Utah Utes

NCAA Division: Division I

Conference: Pac-12

Past Conferences:  MWC, WAC, MSAC, Ind

City: Salt Lake City, Utah

Stadium: Jon M. Huntsman Center

NCAA Tournaments: 1944, 1945, 1955, 1956, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1966, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1983, 1986, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2009, 2015, 2016

Championships:

         National Championships: 1

       Conference Titles: 5

Team History

The Utah Utes men’s basketball began to play during the 1908-1909 season. While the program has had its share of amazing moments, it has also been subpar at times, with struggles plaguing the program.

In 1916, the school’s basketball team won its first national championship, also known as the National AAU Tournament. Although it would take a few years before the team became relevant on the big stage, Vadal Peterson would help build the program from the ground up.

As a member of the Mountain States Athletic Conference, Peterson would have the longest tenure compared to any other person who had the opportunity to lead the team. Things weren’t easy at first, but the tide started shifting in the school’s favor, with an interesting twist of events unfolding during that span.

During the 1944 season, the Utes’ men’s basketball team would turn down their automatic bid because the squad wanted to play in the NIT. The Utes were given a second chance: the Arkansas Razorbacks had to withdraw from the tournament because two of their players had suffered major injuries due to a severe car accident after losing in the first round of the NIT that year to the Kentucky Wildcats.

Only Coach To Win the National Championship

Surprisingly, the odds were the highest they’ve ever been due to the men’s basketball team taking advantage of the situation. Peterson would be the only coach in the program’s history to win the national championship since the team beat Dartmouth by two points in overtime.

Three years later, Peterson would lead Utah to the more prestigious NIT championship, thus getting his revenge against Kentucky. He would retire as a legend in the program.

Peterson would pass the baton to Jack Gardner, who was known for his fast offense schemes in the 1953-54 season. At its peak, the team was ranked 7th and had a record of 24-4 during his first season.  Unfortunately, the Utes were eliminated in the second round.

Under his leadership, the team would make several NCAA Tournament appearances with two Final Four pushes during his tenure. Gardner played a pivotal role in getting the Huntsman Center built while the university was transitioning to the Western Athletic Conference.

The program struggled during his final years as head coach and hired Bill Foster when Gardner retired. A slow start for Foster, he left Utah quickly to rebuild Duke. Utah didn’t search far as they promoted Foster’s former assistant Jerry Pimm.

Primm would guide the program and achieve some of the glory the team once had. Before leaving for the job at UC Santa Barbara, he would accumulate three conference titles and four 20-plus winning seasons. After Primm left, the struggles would come back.

The drive to strive for greatness would return in the Utah Utes team stats shown under Rick Majerus. The team would be the runner-up that year and would cap one of the greatest runs in the program’s history. Three more conference titles and four NCAA tournament appearances followed before he left the program.

Moving along, Larry Krystkowiak would lead the school into the Pac-12. Currently, Craig Smith and the Utes will face tough NCAAB odds as the program is in rebuild mode.

All-Time Records

• Points Scored

  • Keith Van Horn 2,542

  • Billy McGill  2,321

  • Josh Grant 2,000

• Rebounds

  • Billy McGill 1,106

  • Keith Van Horn 1,074

  • Josh Grant 1,066

• Assists

  • Jeff Jonas 736

  • Andre Miller 721

  • Scott Martin 603

• Steals

  • Andre Miller 254

  • Josh Grant 191

  • Brandon Taylor 164

FAQs

1. What Is the Highest Win Total in Program History?

In the 1997-1998 season, Utah was able to accumulate 30 wins. This would also be achieved during the 1990-91 season.

2. Who Is the Winningest Coach in Program History?

Vadal Peterson had the most wins out of anyone that had the opportunity to coach the program. However, Rick Majerus has the best win-to-loss ratio when compared to everyone else at .773.

3. Who Is the Greatest Player in Program History?

Tom Chambers is arguably the greatest Ute of all time. In the 1981 Draft, he was selected eighth overall by the San Diego Clippers. He would be named to four All-Star Game selections and an All-Star Game MVP.