Leopards

Lafayette Leopards
NCAA Division: Division I
Conference: Patriot League (1990-present)
Past Conferences: Middle Three, East Coast
City: Easton, Pa.
Stadium: Kirby Sports Center
NCAA Tournaments: 4 (1957, 1999, 2000, 2015)
Championships:
National Championships: None
Conference Tournament Titles: 3 (1999, 2000, 2015)
Conference Regular Season Titles: 17 (1946, 1949, 1950, 1952, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1988, 1998, 1999, 2000)
Team History
The Lafayette Leopards are a Division I team from Easton, Pa. Lafayette currently competes in the Patriot League and is coached by Mike Jordan.
Lafayette has been to the NCAA Tournament four times, but just once in the last two decades. That appearance came in 2015, when the Leopards won 20 games and captured the Patriot League Tournament title before losing in the first round to top-seeded Villanova.
The Leopards have just one winning season since then (19-12 in 2020), and only seven since the turn of the century. 2000 is when they last captured the Patriot League regular season title. The Leopards won a program-record 24 games behind Patriot League Player of the Year Brian Ehlers, but lost in the first round of the Big Dance to No. 2 seed Temple after also claiming the league tournament championship. The Leopards also won the Patriot League the two years prior. In 1999, they returned to the tournament for the first time in 42 years and were beaten by second-seeded Miami. Lafayette’s postseason history also includes five trips to the National Invitational Tournament, with a quarterfinals appearance in 1972. Overall, the school is 1-5 in the consolation event.
Winningest Coach O’Hanlon
Jordan — who holds no relation to the NBA Hall of Famer — succeeded Fran O’Hanlon before the 2022-23 season following stints as an assistant at Colgate and Drexel. Before getting into coaching, Jordan played collegiately at Penn, where he was the 2000 Ivy League Player of the Year. He went on to play more than a decade overseas, winning a pair of Bundesliga titles in Germany. O’Hanlon was the winningest coach in program history, with a record of 361-433 (.455) over 27 seasons.
Jordan took over a team facing long odds, as the Leopards were ranked last among 10 teams in the Patriot League preseason poll.
All-Time Records
Points Scored
o Tracy Tripucka: 1,973
o Otis Ellis: 1,870
o Brian Ehlers: 1,836
Rebounds
o Harry Lundy: 1,054
o Otis Ellis: 903
o Ron Moyer: 859
Assists
o Tony Duckett: 622
o Nick Lindner: 520
o Craig Kowadla: 435
FAQs
What’s Lafayette’s worst season in program history?
The 1994-95 Leopards were winless in Patriot League play and just 2-25 overall. Their only victories came against Division III Swarthmore and Columbia.
What is Lafayette’s last postseason victory?
The Leopards’ last — and only — postseason win came against Virginia in the first round of the 1972 National Invitational Tournament. They wound up losing in the quarterfinals to Jacksonville.
What is Lafayette’s most recent 20-win season?
The Leopards went 9-9 in Patriot League play and 20-13 overall in 2014-15. They also won the Patriot League Tournament title and, in doing so, qualified for the NCAA Tournament, where they lost in the round of 64 to No. 1 seed Villanova.