. The program remains a proud member of the Northeast Conference, built on the legacy of its dominant small-college era.