Hall of Honor
The 1958 and 1959 Men's Basketball teams made consecutive appearances in the National NJCAA Tournament. During Colorado Mesa University's first 50 years as a junior college, these were the only two basketball teams to appear on the national stage.
The NJCAA Tournament in Hutchinson, Kansas is equivalent to the JUCO World Series of Baseball. Teams played their way out of 16 regional tournaments across the nation to appear in the double elimination event. Prior to Mesa's consecutive appearances in the national tournament, Pueblo College and their legendary coach Harry Simmons had dominated Region 9, made up of Colorado, Nebraska, and Wyoming. The 1959 team met and defeated the Pueblo College team in three out of four meetings, including a 94-91 point victory in the regional finals. The 1958 team defeated Northeastern College 83-66 in the regional finals.
These teams were guided by Mavericks Hall of Honor Coach Wayne Nelson during the third and fourth years of his coaching career. A core of 1957 freshman team members - Ron Bell, Ron Williams, Jim Wexels, Jim Hanks, John Jaynes, Wayne Jenson, and Norman Schulz - played on both teams. The 1958 team included Rey Naegle, Jim Hitchborn, and Gary Cowan. The 1959 team included Gary Flynn, Gene MacAdams, Ron Faulkner, Jack Campbell, Dick Asmus, and Dan Hansen.
The 1958 team took an 18-11 record to the national tourney with only four of their 11 losses to other junior college teams. They later beat those same teams. Other losses were to military service teams and the Brigham Young University freshmen. At the national tournament, they lost to Hutchinson College in the opener. They came back to beat Flint College of Michigan and then lost to Broome College from Binghamton, New York.
The 1959 team took a 19-6 record to the NJCAA tournament. They lost to Pratt College, Kansas 65-60 and lost to Lindsay-Wilson College, Kentucky 83-76. Joe Much, a sports editor for The Daily Sentinel, called these basketball teams, “the best in Mesa College history.”
