Many prestigious things come to mind when one thinks of The College of William and Mary: historic roots, a beautiful campus, and academic rigor to name a few. One thing that most people do not associate with the second oldest university in the country is sports.
However, that may be starting to change. Last year, the men’s basketball team made it to the final of the CAA tournament game before falling to Delware by one point at the last minute. The Tribe unfortunately gave up a significant lead and any chance at an NCAA tournament birth for 2014. After a successful regular season that ended in a share of the conference title, the team enters this year’s tournament as the number one seed.
The Colonial Athletic Association tournament was this past weekend and though the Tribe made it to the championship game, we unfortunately couldn’t quite get ahead of Northeastern. Senior Marcus Thornton recently broke the longstanding school record for career points, and if he can lead the Tribe to victory in the conference playoffs next year, it will be the first time William and Mary has ever earned a bid to the national tournament. W&M is one of only five Division 1 men’s basketball teams never to have gone to the NCAAs. Hopefully next year our men’s basketball team will break tradition and finally reach the NCAA tournament. It’s time for William and Mary to be known for more than brick pathways and a statue of Thomas Jefferson.