The Kentucky Wesleyan College Panthers men's basketball team represents Kentucky Wesleyan College, a private college located in Owensboro, Kentucky. The Panthers compete in the NCAA Division II as a member of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC), They have won the NCAA Division II tournament eight times, most recently in the year 2001.
Joel Utley was the "Voice of the Panthers" from 1962 to 2022 (including all eight championships), broadcasting a play-by-play of all Wesleyan basketball games on local Owensboro radio station WBIO.
Conference play Kentucky Wesleyan is a charter member of the G-MAC (Great Midwest Athletic Conference) that will begin active competition in the 2013–2014 academic season with 8 current NCAA Division II members and one institution transitioning from the NAIA, giving the NCAA D 2 conference 9 members in its first season of full activation. KWC will leave the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) after the 2012–13 academic season. Their basketball team frequently represented the GLVC in the NCAA Division II tournament, winning four national championships in basketball while members of the GLVC. After coming off NCAA probation, the Panthers finished 13–14 in the 2007 season, then participated in the NCAA Division II tournament for five straight seasons from 2008 to 2012, being Regional Runners Up in the 2012 season.
Division II championship appearances The Panthers advanced to the Division II championship game six consecutive years (1998–2003), winning in 1999 and 2001; the team later forfeited its 2003 runner-up status after it was revealed they had played two ineligible transfer players.
In addition, they won six other championships (1966, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1987, and 1990) and were runners-up in 1957. Overall, Kentucky Wesleyan has won eight NCAA Division II national men's basketball championships, which is the most by any NCAA Division II School.
Notable players Retired numbers Eight Panthers have had their numbers retired. Seven are for players and one was retired for team physician Dr. William McManus, who worked for the team for 29 years (1965–1994).
Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers retired jerseysNo.PlayerCareer 10 Rod Drake 1981–1984 22 Dallas Thornton 1964–1968 23 Corey Crowder 1987–1991 24 Dwight Higgs 1981–1984 29 Dr. William McManus 1965–1994 45 Kelly Coleman 1958–1960 50 George Tinsley 1966–1969 75 Fairce Woods 1946–1949
Three Kentucky Wesleyan basketball players played in the American Basketball Association: George Tinsley, Sam Smith, and Dallas Thornton. One Kentucky Wesleyan basketball player has played in the National Basketball Association: Corey Crowder, who had been a key member of the 1990 NCAA Division II National Championship team. Crowder played two seasons in the NBA for the Utah Jazz (1991–92) and the San Antonio Spurs (1994–95). He would later play fourteen seasons in Italy, Spain, France and Israel. Crowder was a three-time All-American performer, newcomer of the year in the GLVC, two-time GLVC "Player of the Year" and the 1991 NABC "Player of The Year" in Division II, which helped get him elected to the Great Lakes Valley Conference Hall of Fame in 2002. Starke 2012–2013, led NCAA Division II in Field goal percentage with 67.4%.
Panthers in international leagues
Mohamed Abu Arisha (born 1997), Israeli basketball player for Hapoel Be'er Sheva of the Israeli Basketball Premier League and the Israeli national basketball team
History
OverallYears of basketball 105First season 1907Head coaches (all-time) 21All GamesAll-time record 1582–78020+ win seasons 3430+ win seasons 6Home GamesOwensboro Sports Center ?-?Winchester, Kentucky ?-?Great Lakes Valley Conference GamesGLVC Record 430–157GLVC regular season championships 16 (1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2010)GLVC tournament championships (1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2010)NCAA Division II TournamentNCAA Div II Appearances 38NCAA W-L record 98–32Regional Final/Sweet Sixteen 25 (1957, 1960, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003*, 2012)Elite Eight 20 (1957, 1960, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1973, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003*)Fourth Place 1 (1971)Third Place 3 (1960, 1967, 1982)Final Four 2 (1984, 1985)Runner-up 5 (1957, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003*NCAA Championships 8 (1966, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1987, 1990, 1999, 2001)*VACATED
Season-by-season results The following is a list of Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers men's basketball seasons, with records and notable accomplishments
Notes
References
External links