Where is Siena located? Explaining city and more to know about Saints basketball program

After a 23-11 season and a MAAC conference title, the Siena Saints are heading to the Big Dance. They are locked in as a No. 16 seed and will play the top-ranked Duke Blue Devils in the Round of 64.

In the MAAC tournament, Siena was ranked no. 3 and defeated top-ranked Merrimack College 64-54 in the final.

Former Syracuse basketball star Gerry McNamara has led Siena in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since Fran McCaffery's team in 2010. McNamara has been linked to Syracuse University's head-coaching vacancy following this season, so it will be interesting to see how the Saints hold up against the Blue Devils in the opening round.

Here's what to know about Siena as it plays in its first NCAA Tournament in 16 years.

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Where is Siena located?

Siena University (formerly known as Siena College) is located in Loudonville, New York. The school sits in the Loudonville suburb (also known as Colonie) just 10 minutes north of Albany.

Siena is a private, Franciscan liberal arts university with over 3,000 students, according to the university's website. For fall 2024, the undergraduate enrollment total sat around 3,469, per the U.S. News and World Report.

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What conference is Siena in?

The Siena Saints, who have 19 varsity sports, compete in the NCAA's Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. The conference was founded in 1980 and is based in the Northeastern region of the United States.

Siena joined the conference in 1989 and has been a member since. The MAAC currently includes 13 teams, which are as follows:

• Canisius University
• Fairfield University
• Iona University
• Manhattan University
• Marist University
• Merrimack College
• Mount St. Mary's University
• Niagara University
• Quinnipiac University
• Rider University
• Sacred Heart University
• Saint Peter's University
• Siena University

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Siena name origin

It was founded by the Order of Friars Minor in 1937 and is named after the Franciscan friar Bernardino of Siena. Originally, the school was named St. Bernardine of Siena College.

In the late 1930s, Thomas Plassmann, president of St. Bonaventure University in Western New York, sent seven Franciscan friars to the surrounding Albany area to found another college. This resulted in the creation of the eventual Siena University.

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Siena NCAA Tournament history

Throughout the school's history, the Saints have played in the NCAA Tournament seven times. The Saints have earned bids in 1989, 1999, 2002, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2026, holding a 4–6 overall record in the tournament. They also qualified in 2020, before the tournament's cancellation due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Siena's four wins came against no. 3 Stanford in 1989, Alcorn State in 2002, no. 4 Vanderbilt in 2008, and no. 8 Ohio State in 2009. The Saints have yet to advance past the second round.