Abilene Christian Wildcats (variously ACU or ACU Wildcats) refers to the sports teams of

Abilene Christian University Abilene Christian University (ACU) is a Private university, private Churches of Christ, Christian university in Abilene, Texas. It was founded in 1906 as ''Childers Classical Institute''. ACU is one of the largest private universities in the Sout ...

located in

Abilene, Texas Abilene ( ) is a city in Taylor and Jones Counties in Texas, United States. Its population was 125,182 at the 2020 census, making it the 27th-most populous city in the state of Texas. It is the principal city of the Abilene metropolitan statis ...

. The Wildcats joined the

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington (state), Washington, and Texa ...

(WAC) on July 1, 2021 after having spent the previous eight years in the

Southland Conference The Southland Conference, abbreviated as SLC, is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the South Central United States (specifically Texas and Louisiana). It participates in the NCAA's Division I for all sports; for football, it pa ...

. The nickname "

Wildcat The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') and the African wildcat (''F. lybica''). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while the ...

" is derived from the mascot of the team.

History

A member of the

, Abilene Christian sponsors teams in seven men's and eight women's NCAA sanctioned sports. On July 1, 2013, Abilene Christian returned to the Southland Conference as one of four new members. The university, a charter member of the Southland Conference, left the Southland in 1973 to join the

Lone Star Conference The Lone Star Conference (LSC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Member institutions are located in the southwestern United States, with schools in Tex ...

(LSC) of

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Division II. The Wildcats remained members of the Lone Star Conference from 1973 until returning to the Southland Conference in 2013. Overall, the Wildcats have won a combined 62 team national championships, including 57 as a member of the NCAA trailing behind

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

and

Kenyon College Kenyon College is a private liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio. It was founded in 1824 by Philander Chase. Kenyon College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. Kenyon has 1,708 undergraduates enrolled. Its 1,000-acre campus is se ...

for the most NCAA team championships. In 2007, the LSC included 33 ACU current and former student athletes in its 75-member all-sports team commemorating the conference's 75th anniversary."Wildcats lead way as LSC honors all-time top performers,"
''ACU Today'', Summer 2007, p.32. Retrieved 2008-09-22. On August 23, 2017 the NCAA Board of Directors voted to pass ACU through to full Division I status, thus making them eligible for postseason play. On January 14, 2021, ACU was one of five institutions announced as future members of the

(WAC), alongside three other Southland members from Texas ( Lamar,

Sam Houston Samuel Houston (, ; March 2, 1793 – July 26, 1863) was an American general and statesman who played an important role in the Texas Revolution. He served as the first and third president of the Republic of Texas and was one of the first two i ...

Stephen F. Austin Stephen Fuller Austin (November 3, 1793 – December 27, 1836) was an American-born empresario. Known as the "Father of Texas" and the founder of Anglo Texas,Hatch (1999), p. 43. he led the second and, ultimately, the successful colonization ...

) plus

Big Sky Conference The Big Sky Conference (BSC) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I with football competing in the Football Championship Subdivision. Member institutions are located in the western United States in the eigh ...

member

Southern Utah Southern Utah University (SUU) is a public university in Cedar City, Utah. Founded in 1897 as a normal school, Southern Utah University now graduates over 1,800 students each year with baccalaureate and graduate degrees from its six colleges. ...

. Initially, all five schools were to join in July 2022, but the entry of ACU and the other Texas schools was moved to 2021 after the Southland expelled its departing members.

Conference affiliation history

* 1963–64 to 1972–73 – Southland Conference * 1973–74 to 2012–13 – Lone Star Conference * 2013–14 to 2020–21 – Southland Conference * 2021–22 to Present – Western Athletic Conference

Championships

National championships

Conference championships

Lone Star Conference The Lone Star Conference (LSC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Member institutions are located in the southwestern United States, with schools in Tex ...

Notable non-varsity sports

ACU currently has club sports in Men's Lacrosse, Men's Rugby, Men's Soccer, and Co-Ed Golf. ACU Athletics took over all club sports on the ACU campus in January 2017 and named Todd Rogers as the Director of Club Sports, who oversees all 4 sports. Todd is an Abilene native and a December 2016 graduate of Texas Tech University. As the Director of Club Sports, Rogers will oversee the university's nationally competitive program with the hopes of driving enrollment and adding more club sports in the future.

ACU athletes in halls of fame

College Football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

–

Wilbert Montgomery Wilbert Montgomery (born September 16, 1954) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for nine years with the Philadelphia Eagles and Detroit Lions. He was also the running ...

(1996).

Drake Relays The Drake Relays (officially the Drake Relays presented by Xtream powered by Mediacom) is an outdoor track and field event held in Des Moines, Iowa, in Drake Stadium on the campus of Drake University. Billed as ''America's Athletic Classic'', it ...

–

Bobby Morrow Bobby Joe Morrow (October 15, 1935May 30, 2020) was an American sprinter who won three gold medals at the 1956 Olympics. He has been called "the dominant sprinter of the 1950s" and "the most relaxed sprinter of all time, even more so than his ...

, (1959).

–

, football (1996);

Billy Olson Billy Richard Olson (born July 19, 1958) is a retired American Olympic pole vaulter who held several world records, including the first 19-foot indoor pole vault.Al Pickett"Abilene has produced more than its share of stars," ''Abilene Reporter-N ...

, men's track and field (1997);

Wally Bullington Wallace "Coach Bully" Bullington (May 17, 1931 – July 20, 2018) was a former American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas for 39 years as football player, assista ...

, football (1999);

Wes Kittley Wes Kittley is the current head coach of the Texas Tech Red Raiders track and field team. He has produced several national champions and Olympians in Sally Kipyego and Kennedy Kithuka. Career Abilene Christian, 1983-1999 Kittley was the women's t ...

, track and field (2006). U.S. Olympic –

, men's track and field (1989). Texas Sports –

(1960), Tonto Coleman (1983), Eck Curtis (1985). U.S. Track and Field –

(1975)

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

–

John Layfield John Charles Layfield (born November 29, 1966), better known by the ring name John "Bradshaw" Layfield (abbreviated to JBL), is an American retired professional wrestler and football player. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on ...

(2020; played football at ACU)

Media

All Abilene Christian athletics are broadcast on

ESPN+ ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

and

KHXS KHXS (102.7 FM, "102 The Bear") is an FM radio station playing classic rock music. It serves the area of Abilene, Texas, United States. The station is under ownership of Cumulus Media. History On April 3, 1978, the Federal Communications Commis ...

References

External links

* {{Authority control