The Nevada Wolf Pack men's basketball program is a college basketball team that represents the University of Nevada, Reno. The team is currently a member of the Mountain West Conference, which is a Division I conference in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The program began in 1913 and has won 23 regular season conference championships and five conference tournament championships. Nevada won a CBI title in 2016 vs. Morehead State, two games to one.
Contents
Background information
Year founded: 1913
Location: Reno, Nevada
School Colors: Navy and Silver
School Founded: October 12, 1874
Nickname: Wolf Pack
Conference: Mountain West Conference
Arena: Lawlor Events Center (11,536)
Head Coach: Steve Alford
Conference affiliations
No affiliation (1913, 1921–1924, 1940–1953)
Pacific Coast Athletic Association (PCAA) (1914–1920)
Far Western Conference (FWC) (1925–1939, 1954–1969)
West Coast Athletic Conference (WCAC) (1970–1979)
Big Sky Conference (BSC) (1980–1992)
Big West Conference (BWC) (1993–2000)
Western Athletic Conference (WAC) (2001–2011)
Mountain West Conference (MW) (2012–present)
Team history
All-Time D-1 Record: 1,028–793 (.564%) as of November 26, 2023
NAIA Tournament Appearances: (1) – 1946
NAIA Tournament Record: 2–1
NCAA tournament Record: 6–11
NCAA Tournament Appearances: (11) – 1984, 1985, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2023, 2024
NIT Record: 4–4
NIT Appearances: (5) – 1979, 1997, 2003, 2010, 2012
CBI Record: 5–3
CBI Appearances: (3) – 2008, 2009, 2016
Highest National Ranking
No. 5 (Coaches Poll), December 31, 2018
No. 5 (Associated Press Poll), November 26, 2018
Regular Season Conference Championships (23)
PCAA: (1) – 1920
FWC: (10) – 1927, 1928, 1932, 1938, 1956, 1957, 1958,1959, 1961, 1964, 1966
BSC: (2) – 1984, 1985
WAC: (6) – 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2012
MW: (3) – 2017, 2018, 2019
Conference tournament championships (5)
BSC: (2) – 1984, 1985
WAC: (2) – 2004, 2006
MW: (1) – 2017
Venue history
University Gymnasium – built 1896, capacity unknown; located northwest of the Mackay School of Mines between the current Ansari Building and the Pennington Student Achievement Center
Virginia Street Gymnasium – built 1945, capacity 3,500; located on Virginia Street opposite College Drive; currently used as a study and training center for Nevada athletes.
Lawlor Events Center – built 1983, capacity 11,536; located at the corner of North Virginia Street and East 15th Street; current home of Wolf Pack basketball.
Grand Sierra Resort Arena – Announced on September 27, 2023 as the centerpiece of a 10-year, $1 billion expansion of the casino resort. The new facility, planned with a capacity of at least 10,000 and originally scheduled for completion in 2026, will be exclusive to men's basketball; Lawlor Events Center will remain home to Wolf Pack women's basketball. Initial plans were for the Wolf Pack to start play in the new arena in 2026 or 2027; the tentative opening date has now been set for 2027.
Postseason results
NCAA Division I tournament results
The Wolf Pack have appeared in the NCAA Division I tournament eleven times, with a combined record of 6–11.
NCAA Division II Tournament results
The Wolf Pack have appeared in the NCAA Division II tournament four times. Their combined record is 1–6.
NAIA Division I Tournament results
The Wolf Pack have appeared in the NAIA Division I Tournament one time. Their combined record is 2–1.
NIT results
The Wolf Pack have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) six times. Their combined record is 7-6.
CBI results
The Wolf Pack have appeared in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) three times. Their combined record is 5–3. They were CBI champions in 2016.
Player honors
Retired numbers
The Wolf Pack have two number officially retired, Edgar Jones' number 32, and Nick Fazekas's number 22.
Conference player of the year
Kevin Soares, 1992 (Big Sky)
Kirk Snyder, 2004 (WAC)
Nick Fazekas, 2005, 2006, 2007 (WAC)
Luke Babbitt, 2010 (WAC)
Deonte Burton, 2012 (WAC)
Caleb Martin, 2018 (Mountain West)
NBA players
Luke Babbitt
Nick Fazekas
Jalen Harris
Johnny High
Edgar Jones
Armon Johnson
Caleb Martin
Cody Martin
JaVale McGee
Cameron Oliver
Kevinn Pinkney
Kobe Sanders
Ramon Sessions
Kirk Snyder
David Wood
International players
Dario Hunt (born 1989), basketball player for Hapoel Haifa of the Israeli Basketball Premier League
Cameron Oliver, basketball power forward/center in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
Grant Sherfield (born 1999), basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League