Xavier Musketeers

Xavier Musketeers
The Xavier men"s basketball team, commonly called Xavier Musketeers, is perhaps the best known of the sports sponsored at Xavier University in Cincinnati Ohio. Xavier Musketeers have enjoyed considerable recent success, reaching the Elite Eight in the NCAA tournament in 2004 and 2008.

Musketeers host their basketball games at the Cintas Center. The Center also houses Hoff Student Dining Center and is located adjacent to that same main residential mall. Cincinnati bearcats are Musketeer"s main rival and the two schools counter each other annually in the Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout.

To-date, Xavier Musketeers have won 27 Shootouts, while Cincinnati Bearcats are leading to have won 47. Representing Xavier University, the basketball men"s team currently competes in the Atlantic 10 Conference.

The school has graduated every men"s basketball player since 1985 making it the only non-BCS school to be listed among the top 20 most valuable programs in college basketball. The Musketeer"s first appearance in post season play came in 1948 when Xavier concluded with 4th position, losing to Hamline University in the National 3rd Place Game 58-59.

The Musketeers are currently coached by Sean Miller and has played in the NCAA Division I Men"s Basketball Tournament in 2008. In 1958, Xavier men"s basketball team succeeded to take home the NIT Tournament title. The NIT Tournament was the first National Championship by any Ohio Division I school.

The Musketeers have since been A-10 Tournament Champions 4 times (1997-98, 2001-02, 2003-04, 2005-06). The team has landed on the ground of NCAA Tournament 19 times. They also had their appearances in the Elite Eight two times (2003-04, 2007-2008). The Xavier Mustketeers are the only non-BCS school to be listed among the top 20 most valuable basketball programs.

Xavier Musketeers and Dayton Flyers men"s basketball team play for the Blackburn/McCafferty Trophy, named for former coaches at the respective universities. So far Xaviers have made a mark in 30 of the past 39 meetings with Dayton.

These wins also include 15 of the last 18 and 6 straight. Since 1981, the Musketeers have not lost a home game to the Dayton Flyers. Due to close recent contests and the fact that they are both in the A-10, the Musketeers have engaged into a friendly rivalry with fellow Jesuit University Saint Joseph"s.

Recently, Fox Sports Ohio announced that Xavier University men"s basketball is returning to the network for the 2008-09 season. The event will also featuring an exciting 14-game package in addition to a Xavier Basketball Season Preview show on November 9 and Musketeers Live.

It"s a 30-minute pre-game show which will be presented before nine selected games. Senior Vice President and General Manager Steve Liverani, Fox Sports Ohio, confirmed it while speaking with Press that Xavier basketball has developed into one of the premier programs in the entire nation.

Liverani further said that in turn, Fox Sports Ohio is thrilled to get fans with 14 premier telecasts of Musketeer basketball action.

Xavier University earlier announced a school record national television schedule. This schedule enlists in its line-up a CBS game, 12 games on the ESPN family of networks and three national CBS College Sports games.

The Fox Sports Ohio announcement solidifies an impressive Xavier television schedule for the 2008-09 season. The schedule now has every regular season men"s basketball game on television for the first time in school history.

Xavier University Associate Vice President and Athletic Director, Mike Bobinski, is excited about the entire television schedule. To the most interest for him is the strong partnership between Xavier and Fox Sports Ohio.

Xavier Musketeers" fans will certainly be pleased to learn that every regular season of their favorite team is gong to be televised.