The Northern Colorado Bears are one of the new kids on the block in the college basketball world. The Bears are so new that it’s still easy for fans to find cheap Northern Colorado basketball tickets. However, things aren’t likely to stay that way forever. UNC has already started to flex its muscles after making the jump to the Division I level in 2003. The Bears are showing that they have the potential to grow into a formidable mid-major, making last-minute Northern Colorado basketball tickets worth the price of admission for fans.

Rough Start

As is the case with a lot of programs, UNCO struggled after making the jump from Division I to Division II. The Bears made just one appearance in the Division II NCAA Tournament after 1966, so they were not exactly a powerhouse at the Division II level. During UNC’s first three seasons at the Division I level, the Bears were 17-69.

Finding the Path

Despite some rough years, once the Bears got things going, they made a lot of progress in a short period of time. Just three years after a 4-24 campaign, Tad Boyle led UNCO to its first winning season as a Division I program, going 25-8 during the 2009-10 campaign, a season that ended in the CIT Quarterfinal. Boyle then left, leaving the program to assistant B.J. Hill, who led the Bears to the Big Sky championship and the first NCAA Tournament berth in program history in his first season at the helm.

One Step Back, Two Steps Forward

Of course, progress proved to be anything but linear for UNCO. After playing in the NCAA Tournament in 2011, the Bears endured losing seasons in five of the next six seasons. However, Jeff Linder came aboard in 2016 to get Northern Colorado back on track. Under Linder, the Bears won the 2018 CIT to cap off a 26-12 season. The following year, the Bears returned to the upper-echelon of the Big Sky and are poised to continue to be one of the top teams in that conference for many years to come.