The Weber State University Athletic Department will soon celebrate the 50th anniversary of Division I men’s basketball. The celebration will take place on the weekend of March 8-9.

On March 8, WSU will host “An Evening with Legends,” which will celebrate the history of Wildcat basketball. Fans will have the chance to hear former players and coaches speak and to order a book chronicling 50 years of WSU basketball. Another feature of the night will be when the school unveils the 50 best players from the past 50 years.

The following day, WSU will take on Eastern Washington University in the final regular-season home game of the year. The former coaches and the 50 players will be honored during halftime.

WSU become a four-year institution during the 1962-63 season. The Wildcats were an independent team their first year and then became founding members of the Big Sky Conference. In the 50 years WSU has been a Division I school, it has won 19 Big Sky Conference Championships, the most of any school in Big Sky history. WSU men’s basketball has also made 14 NCAA Tournament appearances and won six NCAA Tournament games.

A total of 12 Wildcats have been drafted into the NBA, most recently Damian Lillard. In 2012, ESPN.com named WSU the 39th-best college basketball program of the last 50 years.