The Pikeville Bears are the athletic teams that represent the
University of Pikeville, located in
Pikeville, Kentucky
Pikeville () is a city in and the county seat of Pike County, Kentucky, United States. During the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. Census, the population within Pikeville's city limits was 7,754.
In Kentucky's current city classification sys ...
, 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
Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) since the 2023–24 academic year. The Bears previously competed in the
Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (KIAC; now currently known as the River States Conference (RSC) since the 2016–17 school year) from 1958–59 to 1999–2000. More recently, the Bears competed in the Mid-South Conference from 2000–2001 to 2022–2023.
Conference affiliations
NAIA
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Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (1958–2000)
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Mid-South Conference
The Mid-South Conference (MSC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Member institutions are located in Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee. The league is headquartered in Lou ...
(2000–2023)
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Appalachian Athletic Conference (2023–present)
Varsity teams
UPike competes in 25 intercollegiate varsity sports: men's sports include baseball, basketball, bowling, cross country, football, golf, soccer, swimming, tennis, track & field and wrestling; while women's sports include basketball, bowling, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track & field and volleyball; and co-ed sports include archery, cheerleading, dance and eSports.
Accomplishments
Pikeville athletics have won numerous conference championships and three national championships: two in women's bowling in 2004 and 2008 and a
NAIA Division I men's basketball championship in 2011.
References
External links
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{{Appalachian Athletic Conference navbox
Bears
Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the North ...