HOUSTON

There are 363 Division I men’s basketball teams and the season had been reduced to the last four.

Returning to the Boca Raton campus after the Elite Eight victory, the Owls were greeted by several hundred fans holding lit cell phones to illuminate the areas outside Baldwin Arena. And a few days later, an even larger crowd would gather in the early morning hours to send the team off to one of the biggest events in sports. Departing from an arena with a capacity of 2,900, FAU’s next stop, the Final Four, would be at Houston’s NRG Stadium, home of the NFL’s Houston Texans, in front of more than 70,000 fans.

“When we landed in Houston, it was kind of crazy,” Weatherspoon said. “Seeing the [FAUbranded] bus and the [national championship] trophy and what they had laid out for us, it really hit me. We were in the Final Four. It’s very special. Ten, 15 years from now we’ll come back to Boca, knowing we’ve been to the Final Four. As a group, when we first started, this wasn’t the goal.”

The heartbreaking 72-71 loss to fifth-seeded South Region champion San Diego State University in the national semifinals might have ended a season, but for many associated with Florida Atlantic, the whole season felt more like a launching point into the future. FAU owned the national spotlight like never before, and the athletics footprint will continue to grow with a move to the American Athletic Conference for the 2023-24 academic year.

As for the men’s basketball team, the Owls are expected to return a majority of a roster that posted the nation’s best record at 35-4, the most victories by a C-USA school in league history. After the Final Four, May agreed to a 10-year contract extension to remain as head coach. And improvements are being planned for Baldwin Arena, which will need to make room in its rafters for several new banners in November … “2023 Final Four” being the most prominent.

“These [players and coaches] have created memories and a legacy for a lifetime,” May said. “People will be talking about this group for the next 50 to 100 years.”

The Florida Atlantic men’s basketball team played its first game on Nov. 18, 1988, against Palm Beach Atlantic. In 2002, the team made its first NCAA Tournament appearance as a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference. The Owls were the No. 15 seed in the South Region. Though they hung tight throughout the game, they fell to No. 2 seed Alabama 86–78.

The FAU men’s basketball team received the key to the City of Boca Raton following a season that led the team to the Final Four for the first time.