Thirteen teams, 13 national championships and 13 celebrations will take place during Western’s 2024–25 school year. Dubbed the “Year of the Viking,” all 13 national title teams will be inducted into the WWU Athletics Hall of Fame.
The 2012 men’s basketball team was honored during halftime of the current team’s home game against Alaska Anchorage Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025, at Carver Gym. The 2012 squad was inducted before the game in the Hall of Fame room.
“It is remarkable because we did something that no other team did in school history,” said Paul Jones, a senior forward on the 2012 team. “It wasn’t just good for the school but the City of Bellingham.”
Gallery: Western’s 2012 men’s hoops team inducted into Hall of Fame
The 2012 team finished the year with a school-record 31 wins, winning the Great Northwest Athletic Conference and the NCAA West Region title before defeating Montevallo 72-65 in the Division II national title game. It was just the second men’s basketball national championship by any four-year university in Washington. The University of Puget Sound won the DII title in 1976.
“After the first practice, I looked at the team and didn’t know if we could win a game,” former head coach Brad Jackson said. “This team began to embrace their roles and this belief they were going to win.”
The Vikings had finished the previous season with a 16-11 record and were picked to finish third in the GNAC preseason coaches’ poll. In their first Elite Eight appearance since 2001, the Vikings were on the verge of elimination, trailing Midwestern State (Texas) 16-2. Jackson led the Vikings to a 64-63 comeback after being hospitalized the previous two days.
“We got information from the NCAA that there was a preliminary banquet and the team decided to wear suits,” Jackson said. “Since that banquet, the pride they had walking into that place was on display.”
Despite Western men’s hoops not winning a title since, the 2012 men’s basketball team set a standard at the university. Since the 2012 season, the Vikings have reached the GNAC Championship game five times, the NCAA tournament three times and Final Four once.
“We had a really good team,” Jones said. “We always believed but our motto was ‘Why not us?’ We believed if someone could win, why not us?”
The other teams that will be inducted into the WWU Athletics Hall of Fame include 1998 softball, 2005–2011, 2017 and 2024 rowing teams. Induction dates for the softball and rowing teams have not yet been released.
2016, 2022 women’s soccer inducted earlier
Western began the “Year of the Viking” in fall 2024, inducting the 2016 and 2022 women’s soccer national championship teams before the current women’s team’s October 2024 game against Western Oregon.
“There is a special place in our hearts for those players and their families, and I hope they feel great about how we honored them,” coach Travis Connell said in October 2024.
The former players were invited to a ceremony in the Hall of Fame room, had lunch on the sideline during the game and were honored in front of the crowd at halftime.
“I was talking to a couple of the faculty members and told them how nice it was to have a big event,” Sierra Grad, a junior defender on the 2016 team, said. “It was one of the coolest moments that ever happened to us in our lives. Besides having my child, it’s a close second.”
The 2016 Vikings finished the season 24-0-1 and won the title game 3-2 against Grand Valley State. Grad was named the National Player of the Year, the second defender to ever win the award.
“I couldn’t have done it without my teammates,” Grad said. “It was cool to break open this boundary nobody has done before and I was proud of myself. It is one of those things where representation matters so others can see how they can do it.”
The Vikings followed it up with another title in 2022, finishing with a 19-2-4 record and defeating West Chester 2-1 in the championship game.
“It’s hard to sum up what this program has meant to us,” Chloe Unflat, a sophomore defender on the 2022 team, said. “It is such a gift to see these people and be back where we spent so many hours and spent blood, sweat and tears here.”
The 2022 team also included a few players on the current roster: goalkeepers Abigail Trengove and Grace Wales; defenders Halle Noel, Asia Hardin, Alisa Harmer, Abby Succi and Sophie Bearden Croft; midfielders Morgan Manlili and Ashley Nguyen; forwards Claire Potter, Myka Carr, Emily Rice and Sophie Bearden Croft.
Nick Zeller-Singh is CDN's sports reporter; reach him at nickzellersingh@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 104.
