The Great West Conference (GWC) was an NCAA college athletic conference in the continental United States. Originally a football-only league, it became an all-sports entity during the 2008–09 season. The GWC stopped sponsoring football following the 2011 season. The conference became defunct when four of the remaining five full member schools became members of other conferences on July 1, 2013.
The Horizon League is a collegiate athletic conference in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Headquartered in Indianapolis, the league's eleven member schools are located in and near the Great Lakes region.
Mark Edward Pope is an American basketball coach and former player who is the nineteenth and current head coach of the Brigham Young University men's basketball team. He played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats, where he was part of the Wildcats' 1996 NCAA championship team, and the Washington Huskies, where he was the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year. He later played professionally in the National Basketball Association for the Indiana Pacers, Milwaukee Bucks and Denver Nuggets.
An automatic bid is a bid or berth to a tournament, granted based on performance in prior competition, and not based on subjective picking. It is used in the United States in all professional sports, in which all playoff bids are automatic and determined by objective formulae; in college sports, all divisions use a mix of automatic bids and subjective selections to seed the postseason tournaments.
The North Dakota State Bison are the athletic teams of North Dakota State University (NDSU), which is located in the city of Fargo, North Dakota. The teams are often called the "Thundering Herd". The current logo is a bison.
The Houston Cougars men's basketball team represents the University of Houston in Houston, Texas, in the NCAA Division I men's basketball competition. They compete as members of the Big 12 Conference. The program has made six appearances in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four, which is tied for 10th most all-time, along with the most for any team who has not won a national championship.
The Valparaiso Beacons men's basketball team represents Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Indiana. The basketball team competes in the Missouri Valley Conference, having joined that league in 2017 after 10 seasons in the Horizon League. The Beacons play in the Athletics-Recreation Center, which has a nominal capacity of 5,432. The record capacity 5,444 was reached on March 23, 2016, in the NIT Quarterfinal. The team last played in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament in 2015.
The Utah Utes men's basketball team, also known as the Runnin' Utes, represents the University of Utah as an NCAA Division I program that plays in the Pac-12 Conference. They play their home games at the Jon M. Huntsman Center. The school has made the NCAA tournament 29 times, which ranks 20th in NCAA history and tied for third most appearances behind UCLA and the University of Arizona in the Western United States. They last made the tournament in 2016. Utah won the NCAA Championship in 1944, defeating Dartmouth College 42–40 for the school's only NCAA basketball championship. However, the school also claims the 1916 AAU National Championship, which was awarded after winning the AAU national tournament. They have also won the NIT once, defeating Kentucky in 1947. In 1998, the Utes played in the NCAA championship game, losing to Kentucky.
The Grand Valley State Lakers are the intercollegiate athletic teams of Grand Valley State University, located in Allendale, Michigan, United States. The GVSU Lakers compete at the NCAA Division II level and are members of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC).
The Charleston Cougars are the varsity intercollegiate athletic teams representing the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina. The Cougars compete in NCAA Division I and are currently members of the Coastal Athletic Association. The university sponsors 20 varsity sports teams including men and women's basketball, cross country, golf, soccer and tennis; women's-only dance team, equestrian, beach volleyball, softball, track and field and volleyball; men's-only baseball; and co-ed sailing and cheerleading. The university's most successful sports are co-ed sailing, which has won 14 national championships since 1986, women's volleyball, which has qualified for the NCAA Tournament seven times since 2002 and men's baseball, which has qualified for the NCAA Tournament seven times since 2004.
The Charleston Cougars men's basketball team is an NCAA Division I college basketball team representing the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina. The Cougars compete in the Coastal Athletic Association. Home games are played at TD Arena, located on College of Charleston's campus. While a member of the NAIA, they were National Champions in 1983. The Cougars have appeared seven times in the NCAA tournament, most recently in 2024.
Kelly Lee Graves is the current head women's basketball coach at the University of Oregon. Previously, Graves was the head women's basketball coach at St. Mary's from 1997 to 2000, as well as Gonzaga University from 2000 to 2014. He was formerly an assistant coach for the Portland Pilots (1994–1997) and St. Mary Gaels, where he later got his first head coaching stint with the Gaels from 1997 to 2000. From the 2004–2005 season to the 2013–2014 season, he guided Gonzaga to ten consecutive West Coast Conference regular season titles. The 2007 team went 13–1 in conference play, and later won the WCC conference tournament. The school also received its first ever NCAA tournament appearance. He was named WCC co-coach of the year for his accomplishments. In 2005, 2010, and 2011, Gonzaga went undefeated in WCC regular season play.
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. The school mascot is the Wolverine, and the colors are green and white. The UVU student section is called The Den. A name change from The Mawl, the student section's previous name, was enacted in 2017. All UVU students can get their Den pass, which includes free admission to all athletic events.
The Bradley Braves men's basketball team represents Bradley University, located in Peoria, Illinois, in NCAA Division I basketball competition. They compete as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference. The Braves are currently coached by Brian Wardle and play their home games at Carver Arena.
The Utah State Aggies are a Division I men's college basketball team that plays in the Mountain West Conference, representing Utah State University. In the 17 years that former coach Stew Morrill was at the helm, Utah State had the 4th highest winning percentage in the nation at home, behind only Duke, Kansas, and Gonzaga. As of the end of the 2023–24 regular season, the Aggies have an all-time record of 1,719 wins and 1,168 losses.
The Chicago State Cougars men's basketball team represents Chicago State University in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The team currently competes as an independent and is led by third-year coach Gerald Gillion, who was hired on July 19, 2021. The Cougars play their home games at the Emil and Patricia Jones Convocation Center. The Cougars currently do not play in an NCAA Division I conference after departing from the WAC in 2022. After the 2023–24 season, Chicago State will join the Northeast Conference.
The 2011 Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) was an annual single-elimination tournament of 64 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I teams that were not selected to participate in the 2011 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament. The tournament was played entirely on campus sites. The highest-ranked team in each conference that did not receive a bid to the NCAA Tournament received an automatic bid to this tournament. The remaining slots were filled by the WNIT Selection Committee. In the championship game, the Toledo Rockets defeated the USC Trojans, 76–68, before a sellout crowd of 7,301 at Savage Arena in Toledo, Ohio. The tournament MVP, Naama Shafir, scored a career-high 40 points to lead the Rockets.
The Kent State Golden Flashes women's basketball team represents Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, United States. The Golden Flashes compete in the Mid-American Conference and last played in the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament in 2024. Founded in 1973 as a club team, the Kent State women's basketball team received varsity status in 1975 and played their first official game in January 1976. Through the 2023–24 season, the Flashes have six total appearances in the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament along with four Mid-American Conference tournament championships, five MAC overall titles, and nine MAC East division titles. Home games are held at the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center, which has been the team's home venue since 1977. The head coach is Todd Starkey, who was hired April 19, 2016.
The 2022–23 Chicago State Cougars men's basketball team represented Chicago State University in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cougars, led by second-year head coach Gerald Gillion, played their home games at the Jones Convocation Center in Chicago, Illinois and competed as an independent with no conference affiliation.
The 2022–23 Utah Valley Wolverines men's basketball team represented Utah Valley University in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Wolverines, led by fourth-year head coach Mark Madsen, played their home games at the UCCU Center in Orem, Utah, and competed as members of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). They finished with an overall record of 24–7, 15–3 in WAC play, to finish in first place. In the 2023 WAC tournament, they defeated Tarleton in the quarterfinals before losing to Southern Utah in the semifinals the following day. As the conference leader who didn't win their tournament, they were offered an automatic bid to play in the NIT. They defeated New Mexico, Colorado, and Cincinnati to reach the semifinal round, where they finally fell to UAB in overtime, 86–88. With a final record of 28–9, the 2022–23 season marked the Wolverine's most successful season to date as a D-I program.
