Utah Valley Wolverines men's basketball

The Utah Valley Wolverines men's basketball team is a team that represents Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, United States. The team is currently coached by Todd Phillips.[2] The school's team currently competes in the Western Athletic Conference of NCAA Division I college basketball. Its home games are played in the UCCU Center on the school's Orem, Utah campus. The Wolverines have yet to appear in the NCAA tournament since moving to Division I. The Wolverines joined the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) in 2013 as part of the early-2010s NCAA conference realignment.

Utah Valley Wolverines men's Basketball
2024–25 Utah Valley Wolverines men's basketball team
UniversityUtah Valley University
Head coachTodd Phillips (2nd season)
ConferenceWestern Athletic Conference
LocationOrem, Utah
ArenaUCCU Center
(capacity: 8,500)
NicknameWolverines
ColorsGreen and white[1]
   
Conference regular season champions
Great West: 2011, 2012

WAC: 2014, 2021, 2023

Overview and history

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Utah Valley University basketball began in the 1984–85 season. The Wolverines competed in the Scenic West Athletic Conference of the National Junior College Athletic Association until the 2003–04 season, when they moved up to Division I (provisional status) and the Great West Conference. They are the only team in NCAA history to move directly to Division I from the NJCAA. After spending five seasons in the Great West, the Wolverines moved to the Western Athletic Conference, with the rest of Utah Valley University's intercollegiate sports teams. Utah Valley was granted full Division I status in July of 2009. UVU has only been a Division I full status member for 15 seasons.

Seasons

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Statistics overview
Season Coach Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Utah Valley State College (Independent1) (2003–2008)
2003–04 Dick Hunsaker 23–5
2004–05 Dick Hunsaker 16–12
2005–06 Dick Hunsaker 16–13
2006–07 Dick Hunsaker 22–7
2007–08 Dick Hunsaker 15–14
Utah Valley (Great West Conference[3]) (2008–2013)
2008–09 Dick Hunsaker 17–11 N/A2
2009–10 Dick Hunsaker 12–18 5–7 T-3rd
2010–11 Dick Hunsaker 19–11 11–1 1st
2011–12 Dick Hunsaker 20–13 9–1 1st CIT First Round
2012–13 Dick Hunsaker 14–18 3–5 T-3rd
Utah Valley (Western Athletic Conference[4]) (2013–present)
2013–14 Dick Hunsaker 20–12 13–3 1st NIT First Round
2014–15 Dick Hunsaker 11–19 5–9 6th
2015–16 Mark Pope[5] 12–18 6–8 5th
2016–17 Mark Pope 17–17 6–8 5th CBI Semifinals
2017–18 Mark Pope 23–11 10–4 2nd CBI Quarterfinals
2018–19 Mark Pope 25–10 12–4 2nd CBI Quarterfinals
2019–20 Mark Madsen 11–19 5–10 8th
2020–21 Mark Madsen 11–11 9–4 T-1st
2021–22 Mark Madsen 20–12 10–8 4th
2022–23 Mark Madsen 28–9 15–3 1st NIT Semifinals
2023–24 Todd Phillips 16–16 11–9 T-4th
Total:

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

  1. ^ Before 2003 Utah Valley State College was a Junior College. They received approval to begin transition to D1 status in Spring 2003. JC transitions to D1 require a 6-year transition period, meaning they weren't eligible for NCAA or NIT Tournament appearances until the 2009–10 season.
  2. ^ The Great West Conference announced the teams that were invited to join their conference during spring 2008. However most of the teams already had scheduled Independent schedules for the 2008–2009 season, so the conference held off on scheduling regular season matches and a conference tournament until 2009–10.

Postseason results

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NIT results

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The Wolverines have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) two times. Their combined record is 3–2.

Year Round Opponent Result
2014 First Round California L 64–77
2023 First Round
Second Round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
New Mexico
Colorado
Cincinnati
UAB
W 83–69
W 81–69
W 74-68
L 86–88OT

CIT results

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The Wolverines have appeared in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) one time. Their record is 0–1.

Year Round Opponent Result
2012 First round Weber State L 69–72

CBI results

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The Wolverines have appeared in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) three times. Their combined record is 4–3.

Year Round Opponent Result
2017 First round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Georgia Southern
Rice
Wyoming
W 74–49
W 85–79
L 68–74
2018 First round
Quarterfinals
Eastern Washington
San Francisco
W 87–65
L 73–78
2019 First round
Quarterfinals
Cal State Northridge
South Florida
W 92–84
L 57–66

Wolverines in the NBA

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3 former Utah Valley players have played at least one game in the NBA.

Name Draft Year Draft Team
Travis Hansen 2003 Atlanta Hawks
Michael McDonald 1995 Golden State Warriors
Ronnie Price 2005 Undrafted

References

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  1. ^ "Official University Color". Utah Valley University Style Guide (PDF). March 25, 2019. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
  2. ^ Dallas, Kelsey (6 April 2023). "UVU has chosen its next head basketball coach". Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  3. ^ "Utah Valley Joins Great West Conference". KSL. Retrieved 2008-07-10.
  4. ^ "UVU officially joins the WAC". Provo Daily Herald. Retrieved 2013-07-01.
  5. ^ "UVU hires BYU assistant Mark Pope as new basketball coach". Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 2015-03-30.
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