If you were to ask a college basketball coach which NCAA Division I school he least wanted to work at, it is very likely that you might hear “The Citadel” as a response. After all, The Citadel is a military institution where intercollegiate athletics are not a top priority. It is difficult to get players to sign up for a life in which they have to balance military training, class, and Division I basketball.

The Citadel has been a member of the Southern Conference since 1936, tying the Bulldogs with Furman University for longest-tenured SoCon member. Despite that fact, The Citadel has never won the Southern Conference in 77 tries. The Bulldogs have never played in the NCAA Tournament. The lone postseason trip for The Citadel was a berth in the 2009 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. It is worth noting that such a berth is all Elon University has to show as well, but Elon has only competed in Division I athletics since 1999.

Just how mediocre has The Citadel been? The last coach to leave Charleston, S.C., with a winning record was Rock Norman, who went 45-32 between 1935 and 1940.

One thing The Citadel does have is pride. Men and women who attend The Citadel are extremely proud of where they came from and the hard work they put into their college years, even if they are a constant underdog in the athletic world.

Enter the current head coach of the Bulldogs, Chuck Driesell. Driesell played college basketball at the University of Maryland for his father, legendary coach Lefty Driesell. In his four-year career, Driesell played in three NCAA tournaments and won the 1984 ACC Championship. While he had success in his playing days, Driesell has faced great challenges in his days as a head coach.

The challenge faced by Chuck Driesell at The Citadel bears many similarities to the last head coaching job he held. From 2004-2006, Driesell held the head coaching position at Bishop Ireton High School in Alexandria, Va. A member of the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference, one of the most prestigious high school basketball conferences in the nation, Bishop Ireton has never won a conference championship. In fact, the Cardinals have a reputation for struggling, so much so that six conference wins in 18 tries in the 2011-12 season was considered a success.

Driesell took the helm of Bishop Ireton in 2004 preaching “hard work,” and sure enough, he registered a 24-30 overall mark at the school in two seasons, coaching a pair of future college players in Shane Walker (Maryland) and Morakinyo “Mike” Williams (University of Kentucky), easily the most highly-recruited players in Ireton history. After Driesell left Ireton, the Cardinals stumbled to just 14 wins in the ensuing three seasons.

That success at Ireton led Driesell to take an assistant coaching job at Maryland before arriving at The Citadel. Unfortunately for Driesell, monumental success has not come in Charleston. In his four seasons, Driesell is 28-80 at The Citadel. This year, his Bulldogs have only beaten one Division I team – Presbyterian College on Nov. 12.

Times might be tough for The Citadel’s basketball team. But the man in charge is no stranger to a challenge.