NJIT: The worst school you've never heard of

As a fan of futility in almost all walks of life (the Cubs, the Los Angeles Clippers, the State of Nevada, the Pitcairn Islands), it's no surprise that the basketball team from the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) has quickly become my newest hot thing. A school in the midst of a transition to Division I basketball, the Highlanders are shocking the world with almost two years of consecutive losses.

Hang onto your chair...As of Nov. 28th, 2008, NJIT has lost 37 straight games. THIRTY-SEVEN. This isn't some cute 15-game losing streak that teams encounter from time to time. This is a full fledged free-fall into oblivion. There hasn't been a scandal in which they technically forfeited an entire season, no star players have been arrested for drug use; this team has legitimately lost 37 basketball games in a row. And none have even been close. A nine-point loss is the closest this team has been to a victory in nearly two calendar years.

The worst part? No one even cares! ESPN doesn't have any coverage, there are no tickers updating the streak; I don't get it. This is type of losing in unprecedented. Savannah State of 2004 lost 30 games in a row, but ended up winning over Wilberforce University to begin the 2005 season. Prairie View A&M in 1992? Please. They only lost 29 games in a row.

I saw this developing in the middle of last year, I became really excited. Almost as excited as when the Miami Dolphins in 2007 almost went winless. But much to my dismay there was almost no coverage of the Highlanders' awfulness and there still isn't. This is by far the worst NCAA Division I basketball team to ever take the court and there is no media coverage! Hence, I've taken it upon myself to provide the coverage they deserve and hopefully make some people aware.

Let's highlight some of the streak:

Feb. 24, 2007: Fresh off a 78-74 victory over the Longwood Lancers, the NJIT Highlanders drop a 30-point contest to Utah Valley, another D1 independent. This begins the streak.

March 3, 2007: NJIT loses a heartbreaking 10-point game to South Dakota State. The closest they would come to a victory until November of the following season.

November 10, 2007: In the season opener against Manhattan College, the Highlanders score only 28 points, perhaps foreshadowing the season to come.

November 24, 2007: NJIT drops a nine-point nailbiter to Lehigh University. This, along with another nine-point loss at Stony Brook, would be the closest the Highlanders come to a victory all season, as they would frequently lose by margins or 15 or 20.

Feb. 23, 2008: Almost a year after the streak began, the Highlanders find themselves again playing Utah Valley in the season finale. Stepping up to the challenge, NJIT falls by 26, cementing their winless season and place in history with the most losses ever in a season.

November 15, 2008: NJIT falls to Manhattan in another season opener, tying the record for consecutive losses with 34.

November 17, 2008: Two nights later, the Highlanders put themselves atop the loser totem pole with a 74-47 whipping by Penn State. The 35th straight loss gives them the outright record for most consecutive losses after they are unable to hold on to an early 6-5 lead.


The NJIT Highlanders currently are 0-4 on the 2008-09 season and are 5-57 since moving to Division I three years ago. Like I mentioned before, there has been almost no publicity regarding this scary run of futility. Not even the NJIT athletics website mentions the streak.

Not that I blame them, but you might entertain the thought that the school could have some fun with the streak. Headlines like "Highlanders set to defend title of 'worst team ever'" or "NJIT loses again, eyes second consecutive winless season". Yet all we get are recaps of games where we hear that NJIT "never trailed by more than 13" or that they outrebounded the opposition. While I appreciate the spin, I think America deserves a little more dark humor or blatant comedy. Give us some coverage of the worst team ever! Everyone loves a loser. And by the time people catch on, the terrible-ness will be over.