TMU Bold men's basketball


The TMU Bold men's basketball team represents Toronto Metropolitan University in U Sports men's basketball. The team has been active since 1949, and currently compete in the Ontario University Athletics conference of U Sports, playing in the OUA Central Division. The team plays its home games at the Mattamy Athletic Centre in Toronto, Ontario.

History

The Ryerson Rams first fielded a men's basketball team in 1949, shortly after fielding a hockey team the year prior. The Rams' first coach was A.E. Toogood. Unfortunately, most of the records from this time are lost, so not much is known about his performance as a coach. In his final year of coaching, he had an 11–8 record. After Toogood's departure, all the Rams teams joined the Ontario Intercollegiate Athletic Association, where they played against other collegiate teams. The Rams' first coach under the OIAA was Bruce Forsythe. The Rams struggled during these early years, with the 1960–61 season seeing them hold a 1–7 record. Records for this time are still lost, so not much is known about the other seasons played under the OIAA. In 1971, the intercollegiate leagues of Ontario and Quebec were consolidated, which saw the Rams move from the OIAA to the larger Ontario University Athletic Association, which kept better records of their seasons. The team's first coach under the OUAA was Ed DeArmon, and by the end of his tenure in 1979, he had posted a 12–92 record. Terry Haggerty took over as head coach in 1981, and lead to the Rams' first ever postseason appearance in 1987, where they won the consolation finals against the York Yeomen. Following this, Haggerty led the Rams to ten straight playoff appearances, including one national appearance in 1999, where they were eliminated in the consolation semifinals by the Bishop's Gaiters. This run also saw the Rams winning the OUAA East Division in the regular season in 1999–2000. Haggerty was hired as the university's sports manager, and was replaced by Patrick Williams as coach. Williams struggled, however, and was soon fired in favour of Glen Taylor in 2005. Haggerty would remain in his position as sports manager until he was fired in 2007, after working in the athletic department for 26 years.
Following Taylor's tenure as coach, the Rams hired Roy Rana, who had previously coached high school basketball teams. Rana's Rams quickly rose to becoming serious contenders, and a CIS powerhouse. The team saw their most productive run under his coaching, making the playoffs every year that he was coach. The Rams made it back to the national championship in 2012, after 13 years, which saw them lose the consolation finals to the Acadia Axemen. The 2014–15 season saw the Rams win their bid to host the 2015 CIS Final 8 championship. at which the team took home their first national bronze medal in program history. Rana took a sabbatical leave in 2015, and so Patrick Tatham took over as head coach in the interim. That season saw the Rams win the OUA conference in the regular season, and brought them to their first Wilson Cup, and second straight CIS Bronze medal. The Rams had also achieved the number one spot on the CIS's weekly rankings for the first time in the program's history, and Ammanuel Diressa, a guard on the team, had been named CIS male athlete of the week. Tatham's performance during this season made him favoured to win the CIS coach of the year award. The year Rana came back, the Rams won the East Division again, and won back-to-back Wilson Cups, as well as being the runner-up to the national championship, losing to the Carleton Ravens. The next two seasons saw the Rams make it to the Wilson Cup finals, losing both times, while they were the runner-ups again in the national championships, coming home with a bronze medal in the 2018–19 season. Following this run of success, which saw a total of six nationals appearances, Rana left the Rams to accept a position as assistant coach to the Sacramento Kings in the NBA at the end of the 2018–19 season. The 2019–20 season saw Borko Popic coaching on an interim basis, leading the Rams to 2nd in the OUA Central Division, and losing in the quarterfinals of the Wilson Cup to the Ottawa Gee-Gees. The 2020–21 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and when play resumed for the 2021–22 season, the Rams had selected David DeAveiro as the new head coach. DeAveiro had previously served as head coach of the McGill Redbirds men's basketball team. The university changed its name in 2022, and the team name changed to the TMU Bold.

Season-by-season results

''Note: Records prior to the 1971–72 season are incomplete''

Postseason results

The TMU Bold made it to the postseason in 28 seasons. In all of those seasons, the Bold played in the Wilson Cup playoffs, and in 7 of those seasons, the team made it to the national Final 8 playoffs.

OUA Wilson Cup

The TMU Bold have appeared in the OUA's Wilson Cup playoffs 28 times, winning 2 titles.
1987Quarterfinals
Consolation Round
Laurentian
York
L 78–83
W 91–78
1994Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Toronto
Laurentian
W 72–52
L 73–85
1995Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Laurentian
Toronto
W 101–91
L 73–79
1996QuarterfinalsTorontoL 82–102
1997QuarterfinalsLaurentianL 75–81
1998QuarterfinalsLaurentianL 64–88
1999Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Championship
Laurentian
Carleton
Western
W 74–66
W 50–44
L 70–87
2000QuarterfinalsQueen'sL 69–73
2001First RoundYorkL 59–69
2002First Round
Quarterfinals
Ottawa
York
W 71–67
L 53–59
2003First Round
Quarterfinals
Laurentian
Carleton
W 85–67
L 57–70
2008First RoundOttawaL 49–76
2009First RoundYorkL 69–71
2010First RoundQueen'sL 76–79OT
2011First Round
Quarterfinals
York
Carleton
W 80–70
L 73–97
2012Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Championship
Ottawa
Lakehead
Carleton
W 74–71
W 86–70
L 39–82
2013First Round
Quarterfinals
York
Ottawa
W 83–77
L 70–74
2014First Round
Quarterfinals
Queen's
Ottawa
W 86–76
L 78–79
2015Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Bronze Medal
Laurier
Carleton
Ottawa
W 105–59
L 80–84
L 66–79
2016Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Championship
Lakehead
Windsor
Carleton
W 93–71
W 96–77
W 73–68
2017Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Championship
Ottawa
Nipissing
Carleton
W 87–62
W 76–75
W 86–79
2018First Round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Championship
Queen's
Ottawa
Brock
Carleton
W 103–79
W 77–69
W 69–63
L 58–84
2019Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Championship
Ottawa
Laurier
Carleton
W 84–61
W 99–84
L 61–81
2020First Round
Quarterfinals
Guelph
Ottawa
W 109–63
L 54–75
2022First Round
Quarterfinals
Laurentian
Carleton
W 92–61
L 68–87
2023Quarterfinals
Semifinals
McMaster
Ottawa
W 104–92
L 72–73
2024QuarterfinalsMcMasterL 67–74
2025First Round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Guelph
Western
Ottawa
W 89–63
W 101–78
L 56–89

U Sports Final 8

The TMU Bold have appeared in the U Sports men's basketball championship 7 times.
1999Quarterfinals
Consolation Semifinals
Alberta
Bishop's
L 83–100
L 77–81
2012#7Quarterfinals
Consolation Semifinals
Consolation Finals
#2 Alberta
#3 Concordia
#8 Acadia
L 52–81
W 84–80
L 83–90
2015#7Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Bronze Medal
#2 Windsor
#3 Ottawa
#4 Victoria
W 82–68
L 75–84
W 82–68
2016#1Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Bronze Medal
#8 British Columbia
#4 Calgary
#6 Dalhousie
W 109–101OT
L 87–98
W 85–78
2017#1Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Championship
#8 Saint Mary's
#5 Dalhousie
#2 Carleton
W 79–70
W 59–58
L 69–78
2018#5Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Championship
#4 Alberta
#1 Carleton
#2 Calgary
W 88–62
W 84–76
L 77–79
2019#3Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Bronze Medal
#6 Concordia
#2 Calgary
#5 Dalhousie
W 87–47
L 65–67
W 84–66