Brief
History of Athletics at La Sierra University
In
1985 after many years of informal and unauthorized
intercollegiate competition the University made
the decision to experiment with competitive
sports on the varsity level. At the behest of
the Dean of Students, Tracy Teele, and the Provost
of Loma Linda University, Dr. R. Dale McCune,
HPER was authorized to begin a varsity program.
The first two sports introduced were women’s
volleyball under the direction of Dr. Vernon
Scheffel and men’s basketball under the direction
Dr. Nelson Thomas. These teams played very limited
schedules and could hardly be considered more
than club teams.
In
1987 the athletic program gained further legitimacy
when it joined, as a charter member, the California
Coastal Conference. This was a conference composed
of a variety of non-affiliated schools, ranging
from bible colleges to technical schools to
liberal arts schools. During this time period
the University also joined a national athletic
association, the National Christian Collegiate
Athletic Association. During the last year of
the 80’s and the early 90’s HPER added some
additional sports as varsity or club sports.
These included women’s basketball, men’s volleyball,
men’s soccer, and one year there was a club
team for women’s softball. All of these programs
meant with a variety of success, most prominent
being the volleyball teams, which won several
championships during the late 80’s and early
90’s. (It should be pointed out that most of
these teams were comprised of student athletes
that have gone on to become professional successes
in a wide variety of different fields--doctors,
dentists, physical therapists, businessmen,
etc.)
During
the mid-90’s the California Coastal Conference
decided to reform itself by adding more teams
and joining the National Association of Intercollegiate
Athletics (NAIA). Under the leadership of Jeremy
Jordan, the athletic department found itself
moving in a new direction. The upshot of all
this was that the University found itself without
a conference in which to play. Without a conference
or league to play in the University was now
forced to adopt an independent status. Between
1993 and 1995 the University joined the NAIA
and became an independent within the structure
of the NAIA. Unfortunately in 1998 the University
was forced to withdraw from the NAIA, due to
budgetary constraints.
After
careful study the University decided to join
a new national athletic association. A new 5
year plan was adopted and will be implemented
in the school year 2000. The main points of
this plan include joining the National Collegiate
Athletic Association, Division III and the addition
of enough sports to include five men and five
women’s athletic teams.
However
this plan was put on hold for several years
due to a moratorium imposed by the NCAA on new
members joining the NCAA III. As a temporary
measure the University joined the United States
Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA).
Beginning
in 2004 the University began its exploratory
phase with the NCAA III. Starting in the 2005
the University began its provisional phase with
the NCAA. The University is in the process of
implementing the various requirements that are
necessary to achieve full membership in the
NCAA. Currently the University sponsors 10 teams,
(Women’s Volleyball, Men’s and Women’s Soccer,
Men’s and Women’s Basketball, Men’s and Women’s
Tennis, Men’s Golf, Softball and Baseball) and
is completing the comprehensive Institutional
Self-Study Guide (ISSG) as well as attending
a variety of national seminars and meetings
as mandated by the NCAA.
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