OREM — One day after head coach Todd Phillips and the Utah Valley men's basketball team clinched a second consecutive Western Athletic Conference regular-season championship, the Wolverines added another win in a Utah court.
The Wolverines will be allowed to play in the WAC men's and women's basketball tournaments next week in Las Vegas after a court granted the university's motion for a preliminary injunction in Utah's Fourth District Court, the school confirmed Friday to KSL.com.
"We're really proud of the guys," Phillips said Thursday after Isaac Davis scored a career-high 28 points to help the Wolverines clinch the regular-season championship with a 92-88 road win over Southern Utah. "We didn't have a lot of returners coming back this season, but we've had new guys step up all year. To come in here and get a win against a really good Southern Utah team and clinch a regular-season championship says a lot about this group."
The Wolverines improved to 23-7 and 13-4 in WAC play with one game remaining Saturday at Utah Tech. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. MT on ESPN+ from St. George.
The university had already received a temporary restraining order against the WAC while the two sides contest a $1 million lawsuit related to an unpaid exit fee for leaving the conference July 1, which allowed the Wolverines to participate in the WAC indoor track and field championships and broadcast their games through the conference's media partner at ESPN+.
The decision also allowed Utah Valley athletes and coaches to be eligible for postseason awards within the conference. Scoutt Houle was named WAC men's coach of the year Friday after leading the UVU men's team to its first indoor title since 2015, with mile and 3,000-meter star Sila Kiplagat winning league freshman of the year.
#WACitf Men's Coach of the Year presented by @UCU_LA 🌟
— The Western Athletic Conference (@WACsports) March 6, 2026
Scott Houle | @UVUtfxcpic.twitter.com/zQjPVma2B3
The injunction was for a window of up to 14 days, meaning the university would have to apply for another stay on the decision to compete in the basketball tournaments. That decision was revealed Friday.
"Utah Valley University is pleased with the court's decision to grant UVU's motion for preliminary injunction in its lawsuit with the Western Athletic Conference," the school said in a statement to KSL.com. "This favorable outcome protects UVU student-athletes' rights by allowing them to participate in postseason opportunities that they have earned through their hard work, dedication and performance throughout the season. The ruling also reinstates broadcast rights, ensuring our athletes, teams, coaches and fans receive the coverage, visibility and viewership they deserve."
At the time of the first injunction, Judge Denise M. Porter of Utah's Fourth District Court wrote in her 11-page summary judgement that the university was "likely to prevail upon its claims and is entitled to equitable remedy of a restraining order as relief to reinstate their participation in the conference while the fee issue is litigated to prevent irreparable harm."
The conference, which is rebranding as the United Athletic Conference effective July 1 of this year, launched a lawsuit Feb. 3 in a Tarrant County, Texas, court alleging the university was refusing to pay a "contractually obligated exit fee in the amount of $1 million."
Utah Valley responded about two weeks later, claiming that the Texas court lacked jurisdiction of the state's largest public university and that the exit fee was related to a $5.6 million agreement beginning June 2024 between the conference and its remaining member schools to remain members of the league for two years.
