| Wartburg Knights | |
| Conference: | ARC |
| Location: | Waverly, Iowa |
| Coach: | Sam Leal |
| Tenure: | 1st |
| Arena: | Levick Arena |
| Capacity: | 2,000 |
| Nickname: | Knights |
| Ncaaeliteeight: | 1987 |
| Ncaasweetsixteen: | 1975, 1987, 1989, 1991, 2017 |
| Ncaatourneys: | 1975, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, 2001, 2017 |
| Conference Tournament: | 2001, 2017 |
| Conference Season: | 1952, 1955, 1959, 1960, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1983, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, 2001, 2005, 2006 |
| H Pattern B: | _thinblacksides |
| H Body: | FFFFFF |
| H Shorts: | FFFFFF |
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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.
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.[1] Following his retirement the
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.[2] Following his retirement, the colleges new arena, built in 2008, would be named in his honor, Levick Arena.[3]
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.[4] 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.[5] In December 2021, Peth entered the 600 win club following Wartburg's 82–70 win against University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire.[6] In April 2024, Peth announced his retirement after 27 seasons at the helm.[7]
Sam Leal was announced as the 13th head men's basketball coach in Wartburg history on May 1, 2024.[8]
Wartburg has appeared in 7 NCAA Tournaments with a record of 7–8.[9]
| First Round Sweet Sixteen | Coe Augustana (Ill) | W 79–78 L 61−62 | ||
| First Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight | Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Gustavus Adolphus North Park | W 91–81 W 74–72 L 63–88 | ||
| First Round Sweet Sixteen Regional Third Place | Gustavus Adolphus Nebraska Wesleyan Pomona-Pitzer | W 78–62 L 63–87 L 67–80 | ||
| 1991 | First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen | Bye Central (IA) Calvin | - W 75–73 L 57–61 | |
| First Round | St John's (MN) | L 75-80(OT) | ||
| 13 | First Round Second Round | Bye Illinois Wesleyan | - L 60–65 | |
| First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen |
| W 92–66 W 76–43 L 69–80 | ||
As of the completion of 2024 season[11]
| Tenure | Coach | Years | Record | Pct. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1935–1938 1943-1945 | Elmer Hertel | 5 | 47–30 | ||
| 1938–1939 | 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 | ||
| 1947–1955 1956-1961 | 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 | 1 | 10–14 | |||
| 1997–2024 | 27 | 401–302 | |||
| 2024–Present | 1 | 0–0 | |||
| Totals | 13 coaches |
| Year | Player | Type | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |