AIC Men's Basketball Brings First Regional Title to Northeast-8 Conference in 1985

Posted: Nov 23, 2020

The 1984-85 season stands out as one of the peaks in the history of American International College’s storied men’s basketball program, as the Yellow Jackets made an incredible run to the Elite Eight as the young conference’s first-ever regional champion.

Heartbreak had been the story for AIC in each of the past two seasons; in 1982-83, the Yellow Jackets won the league’s regular-season title at 12-2, but was upended by Assumption College in the Conference Championship, and then sank Central Connecticut State University in the NCAA regional semifinal but fell to Sacred Heart University in the regional championship. The following year, AIC again won the then NE-8’s regular season crown, and managed to capture the tournament title as well, only to have its season send in overtime again in the regional semifinal by the Pioneers.

AIC was determined to finally climb the mountain heading into 1984-85, and the Yellow Jackets proved their mettle. Behind a prolific offense that averaged 74.5 points per game, AIC finished with a 13-1 conference record and then defeated Stonehill College, Merrimack College, and Springfield College, all with double-digit victories, to claim a second consecutive NE-8 title. Mario Elie ‘85 earned MVP honors again. Elie obliterated the team’s previous scoring record, and would end his career with 2,124 points and his third straight All-America selection before heading to the NBA.

At 27-3 heading into the NCAAs, AIC was the top seed in the regional and hosted at the Butova Gymnasium, mere miles from the Springfield Civic Center, which was set to host the 1985 Final Four. AIC had split the NE-8 regular season title with Bentley, but behind Elie’s 22 points and nine rebounds, the Yellow Jackets downed the Falcons 65-49 in the opener. That set up another showdown with Sacred Heart. This time, it was the Pioneers that would suffer the heartbreak, as AIC battled to an 80-74 win, and claimed the crown of the New England Region.

The Yellow Jackets hosted Kentucky Wesleyan in the Elite Eight for the right to head downtown and compete for a title. But heartbreak finally caught up to AIC again; with seven seconds left in a one-point game, a charging call turned the ball over and the Yellow Jackets came up short, 77-74.

Their season ended at 29-4, six wins better than the previous season’s squad that had itself set a record for the Yellow Jackets, and still the record to this day. Elie was the first Yellow Jacket to break 2,000 career points, and remains one of just four Yellow Jackets, men or women, to reach the milestone. Coach Jim Powell finished that season at 117-61 to that point in his career, and when he retired in 1995, was AIC’s winningest basketball coach with 280 victories, a record he still holds to this day.

AIC Men's Basketball Links of Note:

ABOUT THE NE10
Beginning its 40th anniversary season, the NE10 is an association of 14 diverse institutions serving student-athletes across 24 NCAA Division II sports. Together we build brilliant futures by embracing the journey of every student-athlete.

Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 24 sports, making the NE10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the NE10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.