By Syd Britt

Hampden-Sydney College (HSC), a small men’s private college located in Farmville, Virginia, is home to one of the best Division III college basketball programs in the country. The 2023-24 Hampden-Sydney basketball team completed one of their best seasons in school history this spring. One member of this historic team is my brother William Britt (’23), who played for Collegiate’s varsity basketball team as a Junior and Senior.

Hampden-Sydney basketball fans presenting “HSC.” Photo credit: Syd Britt. 

Hampden-Sydney’s Tigers ended their season with a record of 31-3, 14-2 in conference play. The 2023-24 team was the first to reach the 30-win milestone in program history and set the program record for most wins in school history. The Tigers are a part of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC). The Tigers were the 2024 ODAC conference tournament champions, dominating the Washington & Lee Generals 81-56 in the championship game on February 25, making it their 11th conference championship all time and their first since 2007. Other notable accolades for this team were Regional Champions, a DIII Final Four appearance (first time since 2003, third all-time), and the National Runner-Up (first since 1999 and second all-time). The Tigers were led by eight seniors: Ryan Clements (5th year), Miles Harris (5th year), Chase Turner (5th year), Josiah Hardy, Davidson Hubbard, Shawn Hodge, DJ Wright, and Alex Elliot.

Going back to November 8, the Tigers opened their season against division foe Christopher Newport University (CNU), the same team that knocked them out of the NCAA tournament in the second round the previous year. Deservedly so, CNU came into the game ranked as the number one team nationally, since they went on to win the National Championship the year prior. HSC, on the other hand, was ranked as the number eight team nationally when the season began. The Tigers dominated the game from the tip, winning 74-53. This victory presented a whole new array of possibilities and hopes for the team, as they had just easily beat the reigning national champions and number one team. 

A little over a month later, Hampden-Sydney found themselves matched up against a new number one team, the John Carroll Blue Streaks, on December 19. This time, the Tigers were ranked sixth nationally. The team traveled to Ohio to play in a true road game, one that would test their focus and grit. Once again, the Tigers exceeded expectations and routed the Blue Streaks, 85-67. The Tigers were led by an outstanding performance from Hubbard, with 31 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 assists, and by the crafty guard Adam Brazil, who added 21 points and 4 assists. Hubbard was named DIII National Player of the Week partly due to his performance in this game. Hubbard played two games that week, averaging 21.5 points and 9.5 rebounds in the two-game span. After this game, HSC was 9-1, their sole loss coming against the Guilford Quakers on December 2, who they would later defeat in the national semifinal. In their first ten games, the Tigers had already beaten two different number-one-ranked teams, and they also defeated their historic rival Randolph-Macon Yellow Jackets. 

On January 2, the Hampden-Sydney Tigers became the number-one-ranked DIII team in the country. Despite this honor, the team remained focused on their team mottos: Standard Of Excellence (SOE), and Get It Done (GID). 

Hampden-Sydney ended their regular season with a record of 23-2, and the next step was to take on the ODAC Conference tournament. The Tigers had three players named All-ODAC for the 2023-24 regular season: Hubbard was named first team; Brazil was also named first team, as well as ODAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year; and Clements received third team. 

The Tigers began the conference tournament on February 22 in the Salem Civic Center, in Salem, Virginia, against the Ferrum Panthers. The Tigers won big in their first game, 81-61. Two days later, the Tigers were matched up against the Virginia Wesleyan Marlins in their second game. The Tigers won again via an 11-point victory, 63-52, advancing to the ODAC Championship. Brazil led the team past the Marlins with 20 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists; Hardy added a healthy 14 points and 7 rebounds as well. The Tigers were rolling and now faced the W&L Generals for the ODAC hardware. In the end, the Tigers hoisted the trophy as they mauled the Generals 81-56. Brazil gave Hampden-Sydney the advantage, as he scored a career-high 27 points, with 5 threes. Brazil was honored as the Tournament’s Most Valuable Player, and Hubbard and Hardy were also named to the All-Tournament Team.

The Tigers celebrating their ODAC Championship victory. Photo credit: Connor Thompson/The Farmville Herald. 

After taking home the ODAC Championship, the Tigers now had all eyes on the NCAA Tournament, with hopes of winning the DIII National Championship.

During their NCAA Tournament run, HSC cruised to the Final Four, playing and winning each game in their home gym, Kirby Field House. They were granted home-court advantage for their first four games because they were given the number one seed. In the whole DIII tournament, there are four number-one-ranked teams, one in each region. The number one team hosts every game played in their specific region until the Final Four. The Tigers won their first four games by a combined margin of 66 points. 

HSC traveled to Fort Wayne, Indiana, where they were set to play in their second Final Four in school history. The Tigers faced their conference rival, the Guilford Quakers, whom they had lost to in the regular season, in the National Semifinal game. This time, the Garnett and Grey came out victorious after a long and gritty defensive battle, winning 62-57. 

The DIII National Championship game was now set: the Hampden Sydney Tigers vs. the Trine Thunder (Indiana). Trine fans had an overwhelming larger crowd turnout, as they were playing the big game in their home state. This was proven an important factor as the Thunder defeated the Tigers to take home the trophy. The game was close throughout but ended 61 – 69, in favor of Trine. Despite the crushing loss, the Tigers still had an exceptional season, one that broke previous school records and added to other prestigious accolades. 

My brother was along for the ride for this special season. Britt was not a key player on the team, however, nor was even he a role player. He instead sat on the end of the bench for each game. Britt explains that “as much as I don’t want to admit that I was a bench-warmer, I completely expected it and was okay with it … I still worked hard every day in practice and I learned so much … I became a far better player because of it.” Britt shared some of the standards his national runner-up caliber team set at the beginning of the year: “The ODAC Championship was one of our biggest goals that we set for our team, and one which we accomplished.” He also touched on the feeling of being in the NCAA Tournament: “Each game that we won, we got closer and closer to winning it all … We kept saying to ourselves that we couldn’t believe the situation we were in because, as a fan growing up, we all watched March Madness, and now to actually be a part of it was surreal.”

Britt (3rd from left) cheering his team on. Photo credit: Syd Britt.

An important aspect of playing college sports is balancing school work with your respective sport. At Hampden-Sydney, each player is expected to be a successful student-athlete. Britt quickly learned that this balance was much more difficult to achieve than it sounded, as his practices, lifts, and basketball-consumed schedule took up more of his time than he had anticipated. Britt has learned that “playing a college sport forces you to be disciplined … I would always try and plan my school work around practice, doing some before if I had a lot, and then finishing the rest after practice in the evening.”

Now that Britt and the rest of the 2023-24 Tigers have completed their season, they embark on an off-season full of rest, recovery, and work as they prepare for next year. 

Featured image credit: Hampden-Sydney Basketball via instagram @hscmbb.