Vanderbilt University is a private, nonsectarian, coeducational research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Vanderbilt was founded in 1873 with a gift of $1 million by shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt who, despite having never been to the South, hoped his gift and the greater work of the university would help to heal the sectional wounds inflicted by the Civil War. Today, Vanderbilt enrolls around 11,000 students in ten schools—four undergraduate and six graduate and professional.

Vanderbilt is a charter member of the Southeastern Conference, in which it is the only private school, in Division I of the NCAA.

Vanderbilt's basketball teams are nicknamed the Commodores, in honor of the nickname given to Cornelius Vanderbilt, who made his fortune in shipping. Thus, students and alumni refer to Vanderbilt athletic teams as "Dores" or use the cheer, "Go Dores!" It has also been reported, particularly by alumni from the era, that Vanderbilt students during the McCarthy era referred to Vanderbilt teams by the moniker "Commies," in a droll allusion to the Red Scare of the 1950s.

The term commodore was used by the Navy during the mid- to late-nineteenth century. A commodore was the commanding officer of a task force of ships, and therefore higher in rank than a captain but lower in rank than an admiral. The closest parallel to this now-defunct rank is rear admiral lower-half. (In the Royal Navy, the designation of commodore was applied to the commanding officer of a convoy in the Second World War.)

Since the term was used most during the late nineteenth century—and because it was then that Cornelius received his nickname—Vanderbilt's mascot is always portrayed as a naval officer from the 1880s, complete with chops, cutlass, and nineteenth-century naval regalia.

The school colors are black and gold. Opinions vary as to the reason for selecting black and gold as the colors for Vanderbilt's teams. Some say the original colors were orange and black, given to the university by Judge W.L. Granbery of Princeton. Many say that Commodore Vanderbilt's legacy was called upon to develop school colors for the university that bears his name: black for the magnate's control of coal and gold for his money.

When questioned about the subject in the 1930s, the few remaining members of the school's first football squad from 1890 did not recall why they suddenly began appearing in black and gold. Whatever the source of the colors, by 1892, the Commodores were known by the colors that the Vanderbilt faithful still wear today.

Vanderbilt's primary rival in almost every sport is their in-state nemesis, the University of Tennessee.
Memorial Gymnasium, usually called Memorial Gym or simply Memorial, is located on the western end of the Vanderbilt University campus. It was built in 1952 and currently has a seating capacity of 14,168. Ingram Court in Memorial Gym serves as home court for the school's men's and women's basketball programs.

At the time of its construction, there was a serious discussion within the Vanderbilt community about whether the school should de-emphasize intercollegiate athletics. As a compromise, the gymnasium was built to hold only about 9,000 seats, and it would be readily adaptable to other uses. Consequently, the gymnasium floor was built up above its surroundings, more in the nature of a stage. The areas out of bounds along the sidelines were very wide, in contrast with the small facility which it replaced, where the walls were right along the sidelines and players could scrape their shoulders bringing the ball up the court. This necessitated the placement of the benches at the end of the court, which was not highly unusual at the time. In addition, each goal is anchored by two far-reaching beams attached to support columns, with extra support coming from cables stretching all the way to the gym's ceiling. In the case of a backboard shatter or beam fracture, replacing these goals would be highly difficult, compared to the usual goal setup at most venues.

Memorial Gym is well-known for its unusual design. The end-of-the-floor bench location is now unique in major college basketball, and said to give Vanderbilt a tremendous home court advantage, since no other facility in which opponents play is arranged in such a way.