Going South in Alaska: Numerous DI Schools Got Cold Shoulder in Anchorage

In-season tournaments at warmer venues have significantly reduced the quality of the Great Alaska Shootout field. In the final year of the event, Santa Clara became the seventh NCAA Division I school to twice lose against DII Alaska-Anchorage among the total of 50 DI opponents bowing to the Seawolves. Over the years, UAA upended the following current/future members from power conferences - Auburn, California, Houston, Miami, Michigan, Missouri, Notre Dame, Penn State, SMU, Tennessee, Texas, TCU, Texas Tech, Wake Forest and Washington.

Michigan's 1989 NCAA Tournament champion lost on a neutral court (Utah) to Anchorage, 70-66, during the Wolverines' pre-Big Ten Conference competition slate. The Seawolves dropped six of their last 12 games that season against Chaminade, Metro State (twice), Eastern Montana, Puget Sound and Alaska-Fairbanks to finish with a 21-9 record before Michigan earned an NCAA crown maneuvering through the DI playoffs under interim coach Steve Fisher.

UAA defeated at least one major university 10 consecutive campaigns from 1985-86 through 1994-95. If sizing up small-school successes over the big boys is a need-to-know topic in your college hoops analysis, CollegeHoopedia.com has assembled "one-of-a-kind" details on the striking number of "David vs. Goliath" small-college victories over major universities.