Although this is the first NCAA Tournament appearance for the CSUB Roadrunners as a Division I program, Roadrunners men’s basketball has a decorated history in the NCAA Tournament and was a three-time National Champion at the NCAA Division II Level.

CSU Bakersfield ended their 36-year Division II affiliation in 2006 as the winningest program in the division’s history going 729-306 during their time which included 21 NCAA Division II postseason appearance, nine West Region titles, seven Elite Eight appearances, eight Final Four appearances and three NCAA Division II National Championships including a perfect 33-0 season in 1992-93, the first of the three Division II national titles.

CSUB completed the NCAA Division I reclassification in the 2010-11 season, the following year, the first under head coach Rod Barnes, the Roadrunners qualified for their first Division I postseason tournament as members of the 2012 CIT field. Bakersfield would fall in the opening round 75-69 at Utah State but posted a 16-15 clip that season, their first winning record at the Division I level.

Several seasons of acclimation to the Division I climate have set the Roadrunners on their path to their first of many NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournaments in 2016.