UTAH VALLEY AND DIXIE STATE RENEW RIVALRY FRIDAY AND SATURDAY AT UCCU CENTER

• Utah Valley renews a rivalry from the past this week as the Wolverines host in-state foe Dixie State in the Old Hammer Rivalry on Friday and Saturday at the UCCU Center. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. (MT) each night.
   
• Utah Valley University and Dixie State University have announced the renewal of an old rivalry between the two schools that dates back 49 years.  The Old Hammer Rivalry will continue the tradition that was formed during their junior college days and now to present day with both schools holding NCAA Division I status and sharing membership in the Western Athletic Conference.
   
• The Wolverines split a two-game WAC series with Tarleton the last time the team stepped on the hardwood. Le'Tre Darthard led three other Wolverines in double figures with a career-high 19 points to lead UVU to a 73-60 win over the WAC newcomer Tarleton in the first game on Jan. 29. Darthard scored his 19 points on 7 of 9 shooting, including a 5 of 9 mark from long range. He also dished out a pair of assists and pulled down a rebound in 25 minutes of play.  Trey Woodbury scored 13 points and Fardaws Aimaq pulled down 16 rebounds to lead Utah Valley in the 70-62 setback to the Texans in game two on Jan. 30.
   
• Fardaws Aimaq has been named to the 2020-21 Lou Henson National Player of the Year Award mid-season watch list. The Lou Henson National Player of the Year Award, which is presented annually to the top mid-major player in Division I college basketball, honors the former Illinois and New Mexico State head coach who won 775 games in 41 seasons.
   
• Aimaq continues to lead the nation in rebounds per game at 14.9 a contest. He also leads the nation in defensive rebounds per game (10.38) and ranks fourth in offensive boards per game (4.54). The Vancouver, B.C. native also ranks fifth nationally with nine double-doubles.  With 194 total rebounds, Aimaq is already just 45 rebounds shy of breaking into the top-10 all-time UVU single season rebounds chart.
   
• Utah Valley head coach Mark Madsen announced last week that former UVU standout Ronnie Price, who enjoyed a 13-year NBA career, has joined the men's basketball staff as its Director of Player Development. Following his career at Utah Valley, Price signed with the Sacramento Kings, becoming the first player to go directly from Utah Valley to the NBA. He played 12 seasons in the NBA from 2005-2017 with six teams, including the Sacramento Kings, Utah Jazz, Phoenix Suns, Portland Trailblazers, Orlando Magic, and the Los Angeles Lakers.
   
• Mark Madsen is in his second season as the head coach of the Wolverines. The two-time NBA champion, former Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach, and former Stanford basketball star went 11-19 during his first season with UVU. He is just the third head coach in UVU's Division I history. Madsen took  over the Utah Valley program last season after serving the past six seasons as an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers. He was a two-time NBA champion as a player with the Lakers (2001 and 2002), and played for the Minnesota Timberwolves for six seasons.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Friday and Saturday's games against Dixie State will be broadcast live on both the GoUVU YouTube Channel and the WAC Digital Network. Brandon Crow will be handling the play-by-play duties. The game will also be broadcast over the radio waves on ESPN 960 AM radio with Jim McCulloch calling the action and Josh Kallunki handling the color commentary duties. A live stream of the radio broadcast will also be available at ESPN960Sports.com.

ABOUT DIXIE STATE
Dixie State is in its first season as a member of the Western Athletic Conference. The team was previously an NCAA Division II member of the Pac West Conference. The Trailblazers jumped up from the junior college ranks to the Division II level in 2006 and now to Division I this season. The team holds a 6-9 overall record and a 2-6 mark in WAC play. The team split a pair of league games against Seattle U last week, defeating the Redhawks 77-76 on Feb. 5 before falling 79-75 on Feb. 6. Junior guard Cameron Gooden leads the team in scoring at 14.2 points a game. Senior forward Hunter Schofield and sophomore forward Frank Staine also average double digits at 11.4 and 10.4 points per game, respectively. Junior forward Jacob Nicolds leads the team on the boards, pulling down 6.3 rebounds a game. As a team, Dixie State averages 70.1 points a game while allowing opponents a 77.2 points per game average.

HAMMER TIME
Utah Valley University and Dixie State University have announced the renewal of an old rivalry between the two schools that dates back 49 years. The Old Hammer Rivalry will continue the tradition that had been formed during their junior college days to present day with both schools holding NCAA Division I status and sharing membership in the Western Athletic Conference.  Established in 1941, UVU was originally a vocational school with the primary function of providing wartime production training to help with the need of arms and ammunition. As the years went by and the school grew, UVU has still held strong to many of its vocational roots.  Dixie State is located on the southern end of the state in St. George, Utah. St. George was settled by Latter-day Saint Pioneers in the mid 1800's and the Old Hammer Rivalry represents the development of the area and eventual addition of the school in 1911. The two schools battled every year from the 1972-73 season in Region 18 and the Scenic West Athletic Conference. UVU and DSU will go head-to-head and compete for WAC titles against one another in baseball, cross country, men's golf, women's golf, basketball, men's soccer, women's soccer, softball, track & field, and volleyball.

SERIES HISTORY VS. DIXIE STATE
Utah Valley and Dixie State have never played an official regular season game since the Wolverines jumped to Division I in 2003. The two teams have played three exhibition games with the Wolverines winning each of those contests. Prior to moving to the Division I ranks, the two schools first met in the 1972-73 season and then met each season in the Scenic West Athletic Conference (SWAC)/NJCAA Region 18 until the 2002-03 season--UVU's last season of junior college play before making the transition to Division I (2003-04).

All-Time Division I Results vs. DIxie State
Nov. 1, 2006    Utah Valley def. Dixie State, 74-47    Orem, Utah (Exhibition)
Nov. 1, 2017    Utah Valley def. Dixie State, 81-70    Orem, Utah (Exhibition)
Oct. 30, 2018    Utah Valley def. Dixie State, 88-70    Orem, Utah (Exhibition)