The Denver Pioneers men's basketball team represents the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private university, private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Mountain States, Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is ...

and competes in the

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

men's

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

. They are led by head coach Jeff Wulbrun and are members of the

Summit League The Summit League, or The Summit, is an NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletic conference with its membership mostly located in the Midwestern United States from Illinois on the East of the Mississippi River to the Dakotas and Nebraska on the W ...

. They play their home games at Magness Arena. The Pioneers are one of 35 eligible Division I programs to have never appeared in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.

History

Denver began intercollegiate basketball in 1904 and played at the regional level prior to World War II. After the war, DU became an NCAA Division I level program between the 1950s and 1979, playing in the Mountain States and old Skyline conferences before becoming an NCAA Division I independent in 1962. In 1979, DU's declining finances forced the program to drop down to the Division II and NAIA levels until 1998. DU moved back up to Division I status in 1998 and joined the

Sun Belt Conference The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football conference, the Sun Belt began sponsoring football in 2001. Its football teams participa ...

in 1999. In 2012, the Pioneers moved from the Sun Belt to the

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington (state), Washington, and Texa ...

. After only one year in the WAC, they joined

The Summit League ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

in July, 2013, where they play today.

Alumni

Notable former Denver basketball players include: *David Adkins, played at Denver in the mid-1970s, later became known as comedian/TV actor Sinbad. *

Byron Beck Byron Beck (born January 25, 1945) is an American former professional basketball player. A 6 foot 9 inch forward/center from the University of Denver, Beck was one of six players (along with Louie Dampier, Gerald Govan, Bob Netolicky, Stew Joh ...

, ABA and NBA player, number retired by

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

* Rodney Billups, Euroleague player, former Denver Men's Basketball head coach *

Vince Boryla Vincent Joseph Boryla (March 11, 1927 – March 27, 2016) was an American basketball player, coach and executive. His nickname was "Moose". He graduated from East Chicago Washington High School in 1944. He played basketball at the University of N ...

, 1948 all-American, 1948 Gold Medal US Olympian, NBA All-Star player, coach, and executive *

Ronnie Harrell Ronnie Harrell Jr. (born March 11, 1996) is an American basketball player for Ironi Ness Ziona of the Israeli Basketball Premier League. He plays the guard and forward positions. He played college basketball for Creighton University and the Univ ...

(born 1996), basketball player in the

Israeli Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl ( he, ליגת העל, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is the top-tier level league of professional sports, professional competition in Israeli sports club, club basketball, making ...

Phil Heath Phillip Jerrod Heath (born December 18, 1979) is an American International Federation of BodyBuilders, IFBB professional Bodybuilding, bodybuilder. He is a seven-time Mr. Olympia winner, having won the competition every year from 2011 to 201 ...

, current

Mr. Olympia Mr. Olympia is the title awarded to the winner of the professional men's bodybuilding contest at Joe Weider's Olympia Fitness & Performance Weekend—an international bodybuilding competition that is held annually by the International Federation ...

bodybuilder *

Ken Michelman Ken Michelman (born May 23, 1955) is an American actor primarily known for his role as Abner Goldstein on the TV series '' The White Shadow''. He also played Gary Greenberg, Cindy Brady's love interest on the short-lived ''Brady Bunch'' spin-off, ...

, played with David Adkins at DU, became a TV actor on '' The White Shadow'', ''

Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27, 2005, on ABC as a mid-season replacement. The series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they develop into se ...

'', and other programs *

Royce O'Neale Royce Khalil O'Neale (born June 5, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Denver Pioneers and the Baylor Bears. College caree ...

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

, played two years at Denver, all-WAC forward before transferring to Baylor *

Jake Pemberton Jake Pemberton (born January 12, 1996) is an American-Israeli professional basketball player for Maccabi Ra'anana of the Israeli National League. He played college basketball for the University of Denver. Standing at , Pemberton plays at the sh ...

(born 1996), American-Israeli basketball player in the Israeli National League

Postseason results

NCAA Division II Tournament results

The Pioneers have appeared in three NCAA Division II Tournaments. Their combined record is 1–3.

NAIA Tournament results

The Pioneers have appeared in two NAIA Tournaments. Their combined record is 0–2.

NIT results

The Pioneers have appeared in the

National Invitation Tournament The National Invitational Tournament (NIT) is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Played at regional sites and traditionally at Madison Square Garden (Final Four) in New York City ...

(NIT) three times. Their combined record is 1–3.

References

External links

* {{Denver-stub