The San Diego State Aztecs basketball team is the basketball team that represent San Diego State University Aztecs in San Diego, California. The school's team currently competes in the Mountain West Conference, and play their home games in Viejas Arena. The team began play in 1921 and have been to 6 NAIA tournaments wining in 1941, 3 NCAA Division II tournaments, 5 NIT tournaments, and 7 NCAA Division I tournaments. Since joing the Mountain West Conference, the Aztecs have won 4 MWC tournaments. Notable former players who went on to achieve notable success in other areas are Art Linkletter and Tony Gwynn.
The Aztecs first began playing during the 1921-22 basketball season as part of the Southern California JC conference. They competed in Division III until 1956. They competed in 6 NAIA tournaments. Runners up in 1939 and in 1940, the Aztecs finally prevailed and won the 1941 NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament.[1] They became a NCAA Division I school in 1970 and moved to the Western Athletic Conference in 1978. In 1999 the Aztecs left the WAC and became a charter member of the Mountain West Conference. Prior to entering the Mountain West, they went to 3 NCAA Conference tournaments. During their time in the MWC, the Aztecs have won 4 conference tournaments and have been to 4 NCAA tournaments and 4 NIT tournaments. In 2010-11 season, the Aztecs were ranked as high as 4th in the nation and won their first ever games in the NCAA tournament, reaching the Sweet Sixteen.[2]
The Aztecs play their home games at Viejas Arena (formerly Cox Arena), which is located on the west side of campus. Viejas Arena opened in 1997 as Cox Arena and seats 12,414 for basketball games.[3] In 2009, the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians purchased the naming rights for ten years. [4] The arena features an octagonal scoreboard with video-replay system, that includes up-to-the-minute statistical information on individual players. The facility is also equipped with seven locker rooms, two of which are complete with team rooms, equipment rooms, and a shared training room.[5]
Prior to the opening of the arena, mens basketball played it games at Peterson Gym and the San Diego Sports Arena.[6][7]
Head coaches[]
Denotes through the 2010-11 basketball season.
Name
Seasons
Record
Percentage
C.E. Peterson
1921-26
70-30
.700
Tom McMullen
1926-29
23-17
.575
Morris Gross
1929-42
190-85
.690
Don DeLauer
1942-43
14-9
.609
Alex Alexander
1943-45
17-26
.395
Charlie Smith
1945-48
45-36
.563
George Ziegenfuss
1948-69
316-229
.580
Dick Davis
1969-74
65-67
.492
Tim Vezie
1974-79
77-62
.554
Smokey Gaines
1979-87
112-117
.489
Jim Brandenburg
1987-91
52-87
.356
Jim Harrick Jr. (Interm coach)
1992
0-7
.000
Tony Fuller
1992-94
20-37
.351
Fred Trenkle
1994-99
55-83
.399
*Steve Fisher
1999-present
232-152
.604
Season-by-season results[]
All information retrieved from the 2010-11 San Diego State Aztec Men's Basketball Media Guide
Division III era[]
Southern California JC
Season
Head Coach
Conference
Overall
Post Season
1921-22
C.E. Peterson
4-1 (2nd)
14-8
1922-23
C.E. Peterson
6-0 (1st)
17-5
1923-24
C.E. Peterson
5-1 (2nd)
7-6
1924-25
C.E. Peterson
3-0 (1st)
17-7
Independent
Season
Head Coach
Conference
Overall
Post Season
1925-26
C.E. Peterson
None
15-4
Southern California Intercollegiate Conference
Season
Head Coach
Conference
Overall
Post Season
1926-27
Tom McMullen
5-6 (4th)
9-6
1927-28
Tom McMullen
2-6 (6th)
10-8
1928-29
Morris Gross*
3-4 (4th)
8-8
1929-30
Morris Gross
2-5 (5th)
6-6
1930-31
Morris Gross
3-4 (4th)
7-3
1931-32
Morris Gross
5-1 (1st)
13-2
1932-33
Morris Gross
4-3 (3rd)
5-6
1933-34
Morris Gross
10-2 (1st)
11-5
1934-35
Morris Gross
5-5 (4th)
13-7
1935-36
Morris Gross
7-3 (2nd)
11-5
1936-37
Morris Gross
9-1 (1st)
17-9
1937-38
Morris Gross
5-3 (2nd)
20-8
1938-39
Morris Gross
6-2 (1st)
24-7
Lost NAIA Finals
* Tom McMullen coached first 7 games of 1928-29 season
