The Utah Tech Trailblazers men's basketball team represents
Utah Tech University
Utah Tech University (UT), formerly named Dixie State University (DSU), is a polytechnic four-year public university in St. George, Utah, in southwest Utah (also known by the longtime nickname of " Utah's Dixie" region). UT offers doctoral degre ...
(formerly known as Dixie State), in
St. George, Utah
St. George or Saint George is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Utah, United States. Located in southwestern Utah on the Arizona border, it is the principal city of the St. George metropolitan statistical area (MSA). The cit ...
as a member of
NCAA Division I
NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...
and 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, Texas, Utah and Washington (state), Washington.
Due to ...
(WAC). Previously, the school's program participated in the
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference
The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC), commonly known as the Rocky Mountain Conference (RMC) from approximately 1910 through the late 1960s, is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (N ...
(RMAC), at the
NCAA Division II
NCAA Division II (D-II) is the intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environment ...
level.
The Trailblazers are currently led by seventeenth-year head coach
Jon Judkins.
The team plays its games at the
Burns Arena
Burns Arena is a multi-purpose arena in St. George, Utah. It is the home of the Utah Tech Trailblazers basketball teams. on its campus in St. George.
In 2022, the university changed its name from Dixie State University to Utah Tech University. The name change was made in mid-May, ahead of the legal change on July 1. The "Trailblazers" nickname was not affected.
Postseason results
NJCAA results
Dixie College, as the school was then known, experienced tremendous success as a junior college. In 1985, Dixie won its first national title, defeating Kankakee Community College, 57–55. National player of the year Averian Parrish and Brent Stephenson were the leading players on the 35–1 team coached by Neil Roberts. In 2012, the 1984–85 team was inducted into the school's Hall of Fame. Parrish and Roberts have been both been inducted into the school's Hall of Fame.
Dixie went to the Final Four in 2001 behind the play of future NBA player
Marcus Banks
Arthur Lemarcus Banks III (born November 19, 1981) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball, UNLV Runnin' Rebels, where he was Co-Defensive Player of the Year as a ...
. The following year, Dixie won its second national title behind the play of
Jaime Lloreda
José Jaime Lloreda Ferrón (born November 10, 1980) is a Panamanian professional basketball player. He is a longtime member of the Panama men's national basketball team.
College career
Lloreda played two years of junior college ball for Dixie ...
. Jeff Kidder was the head coach for Dixie's second title run.
Dixie transitioned to Division II in 2007.
NCAA Division II tournament results
Dixie State enjoyed its best run in Division II when led by Tom Whitehead, a two-time first All-Pace West selection. Whitehead, teamed with players like Jeremiah Barnes, Zach Robbins, and Andy Palmer, led Dixie to a share of the 2010 Pac-West title and their first tournament berth. The following season, the Red Storm, as they were then called, were even better. Seeded as No. 4 in the West, they made it to the Sweet 16. Barnes scored 22 points to lift to Dixie their first-ever tournament win over Chaminade. Whitehead had 17 as Dixie beat top-seeded Seattle Pacific. Dixie lost a close game to rival BYU-Hawaii in the Sweet 16.
The Trailblazers appeared in nine
NCAA Division II Tournaments. Their combined record is 2–8.
References
External links
Official website
{{Utah-basketball-team-stub