Yes, that is correct; Prairie View A&M University has got another monkey off its back. What is this monkey in reference to you ask? It’s the NCAA Division I men’s basketball record Prairie View held for the most losses in a season.
During the 1991-1992 season, Prairie View A&M had a sorrowful record of 0-28, most certainly a record no one is proud of. In that season, the lowest margin of defeat was by 11 points. Thirteen years later, at the end of the 2004-2005 basketball season, Savannah State University matched the record, and shared part of the title with Prairie View.
As time passes changes are made, records are broken and new records are set. While the men of Prairie View were out fighting for their chances to battle for a decent seed in the conference tournament, thanks to the Utah Valley State College 76-50 win over the Highlanders of the New Jersey Institute of Technology, the record was passed on, and officially out of the hands of Prairie View.
Utah Valley State College handed the New Jersey Institute of Technology its 29 loss of the season, beating Prairie View and Savannah State out of the record by one game.
Prairie View’s ESPN fanatics probably rejoiced silently everywhere, but this is a record that needs more than a 30-second clip. The whole campus, Prairie View community, and alumni all over the world need to know. Our men may not currently have the best record in the conference, but they sure don’t own the record for most losses in a season anymore, a feat that most certainly deserves recognition.
The Prairie View Athletic Program has came a long way, there have been many ups and downs, but this is a high point. As the athletes of Prairie View continue to work hard, I’m pretty sure this coup is a sign, a sign of hope.
Prairie View athletics are past the rough side of the mountain, and slowly but surely are getting their time to shine. Since Prairie View is no longer a co-owner of the record, a breath of fresh air flows strongly throughout the Panther family. Indeed records are nice to own, but that record is one that we don’t mind giving up.