Published Nov 1, 2023 by Gavin Struve

The men’s and women’s Division I college basketball season does not begin until Monday, but Division II college hoops get underway a few days earlier.

Locally, that starts with the University of Alaska Fairbanks women starting their season on Friday at the DII Canadian Tip-Off Classic. The Nanooks will travel to British Columbia where they will take on Texas A&M International, UT Tyler and Colorado Mesa, in that order.

The Nanooks will not play at home until the Mt. McKinley Bank North Star Invitational the weekend of Nov. 24, then will be away from Alaska Airlines Gymnasium again until the new year. Here are six numbers that could define or inform the upcoming season.

There is a quartet of Alaskans on the UAF roster, and three of them are returnees. 

UAF’s average wins per season over the past five campaigns sits at 3.2. 

The Nanooks have a single win over Alaska Anchorage in the past 14 seasons.

There are no teams ranked behind UAF in the 10-team GNAC preseason coaches poll.

The Nanook women’s turnovers average, above 20 per game, ranked in the bottom 16 among nearly 300 teams nationally (and last in the GNAC).

The Nanooks return all four of the women who started at least 20 games for them last season and were their primary starters. 

Published Nov 1, 2023 by Josh Reed

The top performer on a team isn’t always the heart and soul of the program. But junior endurance runner Cole Nash fits the mold of that role for the University of Alaska Anchorage cross country team.

Nash is a four-time All-American between cross country and track and field, a regional champion and the reigning GNAC Men’s Cross Country Athlete of the Year. But his impact on others in the program has been even more profound.

Seawolves associate head coach Chas Davis believes what makes him such an influential leader is that he “walks the talk” and will often put the needs of others ahead of himself.