Colonels

Nicholls State Colonels

General Information

NCAA Division: Division I
Conference: Southland Conference
Past Conferences: Gulf Star Conference, Trans America Athletic Conference, Gulf States Conference
City: Thibodaux, Louisiana
Arena: Stopher Gymnasium
NCAA Tournaments: 2 (1995, 1998)

Championships

National Championships: 0
Conference Titles: 7 (1976, 1979, 1995, 1998, 2018, 2021, 2022)

Team History

Nicholls State University was founded in 1948 and it took 10 years to get a basketball program going, as the team first played in the 1958-59 season. The Colonels played as an independent program at the beginning and joined the Gulf States Conference for the 1965-66 season. When the GSC disbanded, the Colonels returned to the independent ranks before joining the Gulf South Conference for the 1972-73 season, winning the conference title in 1976 and 1979. The Colonels played in the NCAA Division II Tournament both those years.

Nicholls State bounced around a little bit between playing as an independent or in a minor conference before finally settling on the Southland Conference beginning with the 1991-92 season. The Colonels were a solid team from the start, going 12-6 in conference play the first season and in 1994-95 the team went 17-1 in Southland play. Nicholls State won the conference tournament and its first trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Nicholls State won the Southland Conference tournament again in 1998, after going 15-1 in conference play and earned another trip to the NCAA Tournament. Despite the Colonels posting 20 or more wins on several occasions, they did not appear in the postseason again until receiving an NIT bid in 2022.

Nicholls State Colonels All-Time Records

Points Scored

Larry Wilson, 2,569
Reggie Jackson, 2,124
Anatoly Bose, 2,050

Rebounds

Reggie Jackson, 1,271
Cleveland Hill, 1,174
Richard Polk, 1,161

Assists

Sonny Charpentier, 734
Ray Washington, 526
Chuck Taylor, 450

Nicholls State Colonels FAQs

How Many Nicholls State Players Were Drafted by the NBA?

The Colonels have had two players drafted by NBA teams, but neither played in a regular season game. Cleveland Hill was taken in the 14th round by the Seattle Supersonics in the 1972 draft, while Larry Wilson was taken in the second round by the Atlanta Hawks in the 1979 draft.

Why Is the University Named Nicholls State?

When Nicholls State first opened in 1948, the school was called the Francis T. Nicholls Junior College, named after the 28th governor of Louisiana, who also served on the Louisiana Supreme Court as Chief Justice. As Nicholls was a general in the Confederate Army, the Francis T. Nicholls High School in New Orleans was renamed the Frederick A. Douglass High School in the 1990s.

Have Any Nicholls State Players Played in the NBA?

Despite two players drafted but not making the NBA, the Colonels have had two players to play in the league. Gerard King played three seasons for San Antonio and Washington between 1998-99 and 2000-2001. Ronnie Price played for six teams over the course of 12 seasons between 2005-06 and 2016-17.