Abilene Christian University (ACU) is a private Christian university in Abilene, Texas. It was founded in 1906 as Childers Classical Institute. It is affiliated with Churches of Christ.
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 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.
Joseph Charles Golding is an American basketball coach and former player. He is currently the head men's basketball coach at the University of Texas at El Paso, having previously served in the same capacity at Abilene Christian University, where he played point guard from 1994 to 1998.
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 2014–15 Abilene Christian Wildcats women's basketball team represents Abilene Christian University during the 2014–15 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Wildcats are led by third year head coach Julie Goodenough and play their home games at the Moody Coliseum. This will be the second year of a 4-year transition phase from D2 to D1, In the second year of transition, Abilene Christian cannot participate in the Southland Tournament, but will be a Division I counter and will be part of the Division I rpi calculation. The Wildcats will play a full conference schedule in 2014–15. Although not eligible for the Southland Conference and NCAA tournament, the Wildcats will be able to participate in the WNIT or WBI tournaments if invited.
James Ellis Lindsey was a gridiron football quarterback. He played college football at Abilene Christian College where he broke the NCAA career records for both passing yards and total offense. He also pledged Sub T-16 in the fall of 1968 and went on to be skipper in 1969. He later played professional football in the Canadian Football League (CFL) from 1971 to 1974 and helped lead the 1971 Calgary Stampeders to the Grey Cup championship.
The 2015–16 Abilene Christian Wildcats men's basketball team represented Abilene Christian University during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Wildcats were led by fifth year head coach Joe Golding and played their home games at the Moody Coliseum. They were members of the Southland Conference. The Wildcats finished the season with a record of 13–18, 8–10 in Southland play to finish in seventh place.
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 Southland Conference women's basketball tournament, a part of the 2016–17 NCAA Division I women's basketball season, took place March 9–12, 2017 at the Merrell Center in Katy, Texas. The winner of the tournament, the Central Arkansas Sugar Bears, received the Southland Conference's automatic bid to the 2017 NCAA tournament.
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 in Abilene, Texas. 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 2018–19 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 2020–21 Abilene Christian Wildcats men's basketball team represented Abilene Christian University (ACU) in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Wildcats, led by tenth-year head coach Joe Golding, were members of the Southland 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.
John Ray Godfrey is an American former basketball player. He played college basketball for the Abilene Christian Wildcats.
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.
