Fairleigh Dickinson MCBB Gets New Locker Room, Film Room Moved from Community Shower

Following a wave of donations to Fairleigh Dickinson after the team's historic win over Purdue in the NCAA men's basketball tournament last season, the school has made some major upgrades to its facilities.

Per ESPN's Myron Metcalf, the Knights' days of utilizing a community shower as their makeshift film room are over. That community shower was converted to an actual film room and a separate locker room was also added after donors helped the school reach its $500,000 goal. The team plans to unveil both prior to Wednesday's game against Saint Peter's.

"It was a tighter space, so it's not like you're in the shower room and everybody's comfortable," FDU head coach Jack Castleberry said. "Everybody was kind of on top of each other and one of the shower heads was still leaking like a little drop of water every 15 seconds."

Fairleigh Dickinson lucked its way into the 2023 NCAA tournament as a replacement for NEC tournament champion Merrimack, which was ruled ineligible under NCAA rules for programs that transitioned to Division I. The Knights' upset of the Boilermakers marked just the second time that a 16-seed defeated 1-seed in NCAA tournament history.

Metcalf noted that the win over Purdue increased Fairleigh Dickinson's popularity, as "undergraduate applications have increased by 32% this year, and the school also had a 327% increase in online apparel sales following the win over Purdue compared to the same period last year." The school also recently announced a TV deal with YES Network.

It's a far cry from where the Knights were before, and they are appreciative of the journey.

"One time, we were watching film and [one of our players] keeps looking back because the water is literally dripping on him as we're watching scouting reports for the next game," Castleberry said. "You can't make it up."