represent the University on a national stage with great effect. They allow HBU to draw exceptional athletes, serve as a main component of student and alumni experience, and elevate the school to a level that meets and surpasses other universities.
Athletics teams have played a formative role in shaping the identity of the University since its early days. The first sports programs were baseball and men鈥檚 basketball in 1964 (Looser, 2010). Program offerings continued to grow, and by the 1980s, University athletics had entered what Dr. Don Looser called a 鈥済olden era for intercollegiate sports鈥� in his book on the history of HBU, 鈥淎n Act of Providence: A History of Houston Baptist University, 1960-2010.鈥� At that time, the men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 gymnastics teams were nationally ranked, and the soccer and golf teams were nationally ranked as well.
The next decade, however, marked a scaling back in University sports. Looser notes, 鈥淭he HBU Board of Trustees voted in 1991 to move intercollegiate athletics from the NCAA to the NAIA Division I in basketball, baseball, softball and volleyball. The Board further voted to eliminate men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 gymnastics and riflery, men鈥檚 golf and soccer.鈥�
In the years to come, University sports programs prospered, and they enjoyed wide success at the NAIA level.
Turning Point
While HBU has a long history of athletic achievement, 2007 and 2008 marked a huge turning point in the life of the University. The Huskies started the process of transition and began Division I play; HBU was fully admitted back into the NCAA in 2011. The University also announced acceptance into the Southland Conference.
Now, HBU鈥檚 thriving, NCAA Division I sports are football, volleyball, men’s soccer, women’s soccer, men’s cross country and indoor and outdoor track, women’s cross country and indoor and outdoor track, men’s golf, women’s golf, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, beach volleyball, softball and baseball.
The athletics department has taken huge growth and changes in stride thanks to its shared vision. Much of the success of the programs is due to the direction and support of HBU president, Dr. Robert Sloan.
鈥淥ur reasons for wanting to rejoin the NCAA had everything to do with visibility for HBU and the engagement of our students and alumni in the life of the University,鈥� Sloan said. 鈥淭he benefits for HBU have been huge. It immediately increased our visibility and gave us a platform with which to publicize the University and attract additional student-athletes. One other amazing thing has been that 鈥� contrary to what people often assume 鈥� athletics has contributed more to the financial strength of HBU than it has demanded.鈥�
HBU director of Athletics, Steve Moniaci, credits Dr. Sloan鈥檚 leadership. He also lauds the coaches who have ensured the teams are high-level contenders. 鈥淭eams always take after their leaders. They take on the characteristics of their coaches,鈥� he said. 鈥淎ll of them are very fine Christians and very much believe in the development of the individual athlete.鈥�
Associate athletic director and James Sears Bryant Head Men鈥檚 Basketball Coach since 1990, Ron Cottrell, said, 鈥淭his is a clich茅, but I don鈥檛 think we work. We enjoy what we do. It is a commitment level unlike most jobs, but it鈥檚 rewarding and satisfying. I can鈥檛 imagine doing anything else.鈥�
A Benefit to Athletes
While the teams have amassed numerous wins, accolades and even championships, Moniaci looks at winning in multiple ways. 鈥淚t鈥檚 important that we win, but it鈥檚 not the most important. The most important thing is the number of lives I feel like we鈥檝e changed,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e have 85 percent of athletes who graduate. The transformation from the children they came in as, to the young men and women they become, is rewarding.鈥�
HBU is able to teach and train student-athletes uniquely due to the campus environment, Moniaci said. 鈥淚f you go out and walk across the campus, you鈥檙e going to know who many people are and you鈥檙e going to know something about them. That鈥檚 just not the case at the larger institutions. And when you know folks, you care about them,鈥� he said.
Athletes are among the most involved students on campus. Many of them participate in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Student Athlete Advisory Committee. Each year, teams participate in service projects through Southland Gives Back.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of volunteerism they do that doesn鈥檛 get publicized,鈥� said Russ Reneau, HBU assistant athletic director for media relations and broadcasting. 鈥淭hey want to give back to the community.鈥�
Another less-known fact is that HBU athletes carry a higher average GPA than the student body as a whole; athletes鈥� graduation rate is also higher. 鈥淲e have won the academic award the last four years in the Southland Conference,鈥� Reneau said. 鈥淲e pride ourselves in being the top academic institution in the league.鈥�
School Spirit
Athletics competition provides an important outlet for school spirit and connection to the campus. 鈥淲e always want as many fans as we can to be reached on as many platforms as possible,鈥� Reneau said. 鈥淚 want students to know that it鈥檚 free to come out and watch a game.鈥�
HBU鈥檚 unique standing as a caring, Christian school with high-level competition draws recruits from around the United States and the world.
Cottrell said HBU appeals to athletes due to a number of factors. 鈥淓very kid is an individual. They look at it from their perspective 鈥� what is important to them,鈥� he said. 鈥淔or some, it鈥檚 the education and degree programs. For some, it鈥檚 the Christian values. For some, it鈥檚 the Division I. For some, it鈥檚 the bigger city. Everybody has their own reasons why they feel HBU is the place for them. We check off the boxes for a lot of different people.鈥�
When they compete for HBU, student-athletes get more benefits than many imagined. Scores of athletes have become Christians as a result of their time at HBU, and each has grown in character. Combined with HBU鈥檚 instruction, HBU athletes are set up for success.
Mary-Ellen Hall 鈥�88, softball head coach and senior woman administrator, joined the coaching staff in 1988. She said, 鈥淲e are fortunate to be able to coach at a University that imparts Christian values. We demonstrate the importance of a solid moral and ethical foundation. We teach life skills. We believe in the importance of family and a profession and personal spirituality. We want them to be the best they can be on the field, in the classroom, and in their daily lives.鈥�
Reference:
Looser, Don. (2010). An Act of Providence: A History of Houston Baptist University, 1960-2010. Halcyon Press.
HBU Athletics Recent Academic Prowess
HBU athletes have taken the top spot in academics for the last four years in the Southland Conference. They carry a higher average GPA than the student body as a whole; athletes鈥� graduation rate is also higher.
Four-straight Southland Conference APR Awards (Academic Performance Rate)
Women’s Basketball WBCA (Women’s Basketball Coaches Association)
Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll (14th-Highest GPA in nation)
Men’s Basketball: 5 Named to NABC (National Association of Basketball Coaches) Honors Court (Third-most nationally)
Both Indoor and Beach Volleyball Earned AVCA (American Volleyball Coaches Association)
Team Academic Honors
Women’s Golf: 5 WGCA (Women’s Golf Coaches Association) All-America Scholars
Men’s Golf: GCAA (Golf Coaches Association of America) Outstanding Team Academic Award; Nicko Martinez Named Srixon/Cleveland Golf All-America Scholar
2018-19 Google Cloud CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America) Academic All-Americans:
Kayla Davenport, Volleyball
Amanda Johnson, Women’s Basketball
Demi Janak, Softball
Ana Kriletic, Track & Field
*Four is the most HBU has had in a single year