The Utah Valley State Wolverines are in college basketball’s version of purgatory.

Just five years ago the Wolverines were a junior college program set to attempt the leap from JUCO obscurity to Division I basketball. Remarkably, UVSC has experienced the type of success that eludes most teams making the jump. This year, behind head coach Dick Hunsaker, UVSC is having its most successful season yet – sporting a 17-7 record with wins over mid-major contenders Albany and Montana. These are victories that were impossible five years ago.

Yet despite UVSC’s potential to complete a 20-win season, don’t expect to see the Wolverines playing in March. Utah Valley State is in the fourth year of a six-year term in which the Wolverines are classified as a Division I transitional team. NCAA rules prevent transitional teams from participating in postseason play. It’s a rule that many in the UVSC program see as an unfair hindrance to the program’s development, as well as a roadblock to the completion of a banner season for the Wolverines.

‘I personally think it’s not fair,’ said senior forward David Heck, who has been a part of the UVSC program for each of its four seasons as a Division I team. ‘We’ve beat a couple good teams. I honestly think we could be among the top three teams in at least four of the conferences out here.’

The Wolverines have proven this year it has precisely that ability to compete with anybody. It is one of just three independents above .500 for the season. Yet no matter who they beat, the Wolverines remain very much a team without any direction, largely due to the lack of a postseason opportunity. It’s a rule Hunsaker would like to see reviewed.

‘I do think once you have shown that everything is functional as an NCAA school, it would be nice if there was some consideration (for the postseason),’ Hunsaker said. ‘Maybe when everything is in place for there to be a less of a time, a shortened transitional period.’

The Wolverines also remain a team without a home conference. UVSC is currently a Division I independent. They must play predominantly other independent schools, some of whom are also mired in the same transitional status. The result is a strength of schedule that is less than stellar: 304th out of 336 Division I teams according to Ken Pomeroy’s rankings.

Despite their seemingly light schedule, the Wolverines have an RPI of 142, a fact that Hunsaker referred to as ‘incredible’ considering the challenges the Wolverines must face during their transition. He admitted that recruiting players is not always easy for a program that cannot offer the potential of postseason play for at least another two seasons.

‘We offer the opportunity to play,’ Hunsaker said. ‘I have no kids in my programs that are lying in their beds at night thinking I wish I was (at a bigger school). That’s not going to help me win. The guys that are going to help me win are the guys who are going to improve and have a sincere love for the game.’

Yet despite the challenges he faces in recruiting, Hunsaker has built a winner at UVSC. A former Los Angeles Times coach of the year for his work as interim head coach at Utah in 2001, Hunsaker’s presence and the likelihood of a 20-win season would seem to provide UVSC with the credentials to at least merit consideration for an NIT berth. Yet the NCAA, which owns the rights to the NIT, remains committed to enforcing the ban on postseason play for transitional teams.

‘I would like to think they’d make exceptions but they’ve told me no so many times,’ said UVSC Director of Athletics Mike Jacobsen. ‘It doesn’t do me any good anymore to keep asking.’

Next November the NCAA will conduct an extensive review of the progression of UVSC’s athletics programs. Jacobsen said the NCAA will likely evaluate the available facilities for staff, players and coaches as well as the treatment of student athletes, among other things. A good review from the NCAA would allow UVSC to finalize its transition into Division I.

The next step for the Wolverine program would be to establish conference affiliation. No one understands more than Jacobsen the importance of gaining membership into a conference in order to assure adequate postseason opportunities for the basketball program.

‘I work on conference affiliation every single day by either making a phone call or sending an e-mail or writing a letter,’ said Jacobsen.

Jacobsen mentioned possible conferences UVSC may pursue ties with include the Western Athletic Conference, the Big Sky Conference and the Mid-Continent Conference. He also admitted that UVSC’s lack of a football team may hurt his school’s chances to eventually join some of those conferences.

In the meantime, Hunsaker tries to avoid worrying himself with future concerns and concentrate on the fate of his current team. With five games remaining, the Wolverines have an opportunity to complete a breakout season for the program as a Division I school. Hunsaker admits, however, that no matter how great an accomplishment this season is for UVSC, there is still a feeling of inadequacy.

‘If we have success in the remaining games of our season, there is going to be a certain sense of sadness and emptiness,’ Hunsaker said. ‘These kids aren’t able to compete at that level or against the competition they’ve developed to play against.’

Published on February 13, 2007 at 12:00 pm