Utah Valley Wolverines

The Utah Valley University (UVU) Wolverines represent Utah Valley University in NCAA DI collegiate athletics and sponsor 16 sporting programs. The Wolverines participate in the Western Athletic Conference.[1] The school mascot is the Wolverine, and the colors are green and white.[2] The UVU student section is called The Den. A name change from The Mawl, the student section's previous name, was enacted summer 2017. All UVU students can get their free Den Pass, which includes free admission to all athletic events.

Utah Valley University Wolverines
UniversityUtah Valley University
ConferenceWestern Athletic Conference & Big 12 Conference (wrestling)
NCAADivision I
Athletic directorJared Sumsion
LocationOrem, Utah
Varsity teams16 (8 men's and 8 women's)
Basketball arenaUCCU Center
Baseball stadiumUCCU Ballpark
Softball stadiumWolverine Stadium
Soccer stadiumClyde Field
NicknameWolverines
Websitewww.gouvu.com
Western Athletic Conference in Utah Valley's colors

Conference affiliation

The Wolverines joined the Great West Conference in 2008.[3] 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.[4] They have 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.[5] 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

Utah Valley University currently sponsors eight men's and eight women's teams in NCAA sanctioned sports:

Men's sports Women's sports
BaseballBasketball
BasketballCross country
Cross countryGolf
GolfSoccer
SoccerSoftball
Track and field†Track and field†
WrestlingVolleyball
† – Track and field includes both indoor and outdoor

Men’s Basketball
Main article: Utah Valley Wolverines men's basketball

The 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,[6] which capped off its 26th winning season in a row. The team is coached by two-time National Basketball Association champion Mark Madsen of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Women’s Basketball
Main article: Utah Valley Wolverines women's basketball

Baseball

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 is also the home of the Orem Owlz, a minor-league affiliate of Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, that competes in the Pioneer Baseball League.

Soccer

The men's and women's soccer team play at Clyde Field, and has seated over 2,800 fans. 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 just three years ago. The men's team also took first place in the WAC just a year later in 2016.

Track and field

The 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.

Wrestling
Main article: Utah Valley Wolverines wrestling

Club sports

The school also fields several non-varsity teams including, men's volleyball, men's lacrosse, and men's and women's rugby.

The school dropped its men's club ice hockey team in 2009, to bring it back in 2017 under new management and is currently thriving[7] it competed in ACHA Division 2, and played its home games at the Peaks Ice Arena, a 2002 Winter Olympics hockey venue. An effort has been started internally on campus to develop an NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Division 1 Program. This project tentatively has its eyes set on fielding the first Division 1 team by the 2027-2028 Season. Work is underway to secure funding after having completed a successful feasibility study through private donations and fundraising. The current plans include building a 10,000 seat hockey specific arena on the recently acquired UVU Geneva Campus which would include 3 addition NHL sized sheets of ice to help grow hockey in Utah Valley as well as facilities dedicated to UVU Men's (and eventually women's) hockey's student athletes.

Alumni

References
  1. https://gouvu.com/staff-directory
  2. "Utah Valley University". NCAA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
  3. New Great West Conference Archived August 3, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  4. http://www.wolverinegreen.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/hunsaker_dick00.html
  5. "Utah Valley University joyously accepts invitation to join the WAC". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 7 December 2012.
  6. "Seniors Go Out with Big Win". Utah Valley Wolverines. March 4, 2009. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  7. Hemsley, Landon (2010). "UVU backs out of scheduled hockey game against Aggies". Usu-tube.com. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
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