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Show SPORTS VOLUMELPISSUE17 JANUARY 9, 2012 WWW.UVUREVIEW.COM Treading water Great West not standing pat as other conferences play musical chairs Wolverines get mixed results against preconference foes By MATT PETERSEN Sports Editor It's been easy to look with envy at neighboring universities in regards to NCAA status. In one year we've seen: • Utah move to the PAC-12 • BYU's earn its own time slot on ESPN, • Utah State refuse to help UVU in its bid for an invite to the Western Athletic Conference When the dust cleared, Utah Valley was still in the Great West Conference, a collection of who-are-they-again's ranging from California to New Jersey. With North Dakota and Houston Baptist slated to leave, the GWC appeared to be transitioning from "far apart" to "falling apart." Great West commissioner Ed Grom, however, believes the Great West can further its standing from a home for the homeless to a key transition conference for programs making the leap from Division II to Division I athletics. As for the conference's geographic variety, Grom halfjokingly called the GWC a "trend-setter," referring to the Big East's football expansion that included Boise State, San Diego State and Houston University. "That doesn't sound like 'Big East' to me," he said. Like the Big East, Grom hopes the Great West can field enough members to field east and west divisions, adding further prominence to conference championships while reducing travel time and costs. A key step for Grom's hopes will take place this week. Grom confirmed the Great West has secured a meeting at Wednesday's NCAA convention to request the GWC be given multi-sport status. Should the be granted, Grom said the conference would then issue invitations to Independent NCAA members, specifically mentioning Longwood University and CSU-Bakersfield. By JONATHAN BOLDT Assistant Sports Editor This season has done little for the nerves of those associated with the men's basketball team. The Wolverines started out the season 4-4 and a little shaky, losing to some strong competition the likes of Houston, Arkansas , Wyoming and Utah State. They played tough and hung in most games, other than a 34-point blowout to the Cowboys of Wyoming. While the team was disappointed to not sneak out a win, morale was in fair condition until December. Rather than receiving during the Christmas season, the Wolverines did all the giving as they went 3-6 since finals week. During that stretch UVU fell to Maine by 17 points, 13 to Montana and 15 to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Two of their three wins were nail-biters as they eked out a two-point win over Hampton and escaped with a five-point win over Portland State. The good news for the MAWL and UVU fans of all kinds is that the team has played well at home, recording a 6-2 mark at the UCCU center. That good news comes as a double-edged sword, however, as the team is 0-8 on the road, with their only other win coming on a neutral site in Tennessee against Hampton. Despite the travails, the Wolverines have encountered, they have had some pleasant surprises that will make for an exciting conference run as they push towards post-season play. Returning All-American Isiah Williams leads the team with 14.4 points per game, and Geddes Robinson is averaging a double-double with 10.2 points per game and 10.4 rebounds per game. Ben Aird has contributed nicely by shooting over 40 percent from the field to go with 16 steals and 24 blocks, providing an inside defensive presence that UVU is in desperate need of. Tuesday night's game versus Wyoming highlighted both the progress that has been made as well as the frustration that is mounting. The Wolverines pulled a complete 180 and rather than a 34-point drubbing, they took Wyoming down to the final seconds, only to see the game slip away and just out of reach. Trailing by one point with 15 seconds to play, Williams lost the handle but was bailed out by Keith Thompson who picked it up and went strong to the hoop. Thompson laid the ball off the backboard as the refs blew the whistle. Instead of scoring the basket and shooting a free-throw, the call went the other way and the offensive foul was charged against UVU with ten ticks left on the clock. "That was a pivotal call," said Wolverines head coach Dick Hunsaker. "Instead of a CONTACT: GREAT WEST B3 Conference a factor in lack of school spirit By ANDREW JONES Sports Writer Photo by Lance Larsen/UVU Review Wolverines guard Holton Hunsaker draws contact against Wyoming in last week's game. Utah Valley lost 76-70 at the UCCU Center. chance for a two point lead we had to foul and try to play catch-up." Following two free-throws by Wyoming, Holton Hunsaker forced up a three point shot that didn't dry iron but the play drew the ire of coach Hunsaker. There was a questionable no-call as it appeared the Cowboys made contact with the shooter on the play. There was no question for coach Hunsaker at the time, as it took two coaches to restrain him as he pressed his way toward mid-court and the officials. Whatever was said, it cost Hunsaker a technical foul as his frustrations boiled over and gave Wyoming two more free throws. Wyoming held on to win 76-70. When asked about that final play, his response was simple. "We'll have to let the replay cameras decide that," Hunsaker said. The good news is that UVU is a seasoned team with a lot of minutes played together.they have an allAmerican , a beast on the boards, and they play in the Great West Conference. No matter the ups and downs thus far, they are still one of the favorites to win the conference and make some noise come postseason play. va Photo by Lance Larsen/UVU Review Keith Thompson dribbles the ball in Utah Valley's game against Wyoming last week. Thompson's drive basket plus a foul were waived off after officials consulted and eventually ruled the play an offensive foul. The play would have given UVU a one-point lead. Colleges throughout the nation have mascots, bands and clubs to help support the school they are a part of. With all the support from these outlets, what really makes a student body care about their school? Many people grew up loving certain schools because of where their parents graduated from or the town they grew up in. Even though students may love the college they go to they may still love another school's athletic teams. Why is this so? Why do we tend to love other schools sports teams more than that of the university we attend? One thought that can be brought up is the lack of athletics and the spirit that those teams bring to the school. College football is by far one of the greatest proponents of school spirit to schools. Does the fact that UVU lacks a football team affect the school spirit here on campus? Some may say yes. Here on campus we have students who walk around wearing BYU attire and don't think of it as a problem. "I think BYU is overshadowing UVU. They have a long history and tradition of school spirit that UVU doesn't have," said former UVU student Nicole Heslington. "There isn't the background to build upon." There are however students and staff that don't see this as okay. Though BYU students most likely don't see UVU as an athletic threat or threat at all, it can bother people here on campus to see people wearing BYU apparel. "It's fine in that they can wear whatever they want. What bothers me is when their loyalties lie with BYU essentially," Heslington said. "A lot of people I've talked to have stated that they are just at UVU until they can transfer to BYU almost implying that UVU isn't worthy." For many students they are here to transfer to other schools but it seems like many more students are here because they want to be here and graduate from school here. One other issue may steam from the fact that we as a school are not in a very strong conference. UVU lies within the confines of the Great West Conference, a conference that no one really knows about in the larger world of college sports. The hardest thing about being in the Great West Conference is the fact that most of the teams in the conference are located closer to the east coast than Utah. It's hard to create rivalries with schools that no one really knows about or even that are located on the other side of the country. UVU tried to get into the Western Athletic Conference, which has schools like Hawaii, Nevada, and Utah State with decent football teams and a lot of school spirit. UVU was denied entrance into the WAC. Had UVU been given the opportunity to join the WAC, it could have helped just a tiny bit in promoting school spirit and maybe helped in pushing for a football team. SPORTS EDITOR ASST. SPORTS EDITOR SPORTS DESIGNER petersensports@gmail.com jonboldt@gmail.com gonzamatic@gmail.com MATT PETERSEN JONATHAN BOLDT ERIC GONZALEZ FOLLOW US ON TWITTER! @UVU_SPORTSDESK |