Abilene Christian Wildcats refers to the sports teams of Abilene Christian University located in Abilene, Texas. The Wildcats joined the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) on July 1, 2021, after having spent the previous eight years in the Southland Conference. The nickname "Wildcat" is derived from the mascot of the team.
The Abilene Christian Wildcats football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the Abilene Christian University located in the U.S. state of Texas. The team was a member of the Southland Conference through the 2020–21 season, but joined the Western Athletic Conference in July 2021, coinciding with that league's reinstatement of football as an official conference sport. After the 2022 season, the WAC fully merged its football league with that of the ASUN Conference, creating what eventually became the United Athletic Conference, and ACU accordingly moved its football team to the new league. The school's first football team was fielded in 1919. The team plays its home games at the on-campus Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium.
The Abilene Christian Wildcats softball team represents Abilene Christian University, located in Abilene, Texas. The Wildcats are a member of the Western Athletic Conference and participate in Division I college softball. The team is currently led by head coach Abigail Farler and plays home games at Poly Wells Field. In its inaugural 1997 season, the Wildcats finished with a remarkable #4 South Central Regional ranking and a #12 NCAA II ranking in March 1998.
The 2013 Abilene Christian Wildcats football team represented Abilene Christian University in the 2013 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by second-year head coach Ken Collums, the Wildcats compiled a record of 6–5. Abilene Christian played their home games at Shotwell Stadium in Abilene, Texas.
The 2013–14 Abilene Christian Wildcats women's basketball team represented Abilene Christian University during the 2013–14 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Wildcats were led by second year head coach Julie Goodenough and played their home games at the Moody Coliseum. They were new members of the Southland Conference. Since this was the first year of a 4-year transition phase from D2 to D1, Abilene Christian could not participate in the Southland Tournament nor the NCAA Tournament. They played each conference foe only once, with the exception of Incarnate Word. The Wildcats would have been able to participate in the WNIT or WBI tournaments if they had been invited.
The Abilene Christian Wildcats women's basketball team represents Abilene Christian University (ACU) in Abilene, Texas. ACU joined the Western Athletic Conference on July 1, 2021, after eight seasons in the Southland Conference. The Wildcats are currently coached by Julie Goodenough.
The 2014 Abilene Christian Wildcats football team represented Abilene Christian University as a member of the Southland Conference during the 2014 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by third-year head coach Ken Collums, the Wildcats compiled an overall record of 6–6 with a conference mark of 4–4, finishing in a three-way tie for sixth place in the Southland. This was Abilene Christian's first season in the Southland Conference and their second transition season at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level. The Wildcats played their home games at Shotwell Stadium in Abilene, Texas.
Britt Bonneau is an American college baseball coach who had been the head coach at Abilene Christian (ACU) from 1997 to the competition of the 2018 season. Under Bonneau, ACU played in nine NCAA Tournaments. Previously, he was an assistant at UTSA, Lubbock Christian, and Abilene Christian. Bonneau played professional baseball in the mid-1990s after playing college baseball at Lubbock Christian and Oklahoma.
The 2014–15 Abilene Christian Wildcats men's basketball team represented Abilene Christian University during the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Wildcats were led by fourth year head coach Joe Golding and played their home games at the Moody Coliseum. They are members of the Southland Conference. Abilene Christian, in their second year of DII to DI transition, was not eligible for the Southland Tournament, but was a counter for scheduling purposes and was also considered as a DI RPI member.
The 2016–17 Abilene Christian Wildcats men's basketball team represented Abilene Christian University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Wildcats were led by sixth-year head coach Joe Golding and played their home games at the Moody Coliseum in Abilene, Texas as members of the Southland Conference. They finished the season 13–16, 7–11 in Southland play to finish in a five-way tie for eighth place.
The 2017–18 Abilene Christian Wildcats men's basketball team represented Abilene Christian University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Wildcats were led by seventh-year head coach Joe Golding and played their home games at the Moody Coliseum in Abilene, Texas as members of the Southland Conference. They finished the season 16–16, 8–10 in Southland play to finish in a three-way tie for eighth place. They failed to qualify for the Southland tournament. They received an invitation to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament where they lost in the first round to Drake.
The 2017–18 Abilene Christian Wildcats women's basketball team represented Abilene Christian University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Wildcats, led by sixth year head coach Julie Goodenough, played their home games at the Moody Coliseum. They finished the season 16–14, 9–9 in Southland play to finish in seventh place. They advanced to the quarterfinals of the Southland women's tournament where they lost to Central Arkansas.
The 2018 Abilene Christian Wildcats football team represented Abilene Christian University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Wildcats were led by second-year head coach Adam Dorrel and played their home games at Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium. They played as a member of the Southland Conference. They finished the season 6–5, 5–4 in Southland play to finish in a four-way tie for fourth place.
The 2018–19 Abilene Christian Wildcats men's basketball team represents Abilene Christian University during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Wildcats are led by eighth-year head coach Joe Golding and play their home games at the Moody Coliseum in Abilene, Texas as members of the Southland Conference. They finished the season 27-7, 14-4 to finish in 2nd place. In the Southland tournament, they defeated Southeastern Louisiana in the semifinals before beating New Orleans in the final to win the Southland tournament. As a result, they received a automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament where they lost in the first round to Kentucky.
The 2016–17 Abilene Christian Wildcats women's basketball team represented Abilene Christian University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Wildcats, led by fourth year head coach Julie Goodenough and played their home games at the Moody Coliseum. This was the fourth year of a 4-year transition phase from D2 to D1, In the fourth year of transition, Abilene Christian could not participate in the Southland Tournament, but was a Division I counter and was part of the Division I rpi calculation. The Wildcats played a full conference schedule in 2016–17. Although they weren't eligible for the Southland Conference and NCAA tournaments, the Wildcats were invited to play in the 2017 Women's National Invitation Tournament. The Wildcats had a 1–1 record in the tournament winning the first-round game against the Oklahoma State Cowgirls and losing the second-round game to the SMU Mustangs. They finished the season 23–9, 16–2 and tied for the Southland Conference regular season championship title.
The 2019–20 Abilene Christian Wildcats men's basketball team represented Abilene Christian University in the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Wildcats, led by ninth-year head coach Joe Golding, played their home games at the Moody Coliseum in Abilene, Texas as members of the Southland Conference. They finished the season 20–11, 15–5 in Southland play to finish in a tie for second place. As the No. 2 seed, they received a double-bye to the semifinals of the Southland tournament, however, the tournament was cancelled amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2020 Abilene Christian Wildcats football team represented Abilene Christian University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I FCS football season as a member of the Southland Conference. The Wildcats were led by fourth-year head coach Adam Dorrel and played their home games at Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium. The Wildcats finished the season with a 1–5 overall record.
The 2021 Abilene Christian Wildcats baseball team represented Abilene Christian University during the 2021 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Wildcats played their home games at Crutcher Scott Field and were led by third–year head coach Rick McCarty. They were members of the Southland Conference. This was Abilene Christian's final year in the Southland as they will be moving to the Western Athletic Conference for the 2022 season.
The 2021–22 Abilene Christian Wildcats women's basketball team will represent Abilene Christian University during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I women's basketball season as members of the Western Athletic Conference. The Wildcats, led by tenth year head coach Julie Goodenough, play their home games at the Teague Center while the Moody Coliseum is undergoing renovation construction.
The 2021–22 Abilene Christian Wildcats men's basketball team represented Abilene Christian University (ACU) in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Wildcats, led by first-year head coach Brette Tanner, were first-year members of the Western Athletic Conference. Due to renovations at their usual home arena of Moody Coliseum, they played their home games on temporary stands and court set up on the indoor tennis courts of the Teague Special Events Center.
