BYU CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP TEAMS

1921-22
BYU won its second title in the Western Division with a 3-1 conference record, beating out rivals from the University of Utah.

1923-24
A 7-1 conference record gave the Cougars their third Western Division title. They met the Eastern Division winner, Colorado College, in the first playoff series in a decade. BYU won the series 2-1 and was crowned the undisputed Rocky Mountain Conference Champion.

1924-25
BYU repeated its championship run and once again won the Western Division title, finishing 6-2 in conference and 11-6 overall. The title was the third in four years for the Cougars. BYU once again met Colorado College in the Conference Championship Series but was swept in Colorado Springs.

1931-32
Led by sophomore Elwood Romney, a first-team all-conference selection, BYU tied with Utah for the West title and then defeated the Utes in a one-game playoff, earning the chance to meet Wyoming in the Conference Championship Series. Despite an 8-4 conference finish, the Cougars were swept by the Cowboys.

1932-33
For the second straight season, the Western Division ended in a tie between BYU and Utah. After going 9-3 in conference and 18-7 overall, the Cougars once again defeated the Utes and met Wyoming in the Championship Series. This time, BYU emerged victorious, winning 2-1 and thus winning the Conference Championship for the first time since 1924. 

1933-34
The Cougars finished the season 9-3 in conference and 18-11 overall to win the Western Division title for the third year in a row. BYU once again met Wyoming in the Championship playoff series, but the Cougars were defeated 2-1.

1942-43
After switching to the Skyline Conference in 1937, the 1942-43 Cougars won their first Skyline Conference Western Division title. A 7-1 conference record earned the team the opportunity to play Wyoming in the Championship Series. However, despite the efforts of first-team all-conference selection Brady Walker, the Cougars lost to Wyoming in three straight games.

1947-48
As the conference consolidated into one division, the Cougars finished 8-2 and took first place. Joe Nelson and Randy Clark were both named first-team all-conference players. Nelson led the Skyline Conference in scoring, racking up 203 points in conference play and averaging 20.3 points per game. 

1949-50
After winning the conference preseason trophy, the Cougars finished 14-6 in conference and had their first 20-win season, going 22-12. BYU was led by a talented trio consisting of Joe Nelson, Roland Minson and Mel Hutchins, each averaging over 10 points per game. All three players earned NCAA honors at season’s end.

1950-51
The Cougars repeated as Skyline Conference Champions and won their third title in four years with a 15-5 record in conference and an amazing 28-9 record overall. Once again led by Roland Minson and Mel Hutchins, the Cougars were ranked as high as third nationally and went on to win the NIT. They also set a school record with a 91-point offensive showcase against Denver.

1956-57
The Cougars won their last Skyline Conference Championship in this season, finishing 11-3 in conference and 19-9 overall. Led by Tom Steinke and John Benson, who each averaged almost 20 points per game, BYU went on to finish third in the NCAA West Regionals. 

1964-65
The 1964-65 team won the first WAC Championship for BYU and first conference title since 1957. The team finished the season with a 21-7 mark and was ranked sixth nationally in the final wire service poll of the season. BYU finished second to Miami (Fla.) in scoring offense. John Fairchild was named WAC Player of the Year and led the team with 21.5 points a game.

1966-67
The Cougars surprised many by winning a share of the WAC title and finishing 14-10. There were no real standouts on the team as eight players won game-high honors during the season. BYU remained undefeated for the second straight year at home.

1968-69
BYU finished the season at 17-12 and had been picked in the preseason polls to finish third or lower. They won a first-round berth in the NCAA Tournament but lost to New Mexico State. Remarkably, six players ended the season with scoring averages in double figures. 

1970-71
The Cougars finished 18-11 to grab the WAC title. They lost to eventual NCAA Champion UCLA in the NCAA Regionals. The team was led by Bernie Fryer, who averaged 19.2 points, and Steve Kelly, who scored 17.9 points per game. 

1971-72
The 1971-72 season was Coach Stan Watts’ final year and one of the most exciting in Cougar history. The team finished with a 21-5 record and made it to the NCAA Tournament. 

1978-79
One of the most exciting aspects of the 1978-79 season was the expectation that Cougar success would carry over into the next year. The Cougars were 20-8 and were led by Danny Ainge with 18.4 points per game. Ainge moved into the top 10 in BYU scoring history after just two seasons. The Cougars made it to the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

1979-80
A record of 24-5 was the best yet for a BYU team. The Cougars had been ranked as high as No. 6 by sports writers. All the starters from the previous year returned to help defend the WAC title. Danny Ainge once again led the team with 19.1 points per game and moved into first place on the BYU all-time scoring list. The team had four future NBA players; Ainge, Devin Durrant, Fred Roberts and Greg Kite.

1982-83
Although the 1982-83 team finished in a three-way tie for the WAC championship, it was the first time in the previous five years that the Cougars did not advance to postseason play. The team’s record was 15-14. Devin Durrant led BYU in scoring with 22.8 points per game. Greg Kite led the team in rebounding with 8.8 per game.

1987-88
In the 70-year history of BYU basketball, only the 1950-51 team had more victories than the 1987-88 team, and no team had a better winning percentage. The Cougars finished 26-6, winning 17 games in a row to start the year, a BYU basketball record. The team was led by All-American Michael Smith who averaged 21.2 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. 

1989-90
The Cougars went 21-9 and exceeded all expectations by winning the WAC title. The team was projected to finish sixth. They went on to lose a heart-breaker in the NCAA East Regional to Clemson 49-47. It was Roger Reid’s first year as head coach. Marty Haws led the team in scoring with 18.5 points and 4.1 assists per game. Andy Toolson averaged 18.3 points per game.

1990-91 (Tournament only) 
With a 21-13 record, BYU finished in second place during the regular season in the WAC but went on to win the WAC Tournament and then advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Freshman Shawn Bradley led the nation in blocked shots with 177 and averaged 14.8 points a game. Steve Schreiner scored 14.2 points per game.

1991-92 (Regular season and tournament)
Few thought at the beginning of the season that BYU would finish the season 25-7 and win the WAC. The Cougars went on to defeat UTEP in dramatic fashion at the WAC Tournament thanks to a 54-foot buzzer-beater by Kevin Nixon. The Cougars ran into Shaq and LSU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to end the season. Gary Trost led the team in scoring with 14.2 points per game.

1992-93
The Cougars posted a 25-9 record, including 15-1 in the WAC, which tied the conference record for most wins. Nick Sanderson set a school record for three-point attempts in a season with 209. Russell Larson set a new school record in field-goal percentage at .631. Gary Trost led the team in scoring for the second straight year with 15.2 points per game. BYU lost to Kansas in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. 

2000-01 (Regular season and tournament)
BYU finished 24-9 while earning its first conference tournament title since 1992, its first regular-season championship since 1993 and its first NCAA bid since 1995. The Cougars went 10-4 in Mountain West Conference play to earn a three-way share of the title with Utah and Wyoming. BYU won the MWC Tournament and earned the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament with wins over Air Force, Wyoming and New Mexico at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. BYU, the 12th seed, lost its first round NCAA game at Cox Arena in San Diego to No. 5-seed Cincinnati.

2002-03
BYU claimed a share of the Mountain West Conference regular-season title and an NCAA bid for the second time in three years. Playing among the nation’s toughest schedules, including 11 different conferences on its non-league slate, the Cougars finished the year 23-9 overall and earned their 26th conference title, going 11-3 in MWC games along with Utah. BYU Coach Steve Cleveland was named the MWC Coach of the Year, and senior guard Travis Hansen was one of two consensus first-team All-MWC players and the MWC’s Co-Defensive Player of the Year. The Cougars had the MWC’s top defense and also won the preseason Paradise Jam title in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. Hansen led the team in scoring (16.8) and blocks (20) and was second in assists (2.4) and rebounds (4.8).

2006-07
BYU’s second season under head coach Dave Rose not only improved upon his impressive inaugural campaign but also proved to be one of the best seasons a Cougar team has ever achieved in the program’s 105-year history. After becoming the second-most improved team in the nation in Rose’s first season at BYU, the Cougars responded in his second year with a 25-9 resume that included the program’s first outright league championship since 1988, its first national top-25 ranking since 1993, its first season sweep over rival Utah since 1994 and its first NCAA Tournament invitation since 2004, including its highest seed since 1995. On the record books at BYU, only two teams (1951 -- 28 wins; 1988 -- 26 wins) won more games in a season than the 25 victories achieved by the Cougars in 2006-07. BYU defeated three nationally ranked teams in the process and earned a national ranking (No. 24) in the final Associated Press Top 25 Poll, something a Cougar team hasn’t done since 1988.

2007-08
The Dave Rose-guided Cougars went 27-8 to win the second-most games in school history while becoming the first outright back-to-back Mountain West Conference Champions in league history. The team also achieved BYU’s first consecutive appearances in the Top 25 polls since the 1980-81 and 1981-82 seasons and earned the program’s first victory over a top-6 ranked team since 1965 with its triumph over Rick Pitino’s sixth-rated Louisville Cardinals. The Cougars won the MWC regular-season title by two games over UNLV with an MWC-record 14-2 resume to finish the regular season with a school-record 25 regular-season victories. The consecutive outright league titles were the first for BYU since Danny Ainge played for the Cougars in 1978-79 and 1979-80. The conference crown was also BYU’s 27th conference crown was also BYU’s 27th overall to rank the Cougars ninth all-time among all Division I programs. 

2008-09
By capturing a share of the 2009 MWC regular season title, BYU became the first program in league history to win three-straight titles — a feat accomplished only one other time in program history, from 1932 to 1934. Heading into the final three games of the regular season BYU trailed league leader Utah by two games in the standings. The Cougars knocked off rival Utah at home before winning at Wyoming to pull into a tie for first. BYU downed Air Force in a hard-fought battle at home in the finale to claim a share of the title. At 25-8 the Cougars won at least 25 games for the third-straight season and appeared in the polls for a third-straight year for the first time since 1979-80, 1980-81 and 1981-82. With a 12-4 league mark BYU increased its all-time lead to 99 MWC wins and Dave Rose added to his total of 51 — third all-time in the MWC. Rose is the league’s all-time leader in winning percentage (.797).

2010-11
Led by the National Player of Year in Jimmer Fredette and BYU's all-time steals leader Jackson Emery, the Cougars set numerous program records while capturing a share of the MWC regular season title. With an overall record of 32-5, BYU set team records for wins, winning percentage (.864) and wins away from home (19 total, 10 road and nine neutral). Fredette led the nation in scoring at 28.9 points per game and set the BYU single game (52 points vs. New Mexico), single season (1,068 points) and career (2,599 points) scoring records while Emery set the season (101) and career (249) steals records. BYU was ranked in the top 25 throughout the season and enjoyed nine-consecutive weeks ranked in the top 10. The Cougars swept San Diego State (ranked No. 4 and No. 6 at the time of the matchups) in the regular season to secure a share of the league title with a 14-2 mark. The Cougars earned a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1981.