Before the 1992–93 men’s basketball season, Cal State Bakersfield had always been competitive – tough, disciplined, and well-coached – but few could have predicted what was about to unfold. Under the leadership of Head Coach Pat Douglass, the Roadrunners delivered one of the most remarkable seasons in NCAA history: a 33-0 record and the program’s first national championship.

That year didn’t just raise a banner, it changed the course of Roadrunner Athletics forever. More than three decades later, that team will be immortalized as part of the inaugural CSUB Athletics Hall of Fame class on Oct. 25, 2025.

The 1992-93 team’s journey began with a statement win – trouncing Cal State Stanislaus 100–80 on the road – and from there, the `Runners never looked back. Averaging 81 points per game, they stormed through opponents with precision, speed, and unity. Led by All-Americans Tyrone Davis and Kenny Warren, alongside All-Region standout Roheen Oats, CCAA Tournament MVP Reggie Phillips, and All-Conference performer Erin Vines, CSUB played basketball that was, as Douglass would later say, “beautiful.” 

It turned out to be an understatement. Game after game, the `Runners sharpened their identity: fast-paced, team-oriented, and unselfish.

“The legacy of that team, I think, is a group of guys that had a mindset to win and that was to empty out their own personal ego to buy into the team concept,” said Kenny Davis, another instrumental alumnus of that squad. “We knew we had an opportunity to achieve something that not many teams ever achieve.”

By midseason, Bakersfield knew it was witnessing something beyond common.

“After five games, after ten games, really in mid-season we knew we had something special,” Davis recalled. “The community knew it, and the campus knew it. It was just the place to be on a Friday or Saturday night.” 

That bond between the team and the city became one of the defining hallmarks of the championship run.

“To look at the stands and to see the support of the faculty, and you see the administration here, but I think what really hit home and touched us was all the little kids who admired or had aspirations to go to the next level just to see what we were doing,” Davis said. 

Coach Douglass credits that same community support for propelling his team to greatness.

“The people of Bakersfield, they identified with a winner,” he said. “There were certain characteristics, the work ethic and the togetherness of this team that they identified with. We had a parade after winning the national championship, downtown, which had never been done before. We had an autograph night on campus with long lines – the team was like celebrities.”

Douglass and his staff – assistant coaches Henry Clark and Don Verlin – built a style of play that was dynamic and difficult to game plan against.

“We wanted to run a style of play where we had three guards out and two big men in,” Douglass said. “Our Bigs were as good as we ever had at Cal State Bakersfield…It was really hard to defend and it was beautiful basketball.”

As the wins piled up, the stakes rose. Heading into the NCAA Tournament, the Roadrunners were no longer underdogs, they were the team to beat. Still, the players stayed grounded. “You have to take one game at a time,” Davis remembered. “We knew we were one game away from making history—33-0—and so it was really, ‘Let’s just take care of business.’” 

When the final buzzer sounded in Springfield, Mass., Bakersfield had done the unthinkable. The Roadrunners were national champions, completing a perfect season. The celebration that followed did not last forever, but the impact of the victory still lasts today.

“Bakersfield as a city…did not have the best reputation throughout the state,” Douglass said. “I think this team being on TV and the exposure really helped people take a different look at what the city had to offer.”

Gloria Friedman, a longtime CSUB administrator, still remembers the impact the moment had on the Athletics Department: “There was so much community unity and passion,” she said. “The men’s basketball team’s national championship is where they all came together, the community, and that’s where it made a difference.” 

Thirty-three wins. Zero losses. One unforgettable legacy. The 1992–93 Roadrunners were more than a team – they were a movement that transformed how Bakersfield saw itself. And now, as they enter the CSUB Athletics Hall of Fame, their story will continue to inspire future generations to believe that with teamwork, discipline, and talent, perfection is possible.

~GoRunners.com~