The Samford Bulldogs men's basketball team is the basketball team that represents Samford University in Homewood, Alabama, United States. The school's team currently competes in the Southern Conference. They are currently led by head coach Lennie Acuff and play their home games at the Pete Hanna Center. The Bulldogs have appeared three times in the NCAA tournament, most recently in 2024.
Samford University has sponsored a men's basketball team since 1901. They have been NCAA Division I since 1972 as an independent, in the Trans-Atlantic Athletic Conference (now ASUN Conference), the Ohio Valley Conference, and presently the Southern Conference.
John Brady was the head men's basketball coach at Samford from the 1991âÂÂ92 season through the 1996âÂÂ97 season. While coaching at Samford, he led the program to back-to-back Trans America Athletic Conference West Division titles in 1996 and 1997. His record during his years at Samford was 89âÂÂ77. He left Samford to become the head coach at LSU in 1997. He stayed with the Tigers until 2008, leading the program to SEC regular-season titles in 2000 and 2006, earning SEC Coach of the Year honors both years. He coached LSU to four NCAA Tournament appearances, reaching the Sweet 16 in 2000 and the Final Four in 2006. Following his years at LSU, Brady was the head coach at Arkansas State from 2008âÂÂ16, winning a pair of Sun Belt West Division titles. He retired from coaching with a career record of 402âÂÂ344.
Jimmy Tillette was the head menâÂÂs basketball coach at Samford from 1997 to 2012. He led the program to back-to-back Trans America Athletic Conference (TAAC) Tournament titles and NCAA Tournament bids in 1999 and 2000. In his years in charge of the Samford program, Tillette won a school-record 229 games. His 1998âÂÂ99 team won a school-record 24 games, going 24âÂÂ6, winning the TAAC regular season and TAAC Tournament titles and earning the programâÂÂs first NCAA Tournament bid. For his efforts, Tillette was named the 1999 TAAC Coach of the Year. The following season, the team went 21âÂÂ11, winning the TAAC Tournament and reaching the NCAA Tournament for a second-straight year. The 1999âÂÂ2000 team also claimed impressive wins over Alabama and St. JohnâÂÂs. TilletteâÂÂs 2005âÂÂ06 team posted a record of 20âÂÂ11, reaching the finals of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament.
Bennie Seltzer was the head men's basketball coach at Samford from 2012 to 2014. He led the program to a 24âÂÂ41 record over his two seasons at the helm.
Scott Padgett was the head men's basketball coach at Samford from 2014 to 2020. He led the program to a 84âÂÂ115 record during his time at the University. The Bulldogs reached postseason play in 2017 as the team participated in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT).
In just four seasons, McMillan has transformed the Samford program into one of the top programs in the prestigious Southern Conference. The 2023âÂÂ24 season was the best in program history. The team set a school record with 29 wins, posting a 29âÂÂ6 final record, marking the third-straight season of winning at least 20 games. The team won the Southern Conference regular-season title for a second-straight year with a 15âÂÂ3 league mark, and the Bulldogs won the SoCon Tournament for the first time and earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2000. In the NCAA Tournament, the Bulldogs narrowly lost to perennial national power Kansas.
McMillan was named the SoCon Coach of the Year three straight seasons from 2022 to 2024. He was also named the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Region 21 Coach of the Year for the 2023âÂÂ2024 season.
On April 5, 2025, McMillan left Samford after 5 seasons to become head coach at Texas A&M.
On April 9, 2025, Samford University announced the hiring of Lennie Acuff to be its next head basketball coach. Acuff departed Lipscomb University, where he accumulated an overall record of 110-82 over six seasons in Nashville and made one NCAA tournament appearance (2025). Prior to Lipscomb, Acuff headed several NAIA and NCAA-Division II programs from 1990âÂÂ2019.
The Bulldogs have appeared three times in the NCAA Division I tournament. Their combined record is 0âÂÂ3.
The Bulldogs have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) once. Their record is 0âÂÂ1.
The Bulldogs have appeared in one CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT). Their record is 1âÂÂ1.