March Madness: Where is Duquesne University?

The Duquesne Dukes are in the NCAA Tournament!

The Dukes punched a ticket to the Big Dance with a triumphant showing in the Atlantic 10 Tournament, besting VCU in the championship game on Sunday.

This is the first time Duquesne has been part of March Madness since 1977, so college basketball fans can be forgiven for not knowing much about the school. Unless you've paid close attention to the NIT, chances are you won't have had many opportunities to catch the Dukes.

So what's the story on Duquesne? (It's pronounced dew-KAYN for the record) Let's dive in.

Duquesne University is located in Pittsburgh, PA

Duquesne is a private Catholic research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1878 by the Congregation of the Holy Spirit and originally dubbed The Pittsburgh Catholic College of the Holy Ghost.

The university got its current name in 1911 when it was in honor of Michel-Ange Duquesne de Menneville, Marquis Duquesne. He had been the governor of the region under French rule and was credited with bringing Catholicism to the Pittsburgh area.

It has a total enrollment of just over 9,300 students, with 6,000 of those being undergraduates.

Duquesne Dukes NCAA Tournament history

Basketball got started at the university in 1913. In 1940, Chick Davies led the program to their first NCAA Tournament appearance. They lost to eventual champion Indiana in the Final Four.

The Dukes have made six NCAA Tournament appearances, including their upcoming one this year:

• 1940: Final Four
• 1952: Elite Eight
• 1969: Sweet Sixteen
• 1971: First Round
• 1977: First Round
• 2024: TBD

Duquesne won the 1955 NIT Championship. They have been to the NIT 17 times, most recently in 2009.

The Dukes have gone to the CBI four times, most recently in 2023 when they were knocked out in the first round.