The Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic, a history

The DII men's basketball season is upon us and that means the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic is right around the corner. Ten teams — including some of the very best the division has to offer — go head-to-head in two straight days of hard-nosed hoops.

Beginning Nov. 2, non-stop hoops action will take place at George W. Jenkins Field House, home to the Florida Southern Mocs. This is now the eighth year of the SCB Hall of Fame Classic and it has moved, expanded and begun the undefeated runs for a pair of recent national champions.

Before this year's rendition tips off, let's take a walk down memory lane and get caught up on the history of the SCB Hall of Fame Classic. 

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Just what is Small College Basketball?

Northwest Missouri State Athletics Trevor Hudgins drives to the hoop in his SCB Hall of Fame Classic debut.

Small College Basketball is the organization behind the Hall of Fame Classic. It was started by John McCarthy and has quickly evolved into the platform for small college basketball on every level, from JUCO to NAIA to DIII right up to DII men's basketball. McCarthy is no stranger to hoops at the small college level — he was head coach at Wilmington (DE) and then the athletic director for the Fighting Knights at Lynn.

Since its inception, SCB has given us a slew of awards, including the Bevo Francis Award (honoring the best player in all small college basketball), the Hall of Fame (which has names synonymous with college basketball history like Jerry Sloan, World B. Free, Earl "The Pearl" Monroe and Dick Barnett) and now two early season tournaments: The Hall of Fame Classic and the recently added Champions Classic.

When did the Hall of Fame Classic begin?

The first SCB Hall of Fame Classic took place in 2016. It was held in Evansville, Indiana, and hosted just six teams. Among them was hometown Southern Indiana; the 2015 national champion Florida Southern; the defending national runners-up, Lincoln Memorial; and DII tournament teams Bellarmine and Alabama-Huntsville, which made it all the way to the third round the year prior. Southern Indiana won both its games and Jeril Taylor became the first Most Valuable Player in tournament history. That tournament set the tone for a field that would consist of nationally ranked teams on an annual basis.

The following year, still in Evansville, the tournament was already growing and expanded to eight teams. Among them was St. Thomas Aquinas which made it to the DII Men's Elite Eight the year prior; the 2017 Midwest Region No. 2 seed Ferris State; a Findlay team which, at the time, had the last perfect season in the division's history; and 2016 national champion Augustana (SD). Ferris State set a precedent that would be matched a couple of other times in the SCB Hall of Fame Classic's history — the Bulldogs were the first team to open the season with a victory in the Classic and close the season with a victory in the DII men's basketball championship.

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The 2018 Hall of Fame Classic was on the move, playing in its new home of St. Joseph, Missouri, and saw local favorite Northwest Missouri State make its tourney debut. It was the first of four straight appearances for the Bearcats. The Bearcats matched Ferris State's feat of opening the season with a win at the Classic and closing it with a national championship — except they went undefeated, the first time a DII men's basketball team had done so in 10 seasons. Trevor Hudgins, who had arguably the greatest career in DII men's basketball history and now has a Small College Basketball award named after him, won the Most Valuable Player award. 

The Bearcats opened the season in the 2019 Classic as well; however, we never saw what would possibly be as the season was cut short by COVID-19. The 2020 Hall of Fame Classic was also canceled. Making up for lost time, the Bearcats opened the 2021 season in the Hall of Fame Classic yet again and went on to win another title at the end of that season, their third title in four years. 

In 2022, the tournament moved to its current home at Jenkins Fieldhouse. It also expanded to 10 teams, giving fans two full days of basketball with five games running from 11 a.m. ET to roughly 10 p.m. ET each day. That first 10-team field was one of the best ever, featuring defending champion Northwest Missouri State, DII Men's Elite Eight regulars Nova Southeastern and West Texas A&M and powerhouses like Lincoln Memorial and UAH. Nova Southeastern posted two huge blowout victories, and like the 2018 Bearcats, never lost again. 

The 2024 SCB Hall of Fame Classic sees the return of Nova Southeastern, the debut of defending national champion Minnesota State, North Georgia and Gannon — both of which made the DII Men's Elite Eight last season — and 2019 national runners-up Point Loma. The field is stacked once again. 

Tournament MVPs

Florida Southern Athletics Jadin Booth is the first two-time MVP of the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic.

The list of SCB Hall of Fame Classic Most Valuable Players is quite impressive, not merely in the tournament's history, but DII men's basketball lore. After Taylor won the initial MVP honors, Justin Reyes took home the honors and went onto great heights, winning the East Coast Conference Player of the Year three times in a row and setting the conference's all-time scoring mark in 2018 (although it has since been broken). 

Trevor Hudgins and Ryan Hawkins won the honors in back-to-back years, just like the duo won back-to-back national championships together in 2019 and 2021. Hudgins, of course, was the driving force behind the Bearcats' "three-peat" and has his name all over the DII men's basketball record book. He would briefly reach the NBA for the Houston Rockets and now has an SCB award with his namesake, presented to the senior who had the most impressive basketball career. 

Reigning MVP Jadin Booth was the first two-time winner and has a chance to make it a third. Booth tied Hawkins in the for the most points over the two-game tourney with 68 last year. Unfortunately, those were the only points he scored in the 2023-24 season, as he suffered a season-ending injury in the second game. 

The SCB Hall of Fame Classic MVPs

All-time SCB Hall of Fame Classic participants

Here's a complete list of the schools that have appeared in the opening weekend showdown.