ABILENE - Hundreds of Wildcats helped pack the Hunter Welcome Center Saturday afternoon as the school formally accepted an invitation to join the Southland Conference. Here's what some of the ACU coaches and student-athletes had to say about their school's upcoming move to NCAA Division I Athletics.
17th-Year Baseball Head Coach Britt Bonneau
Since Britt Bonneau's arrival as an assistant coach in 1996, ACU has had one of the most successful baseball programs in NCAA Division II. Bonneau – who became the Wildcats' head coach at the age of 26 in 1997 – has led ACU to unparalleled heights in his 16 seasons as head coach, capturing six LSC South Division titles (2000-02, 2004-05 and 2007), two regular-season championships (2008, 2010) and five LSC Post-Season Tournament titles (2000-02, 2009, 2010).
"Yes, we'll have to wait to get to the playoffs. But I really think a great education and a chance to play D-I baseball sells itself to recruits. I've noticed over the last couple of weeks that more recruits are open to talking to me and coming here. They are interested in ACU, and now my coaches and I have to find the right players that fit the school's mission.
"What I'm now selling to the recruits, coaches and current players is the big picture, and that is we're here to build a solid foundation for future student-athletes, which I think is a key part of the Christ-like attitude we need to have.
"We're going to find a way to play the bigger schools to serve as a reward to our players since there's no postseason. I want our guys to know that there's a strong desire here to be competitive at the highest levels."
Ken Collums – the FootballScoop.com D2 Coordinator of the Year in 2010
– has presided over and called the plays for some of the most dominant offensive units in NCAA Division II history. Over the last seven seasons, the Wildcats have averaged 468.4 yards of offense and 39 points per game, while achieving near perfect balance in run-pass play selection. In the 82 games the Wildcats have played since 2005, they've run the ball 2,874 times and thrown it 2,857 times while gaining 38,412 yards in those games. Collums is the 19th head football coach in ACU history and was named to his current position in December of 2011.
"I don't anticipate having to do anything different as a D-I head coach. The X's and O's of course will all stay the same, but parts of our overall operations in terms of scheduling and recruiting will certainly experience some changes. But no matter what level we play at, the inners workings of our program are going to remain the same. We're not going to change who we are or the way we do things, and that's key to staying successful. We're just going to keep doing our thing and win games.
'Scheduling for next year is going to be a challenge. We're on our way to finding a couple of games, but in two years we're going to land in the Southland Conference, which is a quality league. I watched every Southland Conference team play on TV last season and I really came away impressed. I feel that it's a lot like the Lone Star Conference in that if you don't play well then you're not going to win. And that's how it should be."
In 18 seasons as a head coach Julie Goodenough has put together a record of 289-220 (.568), which includes nine years spent at NCAA Division I schools Oklahoma State and Charleston Southern. A former Southland Conference player at UT-Arlington, Goodenough was hired as the ACU women's basketball coach on March 27, 2012, becoming the program's sixth head coach.
"I feel our move to a mid-major conference is great for ACU because my coaches and I can continue to be hands on and develop good relationships with our student-athletes. The players are really going to enjoy the overall athletic experience performing at this level.
"I played at UT-Arlington and it was a great experience competing within a quality conference that fostered strong, healthy rivalries. And even though Stephen F. Austin dominated there for a time, the overall parity was awesome and you couldn't bet on the same winner night after night.”
Prior to coming to Abilene Christian at the start of 2011, Bobby Reeves coached at the NCAA Division I level for Texas State and Texas Tech from 1997 to 2004. His four-year tenure at Texas Tech included one All-America player, six all-region performers and eight All-Big 12 Conference selections. He also coached eight Academic All-Big 12 players and each of his teams carried a combined GPA of at least 3.0.
“It's great to be coaching again at the highest level and I'm excited for the move up, but at the same time I'm also a bit reserved because I'm fully aware of the challenges that lay ahead in trying to improve the status of this program.
“I certainly feel we're ready to compete right away in the Southland Conference and look forward to possibly facing some Big 12 teams along the way. The Lone Star Conference has prepared us well for this transition in terms of a competitive standpoint because there were always three to five teams each year that were and will continue to be national championship caliber."
If there's one ACU program that's truly ready to play at the D-I level, it's Wildcat Tennis. Head coach Hutton Jones and longtime assistant John Walker have consistently prepared their men's and women's teams for success by giving their student-athletes the opportunity to battle a number of D-I teams each season. The Wildcats faced several Southland Conference institutions this spring as well as Kentucky, Baylor, Pepperdine, Rice, Texas A&M and UTEP. Jones has led the men's and women's programs to 22 conference championships, 27 NCAA regional championships and 27 combined appearances in the NCAA Division II national tournament, including 16 straight for the women's program from 1997-2012.
“It's an amazing honor to be part of a coaching staff at this level and I believe our program is going to make a fine transition since we already compete against a lot of D-I schools. This move up is a huge jolt for recruiting … the international players are already coming here, but now we have an even greater shot at getting the top kids from Texas and around the nation.
"Maybe we'll finally break through this year and win a national championship … all the girls from last year's team are coming back and they just know how to go about their business. They're all over it, and I'm certain we'll be right back at that level again next spring."
What The Student-Athletes Are Saying …
"I'm extremely excited because I think it's every player's dream to compete at the D-I level and the very top of their game. I can't wait for this experience to begin and to be out there with my teammates, reaching our highest potential together."
“I think it's going to be challenging in general but I'm looking forward to all of us getting stronger, faster, and better together and then playing the more experienced schools. I'm excited to play basketball in some new places.”
“Abilene Christian really wanted me to come here so it was never a concern for me whether we stayed at D-II or moved up to D-I. This is change we felt was coming, there were always rumors but we never knew when it was going to happen. It feels good to be here though now that it's happened.
"I think there's a little more pressure on the student-athlete because the competition is going to be greater, so we just have to find the will to get better since we'll be facing the best college athletics has to offer.”
- Sophomore Tyler Eager, Baseball (Fort Worth Christian) -
