With many conference tournaments tipping-off this week in advance of Selection Sunday, the Utah Valley Wolverines come in as the No. 1 seed in the WAC (Western Athletic Conference) Tournament, but they are not going to be able to participate unless they pay a fine, as per Pete Thamel of ESPN.
Utah Valley intends to leave the WAC and join the Big West Conference next season, and the conference board of directors issued a statement requesting the Wolverines to pay a $1 million fine as supposedly agreed upon as their exit fee via court order. The board gave Utah Valley a deadline of Tuesday evening to pay the fine or risk being disqualified from the WAC Tournament.
“As the court-ordered preliminary injunction is contingent on upon that directive, the WAC Board of Directors has instructed the commissioner to plan for the men’s and women’s WAC Basketball Tournaments without Utah Valley University, as it would be a member not in good standing,” the board wrote.
The Wolverines ended the season on a six-game win streak and finished with the best record in the WAC at 14-4, and 24-7 overall. The WAC Tournament is currently scheduled to tip-off on Wednesday, March 11, with Utah Valley receiving a bye into the semifinals by virtue of their top overall seeding.
This is Todd Phillips’ third season at the helm as head coach at Utah Valley. He took over the program in 2023 following the departure of Mark Madsen to Cal. After a so-so first season in which the Wolverines finished 16-16, he led the program to a 25-9 overall record, 15-1 in the WAC and an NIT appearance in 2024-25.
