Milwaukee Panthers men's basketball

1965–1998: Becoming the Panthers; up to Division I

Seeking to establish their own identity, Milwaukee adopted the colors of black and gold on September 1, 1965, and became known as the Panthers. They also left the Wisconsin State College Conference (now the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference), of which they had been members since 1913, to form a conference with other urban public universities in the Great Lakes region such as Illinois-Chicago and Cleveland State. Such plans for a new conference never materialized, and the Panthers remained independent even as they moved from the NCAA College Division (now NCAA Division II and NCAA Division III) to the University Division (now NCAA Division I) in 1973.

The team moved again to NCAA Division III in 1980. Between 1985 and 1987, Milwaukee competed in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. In 1987, the program moved to NCAA Division II where it won its regional in the 1989 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament, advancing to the contest's Elite Eight. Since 1990, Milwaukee Men's Basketball has competed in NCAA Division I. They played in the Mid-Continent Conference for one year in 1993–94 before joining the Midwestern Collegiate Conference, which became the Horizon League in 1999 and has been the Panthers' home ever since.

1999–2001: Bo Ryan era

In 1999, the Panthers hired Bo Ryan, a highly successful Division III coach at UW–Plattville, as the team's new head coach. Under Ryan, the Panthers had their first consecutive winning seasons since 1993, and Ryan was also instrumental in bringing wider attention and fan enthusiasm to the program. After just two seasons, Ryan left to become the head coach of the Wisconsin Badgers.

2002–2005: Bruce Pearl era

After Bo Ryan's departure, Milwaukee would hire Bruce Pearl, a successful Division II coach at Southern Indiana, as head coach. Milwaukee reached new heights of success during the mid-2000s, making its first NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship appearance in 2003 under Pearl, followed by a Sweet Sixteen appearance in 2005 and a second-round appearance in 2006. Pearl left to become the head coach at Tennessee after 2005 and the school hired Rob Jeter, a former assistant under Bo Ryan.^[3] The Panthers won three straight regular-season Horizon League championships from 2004 to 2006 as well as the Horizon League tournament championship in 2003, 2005, and 2006.

2006–2015: Rob Jeter era

The Panthers' most recent Horizon League regular season championship came in 2011, where they'd host the Horizon League Championship game, but lost to Butler. In 2014, the Panthers won the Horizon League tournament, making their first NCAA tournament appearance since 2006. Just a few weeks later, UWM was handed a one-year postseason ban due to a low Academic Progress Rate.^[4] Under Jeter, while the Panthers were mostly competitive, they were unable to stay consistently on top in the Horizon League standings.

On March 17, 2016, Milwaukee fired Rob Jeter after 11 seasons with the Panthers.^[5]

2016–2021: LaVall Jordan and Pat Baldwin eras

On April 7, 2016, Milwaukee announced that Michigan assistant coach LaVall Jordan would be the new head coach.^[6]

Less than one year later, on March 3, 2017, the Panthers made history by being the first No. 10 seed to win a game in the Horizon League Tournament. They went on to place second overall in the tournament, losing to Northern Kentucky in the championship game on March 7.^[7] After this one lone season, Jordan accepted the head coaching job at Butler. On June 20, Milwaukee hired Northwestern assistant coach Pat Baldwin as their new head coach.^[8]

In 2021, the Panthers made national news when they were able to successfully recruit Baldwin's son Patrick Baldwin Jr., who was rated by ESPN as the number four rated recruit in the country, becoming the highest rated player to commit to a Horizon League school.^[9] Baldwin Jr. struggled with injury in his freshman season, and the Panthers finished the season 10–22. On March 2, 2022, Pat Baldwin was fired as head coach after five straight losing seasons.^[10] Patrick Baldwin Jr. declared for the 2022 NBA draft, where he was selected 28th overall by the Golden State Warriors, becoming the first player in program history to be selected in the first round.^[11]

2022–Present: Bart Lundy era

On March 18, 2022, the Panthers hired Bart Lundy, a successful Division II coach at Queens (NC), as the team's next head coach.^[12] In Lundy's first season, the Panthers won 20 regular season games for the first time since 2004–05, finishing second in the Horizon League before losing in the semifinals of the conference tournament to Cleveland State. Milwaukee accepted an invite to the 2023 College Basketball Invitational, their first postseason appearance since the 2014 NCAA tournament. The Panthers defeated Stetson in overtime in the first round, marking their first postseason tournament victory since 2006, before losing to eventual champions Charlotte in the quarterfinals.

In 2023–24, despite high hopes, the Panthers struggled through much of the season, mainly due to injuries to key players. The team still rallied to advance to the Horizon League Championship game before losing to Oakland, finishing with a record of 20–15, which was also the first time since 2006 that the Panthers had consecutive 20-win seasons. Lundy also became the first coach in the program's history to have 20-win seasons in each of his first two seasons coaching the team. The Panthers continued to have regular-season success in 2024–25, winning 21 games, helped primarily by two transfers: guard Themus Fulks and forward Jermichael Stillwell, the latter earning national player of the week honors during the season. Lundy's record of consecutive 20-win seasons continued, but the Panthers lost in their first Horizon League conference tournament game, once again to Oakland, to finish 21–11. Fulks and Stillwell would transfer to UCF after the season.

The Panthers had high expectations going into 2025–26, predicted to finish first in the Horizon League, but the team was hit hard by season-ending injuries to three of their projected five starters: John Lovelace Jr., Seth Hubbard, and Danilio Jovanovich. Forced to play most of their bench, including two true freshmen in Stevie Elam and Josh Dixon, the Panthers would suffer their first losing season in the Lundy era, going 12–20.

NCAA Division I Tournament results

The Panthers have appeared in the NCAA Division I tournament four times. Their combined record is 3–4.

NCAA Division II Tournament results

The Panthers have appeared in the NCAA Division II tournament two times. Their combined record is 3–2.

NCAA Division III Tournament results

The Panthers have appeared in the NCAA Division III tournament one time. Their record is 1–1.

NIT results

The Panthers have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) two times. Their combined record is 1–2.

CBI results

The Panthers have appeared in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) two times. Their record is 1–2.