Continuing a tradition that started in the early 1960’s, the Acadia basketball Axemen were a powerhouse aggregation in 1971. They won 30 of 32 games during the year, culminating the season with a homecourt CIAU tournament victory. The Axemen, led by All-Canadian and tourney MVP Rick Eaton, defeated Concordia University, University of Windsor and University of Manitoba en route to the title. Coach Gib Chapman was able to call on tourney all-stars Gary Folker and Peter Phipps along with sharp-shooting guard Steve Pound to give the Axemen the national crown.

Members of the team were: Bill Barrett (manager), Jon Beausang, Gib Chapman (Coach), Terry Condon, Rick Eaton (co-captain), Tom Farrington, Gary Folker, James Logue (assistant coach), Bruiser McGee, Harvey Mills (trainer), Fred Moczulski, Peter Phipps, Willis Porter (manager), Steve Pound (co-captain), Freeman Schofield, Tom Staines, Paul Talbot.