The Wartburg Knights men's basketball team represents the Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa, United States. The team is a member of the American Rivers Conference as well as the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The team plays its regular season games in Levick Arena, along with women's basketball, wrestling, and volleyball teams.

History Wartburg men's basketball began in 1935, under head coach Elmer Hertel. The first Wartburg team finished 12–3 in 1935–36, its first victory was a 33–24 win against Lenox College. Hertel coached the first 3 seasons in the programs history. Since Hertel, Wartburg has had a total of 13 head coaches, the majority of the seasons coached by Buzz Levick and Dick Peth. Following his retirement the

Lewis "Buzz" Levick era (1965-1993) Buzz Levick was named the head coach in 1965 and would go on to coach 28 seasons for the Knights. During his tenure he would led the Knights to 14 IIAC regular season titles, 9 of which would come in a row from 1967 to 1975. Following his retirement, the colleges new arena, built in 2008, would be named in his honor, Levick Arena.

Dick Peth era (1997-2024) Dick Peth took over the Wartburg men's basketball program in 1997. During his tenure at Wartburg he has led them to three regular season Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championships, including back to back in 2005 and 2006. In 2017 his Wartburg Knight basketball team shocked the conference by winning the IIAC tournament as the tournament's 6th seed. They would go on to reach the NCAA Sweet Sixteen, upsetting #10 Benedictine College and #4 UW-River Falls in the first and second rounds. In December 2021, Peth entered the 600 win club following Wartburg's 82–70 win against University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire. In April 2024, Peth announced his retirement after 27 seasons at the helm.

Sam Leal era (2024-present) Sam Leal was announced as the 13th head men's basketball coach in Wartburg history on May 1, 2024.

NCAA tournament results Wartburg has appeared in 7 NCAA Tournaments with a record of 7–8.

1975 First RoundSweet Sixteen CoeAugustana (Ill) W 79–78L 61−62 1987 First RoundSweet SixteenElite Eight Claremont-Mudd-ScrippsGustavus AdolphusNorth Park W 91–81W 74–72L 63–88 1989 First RoundSweet SixteenRegional Third Place Gustavus AdolphusNebraska WesleyanPomona-Pitzer W 78–62L 63–87L 67–80 1991 First RoundSecond RoundSweet Sixteen ByeCentral (IA)Calvin - W 75–73 L 57–61 1993 First Round St John's (MN) L 75-80(OT) 2001 13 First RoundSecond Round ByeIllinois Wesleyan -L 60–65 2017 First RoundSecond RoundSweet Sixteen #10 Benedictine(ILL) #4 UW-River FallsAugustana (Ill) W 92–66W 76–43L 69–80

Head coaching records

Current coaching staff Head coach: Sam Leal Assistant coach: Kade Terrell S&C coach: Ethan Hayes Athletic trainer: Danny Drees

Head coaching history

As of the completion of 2024 season Tenure Coach Years Record Pct. 1935–19381943-1945 Elmer Hertel 5 47–30 1938–1939 Ralph McKinzie 2 4–24 1940–1943 C.C. Van Dyke 3 9–33 1945–1946 William Roselius 1 5–15 1946–1947 Stanley Hall 1 8–9 1947–19551956-1961 Axel Bundgaard 13 187–114 1955–1956 Earnest Opperman 1 17–8 1961–1965 Fred Jaspers 4 42–52 1965–1993 Lewis "Buzz" Levick 29 527–236 1993–1996 Howard Gauthier 3 39–35 1996–1997 Marty Simmons 1 10–14 1997–2024 Dick Peth 27 401–302 2024–Present Sam Leal 1 16-11 Totals 13 coaches † Kathy Franken served as the interim head coach for the end of the 2005–2006 season following the departure of Monica Severson.

Individual awards

Conference Awards

Conference AwardsYearPlayerType 1969-70 GE Buenning Most Valuable Player 1971-72 Dave Platte Most Valuable Player 1974-75 Bud Johnson Most Valuable Player 1988-89 Mike Murphy Most Valuable Player 1992-93 Matt Leary Most Valuable Player 2000-01 Troy Osterhaus Most Valuable Player 2004-05 Nate Schmidt Most Valuable Player

References

External links