The Utah Valley Wolverines represent Utah Valley University in NCAA DI collegiate athletics and sponsor 16 sporting programs. The Wolverines participate in the Western Athletic Conference.[2] The school mascot is the Wolverine, and the colors are green and white.[3] The UVU student section is called The Den. A name change from The Mawl, the student section's previous name, was enacted in 2017.
| Utah Valley Wolverines | |
|---|---|
 | |
| University | Utah Valley University |
| Conference | WAC (primary) Big 12 (wrestling) |
| NCAA | Division I |
| Athletic director | Dr. Jared Sumsion |
| Location | Orem, Utah |
| Varsity teams | 16 (8 men's and 8 women's) |
| Basketball arena | UCCU Center |
| Baseball stadium | UCCU Ballpark |
| Softball stadium | Wolverine Stadium |
| Soccer stadium | Clyde Field |
| Nickname | Wolverines |
| Colors | Green and white[1] |
| Website | gouvu |
 | |
Conference affiliation
editThe Wolverines joined the Great West Conference in 2008.[4] Utah Valley State College was originally a member of the NJCAA and moved to NCAA Division I in 2003. The school became Utah Valley University in 2008 and a full Division I member in the 2009–10 season following a five-year transition period as a Division I independent.[5]
They won the GWC Commissioner's Cup each year they have competed in the conference. Each year the Cup is awarded to the institution that performed best overall in GWC-sponsored sports. They joined the Western Athletic Conference July 1, 2013.
UVU officially accepted an invitation to join the Western Athletic Conference in all sports (with the exception of wrestling) on October 9, 2012. They became a full member on July 1, 2013, and began WAC play in the 2013–14 school year. With this move, UVU also added men's soccer in 2014.[6] The school's wrestling team remained a member of the Western Wrestling Conference (WWC) through the 2014–15 school year. The WWC then disbanded when all of its members accepted an offer of single-sport membership in the Big 12 Conference.
Varsity sports
editUtah Valley University currently sponsors eight men's and eight women's teams in NCAA sanctioned sports:
| Men's sports | Women's sports |
|---|---|
| Baseball | Basketball |
| Basketball | Cross country |
| Cross country | Golf |
| Golf | Soccer |
| Soccer | Softball |
| Track and field† | Track and field† |
| Wrestling | Volleyball |
| † – Track and field includes both indoor and outdoor | |
Men’s basketball
editThe Wolverines play their home basketball games in the 8,500-seat Utah Community Credit Union Center. The men's basketball team finished the 2008–09 season with a 17–11 record,[7] which capped off its 26th winning season in a row. The team is coached by Todd Phillips.
Women’s basketball
editBaseball
edit.jpg)
The baseball team plays at UCCU Ballpark, a 2,500-seat facility (3,000 additional fans can sit on a grass berm that wraps around third base and left field, bringing total capacity to 5,500) that opened on March 25, 2005. UCCU Ballpark was also the home of the Orem Owlz, a minor-league affiliate of Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, that competed in the Pioneer Baseball League.
Soccer
editThe men's and women's soccer team will play at UCCU Stadium, a new stadium build upon the existing Clyde Field, which will open for the 2025-26 season. The women's team were ranked 23rd nationally in 2015 for average attendance in the nation. They were also crowned the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) tournament champions that year, leading them to their first ever appearance in the NCAA tournament in school history. The men's team has also been growing over the years, having only become a part of the school in 2015. The men's team also took first place in the WAC just a year later in 2016. In the 2023-24 season, the women's team went 12-5-2 (6-0-1) and averaged 2.68 goals per game, fifth in the nation.[8]
Track and field
editThe Track and Field team for Utah Valley competes at Hal Wing Track and Field. The Head coach of the track team is Scott Houle. Under Coach Houle the team has won 31 conference championships, had 12 second-place finishes, and he has won 31 coach of the year awards. The team has also had 28 individual NCAA Regional Qualifiers and had 51 Individual events qualified to the NCAA Regional Championships. There has also be 23 USTFCCCA All-Academic individuals as well. So far the track team has had 4 All-Americans, 3 in outdoor and 1 in indoor.
Women's volleyball
editWrestling
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Utah Valley University's wrestling team remained a member of the Western Wrestling Conference (WWC) through the 2014–15 school year. The WWC then disbanded when all of its members accepted an offer of single-sport membership in the Big 12 Conference. UVU was led by Coach Greg Williams for 18 seasons before his retirement in 2024. UVU announced the hire of New Head Coach Adam Hall, who was previously the Associate Head Coach at NC State. Hall competed for Boise State University, where he was an All-American.
Non-varsity sports
editThe school also fields several non-varsity teams including, men's ice hockey, men's volleyball, men's lacrosse, and men's and women's rugby.
The Men's Lacrosse Program competes in the MCLA, in the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Conference. Since 2019 the program has seen a meteoric rise, most recently winning the RMLC in 2023, and making a run to the MCLA national tournament's quarterfinals.
The men's hockey program was renewed in 2016, originally starting as a business student’s capstone project. After the first two seasons of the revived program, major changes were made to help facilitate on campus growth and the success of the team. The team currently plays as an ACHA D2 member, with short term goals of advancing to ACHA D1. There is tremendous interest among the student body with the ACHA Hockey team bringing close to capacity crowds several times a season. All games and practices are held at Peaks Ice Arena in Provo, Utah. In addition to this ACHA program, the athletic department at UVU has been pursuing adding NCAA D1 Men’s and Women’s hockey to campus. A feasibility study was completed, the results of which showed tremendous potential for a successful program. Currently, the school is working on efforts to raise the funds necessary to start and sustain the program for five years. The school has plans to construct a 5,000-7,000 seat arena on the newly acquired Geneva Campus 10 minutes away from main campus UVU. The initial target was to have a team competing by the 2027 season start. However, due to COVID-19 and financial woes it has been pushed to 2030.[citation needed]
Rivalries
editSince its move to Division 1, UVU has maintained rivalries with the BYU Cougars, Utah Tech Trailblazers, and Southern Utah Thunderbirds.
UCCU Crosstown Clash
editUVU and BYU are separated by just 3.4 miles from each other on University Parkway. The schools meet across men's and women's basketball, women's soccer, volleyball, baseball, and softball. Whilst BYU dominated the rivalry early on, recent seasons have seen the Wolverines win twice in a row against BYU in men's basketball, and UVU's women's soccer program upset the Cougars in both Provo and at home, as recent as August of 2024.
Utah Valley and Utah Tech have had rivalry meetings way back since both schools were at the junior college level. When Utah Tech announced they would be joining Division 1 in the Western Athletic Conference, the schools announced they would renew the Old Hammer Rivalry as they would now be conference foes. The schools match up in men's and women's soccer, volleyball, men's and women's basketball, softball, and baseball.
UVU - SUU Rivalry
editWhilst not official, the Wolverines have also seen an emerging rivalry with the Southern Utah Thunderbirds, particularly in men's basketball. This has only increased since SUU also joined the WAC in 2022.[10]
Alumni
edit- Christopher Fogt – Olympic silver medalist in four-man Bobsleigh
- Matt Gay - Professional football player (two seasons at UVU before transfer to University of Utah)
- Travis Hansen – former basketball player for the Atlanta Hawks of the NBA
- Noelle Pikus-Pace – American skeleton racer and silver medalist at the 2014 Winter Olympics
- Ronnie Price – basketball player for the Utah Jazz of the NBA
References
edit- ^ "Official University Color". Utah Valley University Style Guide (PDF). March 25, 2019. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
- ^ "Staff Directory".
- ^ "Utah Valley University". NCAA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
- ^ New Great West Conference Archived August 3, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "UTAH VALLEY OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE – Men's Basketball". www.wolverinegreen.com. Archived from the original on 2009-03-30.
- ^ "Utah Valley University joyously accepts invitation to join the WAC". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 7 December 2012.
- ^ "Seniors Go Out with Big Win". Utah Valley Wolverines. March 4, 2009. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
- ^ "NCAA Statistics". stats.ncaa.org. Retrieved 2024-12-13.
- ^ "Utah Valley, Dixie State Announce 'The Old Hammer Rivalry'". 10 February 2021.
- ^ "Southern Utah Announces Move to Western Athletic Conference". SUU. Retrieved 2023-03-10.
External links
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