For the first time in its history, the University of Arizona wheelchair men’s basketball team won the national title. UA leadership is honoring the team Saturday.
The Wildcat wheelchair basketball team has been fighting for the championship title for nearly 50 years. Close calls in 2023 and 2024 left the team determined, according to Adaptive Athletics Director Pete Hughes.
“This year they lost a couple games, they still got the number one seat but it was a more difficult road to the championship and I think that made them a little bit more resilient," Hughes said.
Hughes says announcers used to call them the Wheelchair Buffalo Bills, a jab at the Wildcats’ losses up until this year.
Separately, UA announced that they will be hosting the 2026 National Intercollegiate Wheelchair Basketball Tournament. This requires use of the university’s full-sized collegiate court, usually is reserved for its able-bodied athletes.
“So it will be like 25 games over three days and [we’re] very excited about it. It will be the biggest thing that Adaptive Athletics has ever hosted or done, which is saying quite a bit," Hughes said.
The McKale Memorial Center will be rented out to the Adaptive Athletics program for the first time.
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The BYU men’s basketball team beat University of Arizona in February in Tucson, in a game that featured a wild and controversial ending. After the game, fans at McKale Center directed a derogatory chant at the BYU team. Matthew Bowman, the Howard W. Hunter Chair of Mormon Studies at Claremont Graduate University and professor of history and religion there, joined The Show to discuss what he makes of these kinds of incidents.
