During the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, a member of the media from another state asked me, “Is Troy considered a football or baseball school?”

Considering the history and championships, especially National Championships, associated with Troy football and Troy baseball, it’s probably a fair question. But as I watched streamers and confetti fall over Troy’s basketball team as they raised the Sun Belt Championship trophy in the middle of that freezing cold basketball court in the Pensacola Bay Center, that question popped back in my head.

Looking at the deep history and then the back-to-back Sun Belt crowns in the recent history, is Troy a “football school?” Absolutely. Looking at the deep history and the recent successes, is Troy a “baseball school?” Yep. Now, we look at the rich history and the recent success of both the men’s and women’s programs, is Troy a “basketball school?” You better believe it.

When looking at the past it would be impossible to really compare the football and baseball programs to the basketball programs, for the simple fact of time. Troy baseball was founded in 1911 and the football program in 1909. Men’s basketball didn’t begin playing until 1950 and the women’s program didn’t begin until 1975.

Considering the disparity in lengths of the program’s history, what has been accomplished is still very impressive. After the program got its legs under it, Troy Athletics Hall of Famer John Archer brought seven straight 20-plus win seasons to Troy’s move from the NAIA into the NCAA Division II.

In the 1970s the men’s team made its first Division II tournament appearances and the women’s program was launched in 1975.

The legendary Joyce Sorrell launched the women’s program, raising it from the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women until joining the NCAA Division II when the NCAA began sponsoring women’s basketball.

In 1982, one of the greatest basketball coaches in the history of the State of Alabama, Don Maestri, was hired on the men’s side. From 1982, the first year the Troy women were in the NCAA, until 1995 Maestri and Sorrell were the leaders of the basketball programs at the same time. The pair guided Troy from Division II into Division I in the 1990s.

Prior to that, Maestri led the renaissance of the men’s basketball program, guiding his Trojans to an Elite 8 appearance in 1988 – the first in school history – and then all the way to the National Championship game in Troy’s final year in Division II in 1993. It was the first, and only, national runner-up finish for Troy basketball.

Maestri also earned Troy national media coverage and prominence for the first time with his high-scoring playing style that put an emphasis on three-pointers. That era saw Troy break the NCAA single game scoring record twice, as well as setting the overall combined scoring record for a game in the famed game against Devry in 1992. These are records that will most likely never be broken.

Sorrell led the Troy women to just its second 20-win season in program history in the school’s first year in 1991-1992. After Troy’s first year in Division I, the legend retired, and was later inducted into the Troy Athletics Hall of Fame.

Maestri continued on for a number of years, leading Troy to its first ever Division I Tournament appearance in 2003, as well as Troy’s first appearances in the NIT and CIB Tournaments. Maestri’s incredible career came to a close in 2013, after 31 years and 501 wins.

Like Sorrell, Maestri is a Troy Hall of Famer but the case is solid that the legend should be a College Basketball Hall of Famer. In fact, Maestri should be in the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame and the fact that he is still isn’t is practically criminal. Along with more than 500 career wins and leading the Trojans to their first NCAA Tournament, he coached five All-Americans, set numerous records and won eight regular season and conference championships. Induct that man.

But, Troy basketball’s success isn’t rooted just in that history. Its current coaches are two of the best college coaches in the country and that I would argue with anyone.

After varying levels of success under the two coaches prior to her arrival, Chanda Rigby has turned Troy women’s basketball into one of the most consistent “mid-major” programs in the country. In 13 seasons, Rigby has won more than 250 games, won 20 or more games in nine of those seasons, won five conference regular season and tournament championships and led the Troy Women to its second ever NCAA Tournament appearance.

After guiding Troy to the WBI in 2015, her Trojans made their second NCAA Tournament in 2016 and they’ve made it three more times since then. Also, Troy has played in three WNITs with a fourth coming this season, including making the Fab 4 for the first time in school history last season. Rigby is a guaranteed Troy Hall of Famer with plenty of success to come.

Phil Cunningham may be overlooked in the history of Troy basketball, maybe even looked at as simply a bridge between the history of Maestri and Scott Cross, but Cunningham led Troy to its second ever NCAA Tournament – and a Sun Belt Championship – in 2017.

Cross, though, has been the coach Troy needed at the right time. After five losing seasons in the previous six seasons, Cross has come into Troy and his “take the stairs” mentality has permeated through the program. After winning just nine games in his first season and 11 his second year, Troy has now won 20 or more games in four consecutive seasons, a feat only accomplished twice before in Troy’s history; once under Maestri and once under Archer. 

Cross also led Troy to the CBI in 2022, both a regular season and tournament championship this season and a return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017. The coaching job that Cross, and his staff, have done can not be understated. It starts from the retention of a very solid team last season. Few other teams can boast returning almost every contributor to their team, especially in the era of NIL and the Transfer Portal, like Troy did this season.

His players have more thoroughly bought into a coach than I’ve ever seen. We in the media will hear Cross say something and just minutes later, one of his players will regurgitate the same mindset. One example of this was after winning the regular season championship, Cross talked about his team enjoying the celebration and then putting the championship T-shirts in the closet and not thinking about them again until winning the tournament. Only minutes after Cross walked away, and Sun Belt Player of the Year Tayton Conerway stepped into the gaggle of reporters, he almost verbatim repeated the same line about the T-shirts. That is a focused group.

Going into the conference tournament, I don’t think any one in the national media was paying attention to Troy. The Trojans almost never got any buzz among rankings around the country but Troy simply kept getting better and kept winning. Now, CBS is talking about Troy. ESPN is certainly talking about Troy. Now, there is talk about whether or not Troy can be this season’s “Cinderella” story.

I don’t know if that is in the cards for Troy, but I will say this; whoever Troy draws in that first round is going to get a dog fight and will have to beat a team that will not be intimidated. I don’t have to tell Troy fans this, but this is a program that has earned respect and if they don’t get it, they’ll take it.