Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs

The Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs represent Gardner-Webb University in the small town of Boiling Springs, North Carolina, playing home games at Paul Porter Arena. A Big South Conference member since 2008, Gardner-Webb has built a reputation as a program capable of pulling off major upsets against high-major opponents, punching well above its enrollment. It's a tight-knit, small-school program that takes pride in giving bigger names all they can handle.

Gardner-Webb moved up to Division I in 2002 in the Atlantic Sun Conference before joining the Big South in 2008. The program's marquee win came in 2007-08, upsetting Kentucky in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic — one of the biggest regular-season upsets in college basketball history — and it added road wins over Clemson and Purdue during a 20-win 2014-15 season. The Runnin' Bulldogs finally broke through in 2019, winning their first Big South tournament title and earning the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament berth.