Why Detroit Mercy basketball will be banned from postseason in 2026-27

Detroit Mercy men's basketball was one game away from the 2026 NCAA Tournament.

Even if somehow the Titans win every game next year, including the Horizon League Tournament, coach Mark Montgomery's squad will not compete in the 2026-27 postseason. This news comes in a letter sent from the university to donors and supporters, which states on Tuesday, May 5, the NCAA will release its annual Academic Progress Rate result which will prohibit Detroit Mercy from competing in the postseason.

APR is the "academic progress rate" of a program, which out of a possible 1,000 points cannot fall below 930 on a four-year rolling average. Teams have been required to achieve either the 930 four-year average or a 940 average over the most recent two years since the rule was implemented more than two decades ago (2003) as a strategy to improve graduation and retention rates in college athletics.

Detroit Mercy Titans head coach Mark Montgomery walks up the sidelines Tuesday, March 10, 2026, at Corteva Coliseum at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis during the Horizon League championship game.

"Unfortunately, the men's basketball program did not meet the required 930 APR standard set forth by the NCAA," Director of Athletics Robert C. Vowels Jr. wrote in a letter to donors and fans. "As a result, the program will face sanctions for the upcoming 2026-27 season, which includes a NCAA postseason ban, which is particularly disappointing."

A postseason ban is the most serious of the possible offenses the NCAA can levy on a program for failing to meet the minimum threshold: the others are reducing practices, scholarships or some combination of the three.

Unfortunately for the Titans, this isn't a new phenomenon. This will mark the third occasion in the past 10 years where Detroit Mercy has fallen below the necessary APR threshold: in 2017-18 the program was given both a postseason ban and practice sanctions while in 2023-24, when the program missed the line by just one point, had a practice reduction, both of which occurred under former coach Mike Davis.