Fairleigh Dickinson shocked the basketball world on Friday night by becoming only the second-ever No. 16 seed to take down a No. 1 seed in the NCAA men’s tournament.
The 63-58 victory over star-studded Purdue has plenty of people wondering who exactly Fairleigh Dickinson is and where they come from.
Well, the school is located in Hackensack, New Jersey. Fairleigh Dickinson describes itself as “the largest private university in New Jersey” and that it’s a “not-for-profit, nonsectarian, multicampus institution.”
Fairleigh Dickinson’s website says it was founded in 1942 and estimates it has 12,000-plus full-time and part-time students.
This is the school’s seventh appearance in the NCAA men’s tournament.
The Knights won a play-in game over fellow No. 16 seed Prairie View View A&M in 2019 before losing to No. 1 Gonzaga.
FINAL | CAN’T HOLD US! It’s not midnight and this slipper still fits!#reigKNIGHTed | @MarchMadnessMBB pic.twitter.com/gjMXw5bKV4
— FDU Men's Basketball (@FDUKnightsMBB) March 18, 2023
Fairleigh Dickinson now joins University of Maryland, Baltimore County as the second team to ever take down a No. 1 seed in the NCAA men’s tournament.
It’s history that will reverberate in New Jersey and beyond for years to come.
