Utah Tech Trailblazers | |||
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University | Utah Tech University | ||
First season | 2006–07 (NCAA) | ||
Head coach | Jon Judkins (20th season) | ||
Conference | Western Athletic Conference | ||
Location | St. George, Utah | ||
Arena | Burns Arena (capacity: 4,779) | ||
Nickname | Trailblazers | ||
Colors | Red, navy blue, and white [1] | ||
NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen | |||
Division II: 2011 | |||
NCAA tournament round of 32 | |||
Division II: 2011 | |||
NCAA tournament appearances | |||
Division II: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2020 | |||
Conference tournament champions | |||
Pacific West: 2013, 2018 |
The Utah Tech Trailblazers men's basketball team represents Utah Tech University (formerly known as Dixie State), in St. George, Utah as a member of NCAA Division I and the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). Previously, the school's program participated in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC), at the NCAA Division II level.
The Trailblazers are currently led by seventeenth-year head coach Jon Judkins.
The team plays its games at the Burns Arena on its campus in St. George.
In 2022, the university changed its name from Dixie State University to Utah Tech University. The name change was made in mid-May, ahead of the legal change on July 1. The "Trailblazers" nickname was not affected.
Dixie College, as the school was then known, experienced tremendous success as a junior college. In 1985, Dixie won its first national title, defeating Kankakee Community College, 57–55. National player of the year Averian Parrish and Brent Stephenson were the leading players on the 35–1 team coached by Neil Roberts. In 2012, the 1984–85 team was inducted into the school's Hall of Fame. [2] Parrish and Roberts have been both been inducted into the school's Hall of Fame. [3] [4]
Dixie went to the Final Four in 2001 behind the play of future NBA player Marcus Banks. The following year, Dixie won its second national title behind the play of Jaime Lloreda. Jeff Kidder was the head coach for Dixie's second title run.
Dixie transitioned to Division II in 2007.
Dixie State enjoyed its best run in Division II when led by Tom Whitehead, a two-time first All-Pace West selection. Whitehead, teamed with players like Jeremiah Barnes, Zach Robbins, and Andy Palmer, led Dixie to a share of the 2010 Pac-West title and their first tournament berth. The following season, the Red Storm, as they were then called, were even better. Seeded as No. 4 in the West, they made it to the Sweet 16. Barnes scored 22 points to lift to Dixie their first-ever tournament win over Chaminade. Whitehead had 17 as Dixie beat top-seeded Seattle Pacific. Dixie lost a close game to rival BYU-Hawaii in the Sweet 16.
The Trailblazers appeared in nine NCAA Division II Tournaments. Their combined record is 2–8.
Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2010 | First Round | Cal Poly Pomona | L 62–71 |
2011 | First Round Second Round Regional Finals | Chaminade Seattle Pacific BYU Hawaii | W 92–81 W 75–73 L 73–79 |
2012 | First Round | Seattle Pacific | L 68–70 |
2013 | First Round | CSU San Bernardino | L 69–75 |
2014 | First Round | Cal Poly Pomona | L 63–73 |
2015 | First Round | Cal Poly Pomona | L 60–62 |
2017 | First Round | UC San Diego | L 68–94 |
2018 | First Round | Azusa Pacific | L 65–69 |
2020 | First Round | Colorado Mines | Cancelled |
Utah Tech University (UT), formerly Dixie State University (DSU), is a polytechnic 4-year public university in St. George, Utah. The university offers doctoral degrees, master's degrees, bachelor's degrees, associate degrees, and certifications. As of fall 2022, there are 12,556 students enrolled at UT.
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Burns Arena is a multi-purpose arena in St. George, Utah. It is the home of the Utah Tech Trailblazers basketball teams. The capacity of the arena is 5,000 people. It is located near Bruce Hurst Field and Greater Zion Stadium. There are 4,779 permanent seats at Burns Arena in 14 sections. It was built in 1987 as the Dixie Center. By the time the current incarnation of Dixie Center opened in 1998, the arena took its present name. It is named after M. Anthony Burns.
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The Utah Tech Trailblazers, formerly known as the Dixie State Trailblazers, the Dixie State Red Storm and the Dixie State Rebels, are the 15 varsity athletic teams that represent Utah Tech University, located in St. George, Utah, in NCAA Division I intercollegiate sports. The Trailblazers compete as members of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC); in football, the school competes in the second level of D-I football, the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), in the United Athletic Conference (UAC). The UAC was formed after the 2022 football season as a merger of the football leagues of the WAC and the ASUN Conference.
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The 2020–21 Dixie State Trailblazers men's basketball team represented Dixie State University, now Utah Tech University, in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Trailblazers, led by 16th-year head coach Jon Judkins, played their home games at Burns Arena in St. George, Utah as members of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).
The 2021 Dixie State Trailblazers football team represented Dixie State University—now known as Utah Tech University—as a member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) during the 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by third-year head coach Paul Peterson and played their home games at Greater Zion Stadium in St. George, Utah. Due to the NCAA's transition rules, they were not eligible for the 2021 FCS Playoffs. Dixie State did not play a full WAC schedule in 2021 due to previous non-conference contracts.
The 2021–22 Dixie State Trailblazers men's basketball team represented Dixie State University in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Trailblazers, led by 17th-year head coach Jon Judkins, played their home games at Burns Arena in St. George, Utah as members of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).
The 2022–23 Utah Tech Trailblazers men's basketball team represented Utah Tech University in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Trailblazers, led by 18th-year head coach Jon Judkins, played home games at Burns Arena in St. George, Utah as members of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).
The 2022–23 WAC men's basketball season began with practices in October 2022 followed by the start of the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November 2022. The conference began play in December 2022. This is the WAC's 61st season of basketball. The WAC competed again with 13 teams with two teams leaving the conference and two teams joining the conference from the prior year. Chicago State turned independent and Lamar moved to the Southland Conference. Southern Utah University joins from the Big Sky Conference and UT Arlington joins from the Sun Belt Conference. Dixie State was also renamed as Utah Tech. Each WAC member played an 18-game conference schedule. The WAC tournament was held March 6–11, 2023 at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.