The Harding Bisons are the athletic teams that represent

Harding University Harding University is a Private university, private Christian university with its main campus in Searcy, Arkansas, United States. Established in 1924, the institution offers Undergraduate education, undergraduate, Postgraduate education, gradu ...

, located in

Searcy, Arkansas Searcy ( ) is the largest city in and the county seat of White County, Arkansas, United States. According to 2019 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 23,767. It is the principal city of the Searcy, AR Micropolitan Statisti ...

, in

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is the intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environment ...

intercollegiate sports. The Bisons compete as members of the

Great American Conference The Great American Conference (GAC) is a List of NCAA conferences, college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the NCAA Division II, Division II level, with headquarters located in Russellvil ...

for all 16 varsity sports. Harding began in the

Gulf South Conference The Gulf South Conference (GSC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level, which operates in the Southeastern United States. History Originally known as the ...

in 2000 before moving to the newly formed

(GAC) in 2011. In the GAC's first season, Harding won conference championships in women's cross country and women's golf and placed second in the conference's all-sports trophy standings.

Varsity teams

List of teams

Men's sports * Baseball * Basketball * Cross Country *

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

* Golf * Soccer * Tennis * Track & Field Women's sports * Basketball * Cross Country * Golf * Soccer * Softball * Tennis * Track & Field * Volleyball

Individual sports

Baseball

Harding's baseball team qualified its first NCAA Tournament in 2011. The Bisons won a school-record 42 games, won the Gulf South Conference West Division, and finished the season ranked 24th in Division II.

Basketball

In his 20th season as head coach of the Harding men's basketball team, Jeff Morgan has led the Bisons to 15 postseason appearances, including three trips to the national tournament. In 2010–11, Morgan led the Bisons to a 25–5 record, a Gulf South Conference Tournament championship, its third berth in the NCAA Tournament, and a No. 11 national ranking. In February 2013, the Rhodes Field House was named the Best Road Trip Destination in College Basketball by

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and

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in an online fan poll, receiving more votes than nine Division I institutions, such as

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

, the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia, United States. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Ins ...

, and others. Harding women's basketball has had six straight winning seasons under eighth-year head coach Tim Kirby. In 2011–12, the Lady Bisons advanced to the finals of the GAC Tournament in Bartlesville, Okla.

Bowling

In 1970, the Harding bowling team won the NAIA national championship.

Cross Country

The Bison cross country team, under head coach Steve Guymon, has won 10 conference championships and 10 regional championships during its time in the NCAA. Harding's men have also placed in the top 10 at the national meet seven times. Harding women's cross country also has 10 conference championships, four regional championships and four top-10 finishes in the national meet since 1997.

Football

The Bison football team, under former coach Ronnie Huckeba and current coach Paul Simmons, are known for its prolific triple-option rushing attack. In 2011, Harding led Division II with 360.9 rushing yards per game. Coach Huckeba announced his retirement prior to the 2016 season, during which he was named the Don Hansen National Coach of the Year. The Bisons achieved a 13–1 record and finished in the NCAA Division II Quarterfinals. Four players from the 2016 season received All American Honors, and two more received honorable mention. Paul Simmons, former Defensive Coordinator for the Bisons since 2010, was named Head Coach, to begin in the 2017 season, by Athletic Director Greg Harnden.

Softball

Since its inception in the 2013–14 school year, the softball team has been coached by Phil Berry, formerly of the PGA.

Tennis

David Elliott served as the head tennis coach at Harding from 1975 until 2013. During his tenure his men's and women's teams combined for 1,136 victories during his career. Marco Ruiz, a Harding graduate, former Harding tennis athlete and native of São Paulo, Brazil, replaced Elliott as head tennis coach in 2013.

Volleyball

The Lady Bison volleyball squad has won seven conference championships since 2002 and earned four berths in the NCAA Division II National Tournament. Harding has a 113–12 (.904) winning percentage in conference play in the last 10 seasons.

References

External links

* {{Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association navbox

Bisons A bison (: bison) is a large bovine in the genus ''Bison'' (from Greek, meaning 'wild ox') within the tribe Bovini. Two extant and numerous extinct species are recognised. Of the two surviving species, the American bison, ''B. bison'', ...

College sports teams in Arkansas