ELLENSBURG, Wash. – Central Washington University Director of Athletics Dr. Dennis Francois has announced that a celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Coach Dean Nicholson and the 1970 Men's Basketball NAIA National Runner-Up Team will take place Feb. 22.
 
"We are excited and honored to recognize the accomplishments of the 1970 men's basketball team and Coach Dean Nicholson," Dr. Francois said. "That was a magical era for Central Washington University men's basketball and source of pride for not only our University, but also the community of Ellensburg."
 
The NAIA National Runner-Up team will be publicly recognized at halftime of the men's basketball game against Concordia (Ore.) on Saturday, Feb. 22 inside Nicholson Pavilion. Fans who attend the game can receive a free replica jersey t-shirt upon admission.
 
The 1969-70 Wildcats Men's Basketball is still the only basketball team, men or women, to have played for a National Championship. During the 1969-70 campaign, the then Central Washington State College men posted an impressive 31-2 overall record and went 12-0 in conference play en route to making a run to a NAIA National Championship appearance.
 
"The 1970 Men's Basketball team represents the pinnacle achievement of this program," CWU Head Coach Brandon Rinta said. "We are excited to celebrate with them on the 50th anniversary of their historic run and honor their legacy."
 
Of the 31 wins, the Wildcats put together a streak of 25-straight wins which included their 12-0 mark against conference opponents and a 2-0 record in the district/region tournament to make the NAIA National Tournament. CWU finished the season 16-0 at home, 10-0 on the road and 5-2 in neutral site games.
 
"This anniversary recognizes the team and what we accomplished that year and it is has a lot to do with Coach Nicholson simply because we had a lot of close games that year," former CWU player David Allen said. "I believe we had 10 or more game that season that were under 10 points, so it just shows how tough our conference was and it shows the type of players we had with the ability to make the right decisions at the right time."
 
Allen's statement rings true as the Wildcats that season had a total of 19 games that were decided by 10 or less points. In those games, CWU was a team of "Cardiac Cats" as they went a staggering 17-2 in those 19 games.
 
The Wildcats season included a regular season Evergreen Conference Title, a District/Region Tournament Title, and a Runner-Up finish in the NAIA National Tournament.
 
Going into the National Tournament, the Wildcats were the No. 3 seed. They started their run to a National Championship appearance with a 77-65 win over then St. Benedict's College (Kan.) in the opening round.
 
The second-round matchup pitted CWU against Wartburg College (Iowa), a game that the Wildcats won by a final of 66-58. The quarterfinal round was a hard fought one as CWU held off Jackson State University (Miss.) 72-70 to make the semifinals.
 
The semifinal round was another fight until the very end as the Wildcats secured a one-point victory over Eastern New Mexico University, 54-53, to punch their ticket to the National Championship game. The Wildcats bowed out to Kentucky State, 79-71, in the finals to finish the season at 31-2. The 31 wins is tied for third most in a season in program history.
 
Tip-off for the men's game against Concordia (Ore.) will be at 7:15 p.m. inside Nicholson Pavilion. Recognition of the 1970 team will take place at halftime.
 
"It's a great moment to ultimately be recognized in Nicholson Pavilion. When you get a chance to play college ball you realize you are playing elite level athletes both with you and against you. To be successful, you have to sacrifice your strengths for the team. In doing this it was all about winning games," Allen added. "In the four years I was there and the others who came in they had a lot of experience and success, so to come in and have the year we had was through a lot of hard work."