Valparaiso Beacons men's basketball

Valparaiso Beacons men's basketball
2024–25 Valparaiso Beacons men's basketball team
UniversityValparaiso University
Head coachRoger Powell Jr. (2nd season)
ConferenceMissouri Valley
LocationValparaiso, Indiana
ArenaAthletics-Recreation Center
(capacity: 5,432)
NicknameBeacons
ColorsBrown and gold
   
Uniforms
Home
Away
Alternate
NCAA tournament Elite Eight
1962*, 1967*
Other NCAA tournament results
Sweet Sixteen1962*, 1966*, 1967*, 1969*, 1973*, 1998
Appearances1962*, 1966*, 1967*, 1969*, 1973*, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2013, 2015
Conference tournament champions
Mid-Continent Conference
1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004
Horizon League
2013, 2015
Conference regular-season champions
Mid-Continent Conference
1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004
Horizon League
2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017

* at Division II level
Butler–Valparaiso rivalry
SportMen's basketball
Teams
  • Butler Bulldogs
  • Valparaiso Beacons
First meeting1934–35
Butler 41, Valparaiso 25
Latest meetingMarch 3, 2012
Valparaiso 65, Butler 46
Trophynone
Statistics
Meetings total103
All-time seriesButler leads, 67–36
Largest victoryValparaiso, 85–49 (1945–46)
Longest win streakButler, 15 (1957–1964)
Current win streakValparaiso: 4 wins (2011–12)

The Valparaiso Beacons men's basketball team represents Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Indiana. The basketball team competes in the Missouri Valley Conference, having joined that league in 2017 after 10 seasons in the Horizon League. The Beacons play in the Athletics-Recreation Center, which has a nominal capacity of 5,432. The record capacity 5,444 was reached on March 23, 2016, in the NIT Quarterfinal. The team last played in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament in 2015.

Its sports teams formerly were named the Crusaders, but the university dropped that name and associated mascot and logos in 2021, because of the "negative connotation and violence associated with the Crusader imagery", and because of its use by certain hate groups. On August 10, 2021, the school announced that its sports teams would be known as Beacons.