HACKENSACK, N.J. - On Feb. 15, FDU men's basketball had 13 players stuck in a service elevator pregame at LIU before the Knights and Sharks were set to do battle at the Steinberg Wellness Center in Brooklyn. Once pictures and video of the scene were released, coupled with FDU winning in an overtime thriller, the story went viral, netting over 140.2 million impressions combined from television, radio, online publications and social media. Firefighters from FDNY Ladder 110 rescued the players from the stuck elevator. The media impact of the event was Feb. 15-17, 2024.

From television and radio alone, the incident was mentioned over 670 times by local and national stations, reaching viewership of 41,748,564 nationally for a total publicity value to FDU and Knights men's basketball of $1,545,356, according to TVeyes.

Key television mentions that factored into this historic figure include: ESPN's SportsCenter and SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt; PIX11/The CW; CBS2 NY, ABC7 Eyewitness News (New York) and Today in New York (WNBC). FDU was mentioned nationwide on more than two dozen local news shows on both television and the radio.

FDU also enjoyed a healthy readership mark from online publications such as CNN, ESPN, the New York Post, Barstool Sports and the Asbury Park Press with more than 1.2 million combined views for a total publicity value in excess of $10.6 million, per Meltwater. FDU and the elevator event was mentioned in over 320 articles, with pieces in several international publications, including the Daily Mail (United Kingdom) and ESPN Australia, among others.

FDU received 8,100 mentions across X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram, resulting in 97.2 million impressions and 187,000 engagements, according to renowned firm First & First Consulting.

@FDUKnightsMBB, the official X account of the men's basketball program, posted a final score graphic after the triumph with a caption that read: "Going UP! Just not in that elevator." The post was shared more than 180 times with 3,600 likes and over 343,000 views, all metrics which factored into the above.

"While the incident itself was quite entertaining, I thought how FDU followed up on the moment on social media was brilliant," said First & First Consulting Founder and CEO Devon Zdatny. "We're constantly pushing our clients to be unafraid to have fun at their own expense. FDU embraced this moment with humor and fearlessness. It's a best-in-class example I'll be using with clients for many years to come."

FDU men's basketball, the Cinderella team of last season's NCAA tournament with a historic upset of #1 Purdue in the first round, the second time ever a 16-seed defeated a one-seed in March Madness, returns to action on Thursday, Feb. 22 at 7 p.m. ET at Sacred Heart live on NEC Front Row and the NEC on the Run app.

Connect with FDU men's basketball on X and Instagram, @FDUKnightsMBB.

Bogota Savings Bank is the presenting sponsor for the 2023-24 FDU men's basketball season