The MidAmerica Nazarene Pioneers are the athletic teams that represent

MidAmerica Nazarene University MidAmerica Nazarene University (MNU) is a private Nazarene (evangelical Christian) university in Olathe, Kansas in the Kansas City metropolitan area. It was established in 1966. History Mid-America Nazarene College (MANC) was founded in 1966. ...

, located in

Olathe, Kansas Olathe ( ) is the county seat of Johnson County, Kansas, United States. It is the fourth-most populous city in both the Kansas City metropolitan area and the state of Kansas, with a 2020 population of 141,290. History 19th century Olathe was ...

, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic scholarships to its stu ...

(NAIA), primarily competing in the

Heart of America Athletic Conference The Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC or The Heart) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Member institutions are located in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska in ...

(HAAC) since the 1980–81 academic year.

Varsity teams

MidAmerica Nazarene (MNU) competes in 18 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer and track & field (indoor and outdoor); while women's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, track & field (indoor and outdoor) and volleyball; and co-ed sports include cheerleading, and weightlifting.

Football

:''See 2012 Heart of America Athletic Conference football season'' The current head football coach is Paul Hansen, who started with the Pioneers in the 2021 season. College football began at MidAmerica Nazarene in 1979 under head coach

Gordon DeGraffenreid Gordon DeGraffenreid is a former American football coach. He was the first head football coach at MidAmerica Nazarene University in Olathe, Kansas, serving for 12 seasons, from 1979 to 1990, and compiling a record of 41–53. References Ye ...

. The program has managed 17 post-season appearances in various

bowl game In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivis ...

s and national championship playoff games.

Men's basketball

The Pioneers are coached by Adam Hepker ('08), who took over the team after Rocky Lamar. Under the leadership of head coach Rocky Lamar, the MNU Pioneers have become one of the NAIA's most competitive programs. Highlighted by the Pioneers 2007 NAIA Division II Championship, Coach Lamar's teams consistently finish at or near the top of the

year in and year out.

References

External links

* {{Kansas Sports MidAmerica Nazarene University