Harding Bisons

Harding Bisons
University Harding University
Conference Great American Conference
Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (men's soccer)
Lone Star Conference (track & field)
NCAA Division II
Athletic director Greg Harnden
Location Searcy, Arkansas
Varsity teams 16
Football stadium First Security Stadium
Basketball arena Rhodes Field House
Baseball stadium Jerry Moore Field
Nickname Bisons
Colors Black and Gold
         
Website www.hardingsports.com

The Harding Bisons are the athletic teams that represent Harding University, located in Searcy, Arkansas, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. The Bisons compete as members of the Great American Conference for all 16 varsity sports except men's soccer, which competes as an associate member of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association, and the track & field programs, which are associate members of the Lone Star Conference. Harding began in the Gulf South Conference in 2000 before moving to the newly formed Great American Conference (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
  • 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 11th 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 Enterprise Rent-A-Car and GEICO in an online fan poll, receiving more votes than nine Division I institutions, such as Indiana University, the University of Arizona, West Virginia University, and others.[1]

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.

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, coached by Ronnie Huckeba, has been known for its prolific triple-option rushing attack in recent seasons. In 2011, Harding led Division II with 360.9 rushing yards per game.

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

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, April 19, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.