The college basketball offseason is here, and we decided to have some fun over the next few months, ranking ALL 364 teams in D1. Number 198 is Utah Valley basketball.
Before you say we’re crazy – or that all of this is up for debate, let’s go over the very intricate process of how we came to this conclusion. We took a very statistical approach – with the help of Chat GPT – taking into consideration everything from March Madness wins and finishes, to AP Poll appearances, to conference players of the year. And then, a good friend of ours, Scott Blanchard, took our approach to the MAX.
Click here to visit the FIRST article, which explains how the formula works!
Here’s the breakdown of Utah Valley basketball!
NCAA Tournament Success
- Championships: 0
- Finals appearances: 0
- Final Fours: 0
- Elite Eights: 0
- Sweet 16s: 0
- NCAA wins: 0
- Bids: 0
Consistency Over Time
- Wins per season: 18.0
- Bids per season: 0
- AP Polls: 0
Player Quality & Talent
- All-Americans: 0
- NBA players drafted & played: 0
- Conference Players of the Year: 4
Conference & Other Success
- Conference regular season titles: 7
- Conference tournament titles: 0
- NIT titles: 0
- Other tournament titles: 0
Overall scoop on Utah Valley basketball
At No. 198, Utah Valley basketball is the final program remaining with ZERO NCAA Tournament bids.
But in 22 seasons, the Wolverines have won seven regular season conference titles, one about every three years. Those have come in the Great West Conference (2011 and 2012) and the WAC (2014, 2021, 2023, 2025, and 2026).
Utah Valley actually started out as an Independent from 2004-09, going above .500 in each of their first five seasons there. In 2006-07, they finished 22-7.
But upon joining the GWC, the program was the cream of the (small) crop. It was a conference made up of some new programs to DI with very few accomplishments, and it fit UVU well to start off.
But the WCC proved to be the right move, as the Wolverinies adjusted quickly to the better conference and have arguably been one of the best programs over the past decade. In fact, in 13 seasons in the WAC, they’ve gone below .500 in conference just four times.
Head coaching has also been a key component of Utah Valley’s success. It started with Dick Hunsaker, who took the head coaching job in 2002 and helped them make the transition to DI. At that level, Hunsaker went 182-148 and was named the GWC Coach of the Year twice, once being named the WAC Coach of the Year.
After Hunsaker was the current Kentucky coach, Mark Pope. Pope had two 20-win seasons in four years, going 77-56, and earning himself the BYU job. Pope was replaced by Mark Madsen, who also had two 20-win seasons in four years and went 70-51, leading to the Cal job. Currently, Todd Phillips has had back-to-back 25-win seasons, looking for another in his fourth season, and hoping to finally bring this program to March Madness.
Besides coaches, there have been some great college players for Utah Valley, with Fardaws Aimaq as the most notable. Click here to read a past interview we did with him.
Things might get tougher for the program as they are set to join the Big West this summer. The WAC famously almost didn’t let them play in the conference tournament over an exit payment, which would have nixed their March Madness chances. But they did play, and fell to Cal Baptist, who would represent the WAC instead.
Utah Valley seems so close to finally making the big dance; it’s getting ridiculous. Other than that, they’ve done so much in such a short time in Division I hoops.