In the history of college basketball, there aren’t many stories better than that of the VCU Rams. At the start of the 21st century, cheap VCU basketball tickets would have been available by the truckload because nobody outside of Richmond had ever heard of VCU. But all of that changed in a short period of time. The Rams are now one of the great mid-major programs with fans just hoping for the chance to score last-minute VCU basketball tickets.

Better Than You Think

While VCU didn’t put itself on the map until the early 21st century, the Rams were a quality mid-major long before then. During the early 1980s, the Rams were a powerhouse in the Sun Belt under head coach J.D. Barnett, going to the NCAA Tournament five times in a span of six years. VCU also won both the regular-season and tournament championship during their first season in the Colonial Athletic Conference in 1996.

On the Map

The Rams were still playing in the Colonial when they put themselves on the college basketball map. The program’s rise started in 2004 when they reached the NCAA Tournament after a seven-year absence under Jeff Capel. His success fueled the success of Anthony Grant, who won the Colonial regular-season title in all three of his seasons at VCU, taking the Rams to the NCAA Tournament twice.

Grant passed the torch to Shake Smart, who led VCU’s magical run to the Final Four in 2011, using his patented “Havoc” style of play. Smart’s success continued, even after the Rams were invited to join the Atlantic-10. He took the Rams to the NCAA Tournament in five straight seasons, a trend continued by both Will Wade and Mike Rhoades, who continue to make the Rams a fan favorite and a team to watch closely ever season.