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 Abilene Christian Wildcats men's basketball team represents Abilene Christian University (ACU) in Abilene, Texas, United States. The Wildcats joined the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) on July 1, 2021, after having spent the previous eight years in the Southland Conference. Before this move, ACU's most recent conference change was in the 2013 offseason, when the Wildcats made the jump to NCAA Division I and rejoined the Southland Conference after a 40-year absence. They are led by head coach Brette Tanner and play their home games at Moody Coliseum.
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 2013–14 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.
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.
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.
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 2017–18 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 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 Southland Conference women's basketball tournament, a part of the 2018–19 NCAA Division I women's basketball season, took place March 14–17, 2019 at the Merrell Center in Katy, Texas. The winner of the tournament, Abilene Christian received the Southland Conference's automatic bid to the 2019 NCAA tournament. Breanna Wright was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.
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 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.
Shanon Hays is an American softball coach for the Grand Canyon Antelopes. Previously, he was the head coach at Texas Tech and remains the winningest coach in program history. He also has held several positions as a men's basketball coach and an athletic director.
