played that year along with three other games against local teams. Kent State's first intercollegiate win was recorded March 10, 1916, a 27–17 home win over Ashland College, played in the former heating plant and manual training building. A shortage of men during both World Wars prevented teams from being formed for the 1917–18, 1918–19, and 1943–44 seasons. Beginning in 1932, Kent State played as a member of the Ohio Athletic Conference before joining the Mid-American Conference and beginning league play in 1951. Kent State was placed in the East Division when the MAC went to a divisional alignment in 1997. During their first years of existence, a variety of different venues were used for home games including on-campus facilities at what is now Cartwright Hall and the old heating plant, as well as off-campus facilities at the local Congregational Church gymnasium and Theodore Roosevelt High School, until Wills Gymnasium opened in 1925. In 1950, the team moved to their current home, the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center, known originally as the Men's Physical Education Building until 1956 and later as Memorial Gym until 1992. The team played in relative anonymity for most of its existence. They made their first appearance in the MAC tournament championship game (which began in 1980) in 1984, losing a close 42–40 game. They would make the title game again in 1987 and 1989, losing both 64–63 and 67–65 respectively. The Flashes made their first post-season appearance in the 1985 National Invitation Tournament, losing in the first round. They returned to the NIT in 1989 and 1990, losing in the first round both times. Beginnings of success In 1996, Gary Waters was hired as head coach and began to build what would become the longest run of success in Mid-American Conference history. In 1999 the Flashes won over 20 games and defeated the Miami RedHawks in the MAC tournament championship game in Toledo to win their first MAC tournament title and make their first-ever NCAA tournament appearance, where they were defeated by Temple in the opening round at FleetCenter in Boston. The following season, the Flashes again won over 20 games and finished second in the MAC East, but failed to win the conference tournament and received their first NIT invitation since 1990. The Flashes hosted the first-round game against Rutgers and recorded their first-ever post-season win, a 73–62 victory. Kent State would win their