After historic 2 years, Todd Phillips inks extension with Utah Valley

OREM — Todd Phillips' success in his first two seasons in Utah Valley will keep him in the Beehive State for years to come.

Phillips inked a two-year contract extension to his deal that was scheduled to expire following the 2025-26 season, keeping the former JUCO national champion at Salt Lake Community College under contract through the 2027-28 campaign.

In two seasons at the helm of the Wolverines, Phillips holds a 41-25 record that includes a 26-10 mark in Western Athletic Conference play — the most wins by a Utah Valley head coach in his first two years in program history.

He was a finalist for the Hugh Durham Award, given annually to the nation's top mid-major head coach after leading the Wolverines to a WAC regular-season title, the WAC Tournament championship game, and a berth in the National Invitational Tournament for the third time in program history.

"I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to continue leading the Utah Valley men's basketball program," Phillips said. "We have something truly special here, and I appreciate the incredible support from Dr. Jared Sumsion, VP Val Paterson, our biggest fan President Astrid S. Tuminez, and the Wolverine community.

"I'm excited about our future and committed to building on our recent successes, competing for championships, and continuing to develop student-athletes who excel both on the court and beyond," he added. "My family and I love being a part of UVU and look forward to more great moments ahead."

The WAC Coach of the Year won an outright regular-season league title with a 15-1 mark for the program's fourth conference championship overall and second outright.

Among the team's other accolades were Dominick Nelson as WAC player of the year, Carter Welling as WAC defensive player of the year, Tanner Toolson on the All-WAC second team, and Jackson Holcombe an All-WAC freshman.

Utah Valley rated as one of the top defensive team's in the country this past season under Phillips, ranking fifth with 5.6 blocks per game, 25th with 27.35 defensive rebounds per game, and 41st with 38.21 rebounds per game.

The Wolverines also led the WAC with a 46.8% field-goal percentage, 15.6 assists per game, and a plus-4.9 rebounding margin.

"Coach Phillips has built a championship culture both on and off the court, demonstrating exceptional leadership that resonates throughout our program,"Sumsion said. "We are thrilled to extend Todd's contract and solidify his leadership at UVU.

"He has established a tradition of success and winning, and we look forward to continued success and competing for league titles and NCAA and postseason tournament appearances under his guidance."

Phillips came to Utah Valley in 2019 as an assistant under former coach Mark Madsen and spent two more years as associate head coach before moving to the head of the bench in 2023.

In eight seasons at Salt Lake Community College, he compiled a 205-58 record that included four NJCAA tournament appearances, four Region 18 tournament titles, three SWAC regular-season titles, and a junior college national championship in 2015-16, when he was named NJCAA coach of the year.

A native of Boise, Idaho, Phillips played basketball at Snow College before finishing his career at Lewis-Clark State College in 1999 and earning a degree in education. He also received a master's degree in education administration from the University of Utah.

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