RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – The legendary 19-year head coaching career of
Dave Wilbers came to a bittersweet end in the semifinal round of the 2026 Great American Conference Championship Tournament on Saturday night as Arkansas Tech lost No. 2-seed Northwestern Oklahoma, 61-58.
Over the course of his 19 years patrolling the sidelines at Arkansas Tech, Wilbers amassed a record of 382-162 for a winning percentage of 70.2%. His 382 wins are the second-most of any basketball coach at Tech, men's or women's.
Wilbers would lead the Golden Suns to seven regular season conference championships, five conference tournament championships and nine NCAA regional tournament berths. Twice, he led the Golden Suns to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament, doing so in consecutive years (2009-10 and 2010-11).
On nine separate occasions, Wilbers and his Golden Suns won at least 20 games with two of those seasons producing at least 30. Additionally, a Wilbers-led team was nationally-ranked at any point in a season 11 times. Among those, he has guided the Golden Suns to the top of the rankings on a pair of occasions during the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons.
The legacy of Coach Wilbers is cemented in Golden Suns basketball history and after just the second sub .500 season of his career a year ago, Wilbers leaves the program with the most wins since 2017-18 and back at the forefront of top programs within the GAC and the region.
For all the lives you touched and impacted – for all the wins and unforgettable moments – we collectively have just one thing to say;
Thank You, Coach Dave Wilbers and may you always, Fight On!
