Among the little-known, small-conference programs in college basketball, the Colgate Red Raiders are one to watch. As members of the often overlooked Patriot League, it’s easy to find cheap Colgate basketball tickets. However, the Red Raiders are becoming one of the marquee programs in the Patriot League and a program that’s starting to make a little noise. Fortunately, the team’s fanbase in the small town of Hamilton, New York, is starting to take notice, causing the demand for last-minute Colgate basketball tickets to skyrocket.

The Foyle Plan

The history of Colgate basketball dates all the way back to 1900. However, the Red Raiders were largely unheralded until the mid-90s when they were graced with the presence of a center named Adonal Foyle. Born in the Caribbean, Foyle was adopted by a pair of Colgate professors, making it easy for him to play his college basketball for the Red Raiders. Foyle would develop into a dominant big man, ultimately being drafted 8th overall in the 1997 NBA Draft. But not before he led Colgate to the program’s first three regular-season conference championships in 1994, 1995, and 1996, as well as two NCAA Tournament appearances.

Second Act

After the Adonal Foyle era, Colgate had trouble finding sustained success inside the Patriot League. But the tide started to turn under young head coach Matt Langel, who took over the program in 2011. After enduring six straight losing seasons, Langel finally got things turned around during the 2017-18 season when the Red Raiders finished second in the Patriot League. Colgate finally returned to the NCAA Tournament in 2019, nearly pulling off an upset of Tennessee as a no. 15 seed. When Langel and the Red Raiders captured a second straight Patriot League regular-season title in 2020, it all but confirmed that Colgate is a mid-major program on the rise.