ESPN Stats and Information Department ranked Memphis as the 19th most successful basketball program from 1962 to 2012 in their annual 50 in 50 list.

[3] The predecessor of the University of Memphis, West Tennessee State Normal School, first put a basketball team on the court in 1920.

They went to the NCAA tournament where they handily beat South Carolina and Kansas State after a first round bye to reach the Final Four.

Bartow won the NABC National Coach of the Year award that season and Larry Finch was named a consensus All-American.

Yates led Memphis State to three straight 20-win seasons, including an NCAA Tournament berth in 1976.

Keith Lee began playing for the Tigers in 1982, and Memphis was ranked number one in both major national polls for the first time the same year.

[6] In the 1983 NCAA tournament, the Tigers beat Georgetown led by Patrick Ewing, whom Lee dominated in the paint.

Memphis State beat Penn, UAB, Boston College and Oklahoma to reach the school's second Final Four.

Kirk's top assistant, Larry Finch, one of the leaders of the fabled 1972–73 team, took over head coaching duties in 1986.

Perry led Memphis State to the 1988 and 1989 NCAA Tournaments and was drafted to the NBA where he became a successful player.

[5] In 1990, Finch landed the country's highest rated high school recruit, Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway.

The Tigers also moved to the Great Midwest Conference and began playing their home games at the new Pyramid Arena (affectionately known as the "Tomb of Doom") in 1991.

Stand-out Hardaway led Memphis State to the 1992 NCAA tournament, where the Tigers were defeated in the Elite Eight by rival Cincinnati.

The following summer, Hardaway was named All-American and earned a chance to train with the Dream Team before the Barcelona Olympics.

After the season, Penny Hardaway left for the NBA draft where he was selected third overall by the Golden State Warriors.

[5] In 1995, the Memphis team included future NBA players David Vaughn, Cedric Henderson, and Lorenzen Wright, and they made it to the 1995 NCAA tournament where they lost in the Sweet Sixteen.

Memphis joined Conference USA in 1995 as a founding member with long-time rivals Louisville and Cincinnati.

He was forced to resign just days before the start of the 1999–2000 season after school officials discovered he was involved in an inappropriate relationship with a student at the university.

The 2005–06 Tigers were led by Darius Washington, Shawne Williams and Rodney Carney and set a school record by going 30–3 and reaching a No.

[10] The 2008–09 Tigers, led by another freshman guard, Tyreke Evans, again went undefeated in Conference USA and earned a two seed in the 2009 NCAA tournament.

The recruits included Xavier Henry, DeMarcus Cousins, Nolan Dennis, and Darnell Dodson.

[12] The University of Memphis was not charged with knowingly fielding an ineligible player given that Rose had originally been cleared by the testing company and the NCAA.

[14] In his first year as coach at Memphis, Pastner brought in Elliot Williams, a transfer from Duke, who led the team in scoring and was drafted to the NBA.

Williams was permitted to play his first season after departing Calipari took with him Memphis' top-ranked recruiting class.

[15] In 2011 Pastner led the Tigers back to the NCAA tournament for the first time in his coaching career, though they lost in the first round to his former team, Arizona.

On April 8, 2016, facing mounting criticism in Memphis, Pastner took the job of head men's basketball coach at Georgia Tech.

[21] On March 28, 2021, the Tigers won their second NIT tournament with a 77–65 win over the #4 seed Mississippi State Bulldogs, finishing their season at 20–8.

[22] On June 11, 2021 speculation began to circulate that Penny Hardaway was a candidate for multiple head coaching jobs in the NBA, including his former team the Orlando Magic.

Three players have been unanimous first team selections (Keith Lee, Anfernee Hardaway, and Chris Douglas-Roberts).

Many Memphis players since the 1960s that have gone undrafted or had unsuccessful NBA careers have also played in professional leagues in Europe, Asia and/or Latin America.