1980–81 Howard Bison men's basketball team

American college basketball season

1980–81 Howard Bison men's basketball
MEAC tournament champions
NCAA tournament, First round
Conference	Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Record	17–12 (6–4 MEAC)
Head coach	A. B. Williamson (5th season)
Home arena	Burr Gymnasium
Seasons← 1979–801981–82 →

1980–81 MEAC men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
North Carolina A&T	7	–	3	.700	21	–	8	.724
Florida A&M	6	–	4	.600	17	–	11	.607
Howard †	6	–	4	.600	17	–	12	.586
Bethune–Cookman	4	–	6	.400	13	–	15	.464
South Carolina State	4	–	6	.400	11	–	15	.423
Delaware State	3	–	7	.300	8	–	18	.308

† 1981 MEAC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

The 1980–81 Howard Bison men's basketball team represented Howard University during the 1980–81 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bison, led by fifth-year head coach A. B. Williamson, played their home games at Burr Gymnasium in Washington, D.C., as members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. They finished the season 17–12, 6–4 in MEAC play to finish second during the conference regular season. Howard followed by winning the MEAC tournament to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament – the first appearance in program history. As the No. 12 seed in the Midwest Region, the Bison were defeated by No. 5 seed Wyoming in the opening round, 78–43.

Roster

1980–81 Howard Bison men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown
G		Bernard Perry	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	—	So
F		Larry Spriggs	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Sr	San Jacinto	Hyattsville, Maryland
F	53	James Ratiff	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Jr	Tennessee	Washington, D.C.

Date time, TV	Rank	Opponent	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
Dec 4, 1980*		at Southern	L 61–69	0–1	F. G. Clark Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Dec 6, 1980*		at Jackson State	L 74–91	0–2	College Park Auditorium Jackson, Mississippi
Dec 8, 1980*		at Alcorn State	L 68–72	0–3	Davey Whitney Complex Lorman, Mississippi
MEAC tournament
Mar 5, 1981*	(3)	vs. (6) Delaware State Quarterfinals	W 67–53	15–11	Winston-Salem Memorial Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Mar 6, 1981*	(3)	vs. (2) Florida A&M Semifinals	W 75–73	16–11	Winston-Salem Memorial Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Mar 7, 1981*	(3)	vs. (1) North Carolina A&T Championship game	W 66–63	17–11	Winston-Salem Memorial Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina
NCAA tournament
Mar 12, 1981*	(12 W)	vs. (5 W) No. 17 Wyoming First round	L 43–78	17–12	Pauley Pavilion (12,045) Los Angeles, California
*Non-conference game. Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central.

Source

"Stone-Cold Howard Gets Baptism by Fire". The Washington Post. March 14, 1981. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
"1980-81 Men's Basketball Roster". Howard University Athletics. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
"1980-81 Men's Basketball Schedule". Howard University Athletics. Retrieved April 30, 2023.

v t e Howard Bison men's basketball
Venues	Burr Gymnasium (1963–present)
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons Records unavailable pre-1952 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25