As president of Ouachita Baptist University, I’m supposed to talk about being academically excellent and unapologetically Christian, which we are – and you’ve likely heard me emphasize those before. But I have to admit our athletic dominance this season was the most fun I’ve had in years.
Last October our championship run kicked off when our women’s cross-country team claimed their conference title. November delivered back-to-back-to-back thrills: the Ouachita football team won the 97th Battle of the Ravine and earned their seventh Great American Conference title (and I rushed the field with students), followed the very next day by women’s soccer capturing their own championship in a penalty-kick shootout in the rain.
The next week, I cheered from the sidelines in Hot Springs as women’s volleyball won its first-ever tournament championship and earned a trip to the NCAA tournament. Spring brought more success when men’s swimming and diving won their conference title, and swimming, wrestling and women’s track and field sent student-athletes to nationals.
Five total conference championships. Our best-ever finish in the GAC all-sports standings. A long list of individual accomplishments.
I love when our students win on the field — I may have even painted myself purple for a football game once. But what I really love is watching them grow into the men and women God created them to be, guided by our coaches, faculty and staff.
They don’t just succeed in sports. They excel academically, with a 3.37 grade-point average for the 2024-25 year. Beyond the classroom, they serve their community and grow in their faith. Student athletes tutor local children, raise money for charities and volunteer with our Elrod Center to help families in Arkadelphia.
Why do students with packed class schedules and demanding practice routines sacrifice their free time for service? Because people have chosen to invest in them.
Arkansas pastor Jason Curry exemplifies this investment. He serves at The Church at Rock Creek in Little Rock, but for more than 15 years, he’s made regular trips down Interstate 30 to speak with our football players. He shares the Gospel, discusses leadership and supports them on and off the field.
Head coach Todd Knight started inviting Jason over a decade ago. Through team highs and lows, Jason has faithfully pointed students to Jesus and talked about what it means to be a leader.
Coach Knight says Jason’s influence and impact on the football program really can’t be measured.
“From raising standards to holding ourselves accountable, his impact on the team has strengthened us in more ways than just football,” he told me. “His leadership has made an eternal impact as well. We don’t just consider him our chaplain — he’s part of the team.”
You can tell Jason is passionate about winning — like every coach, student athlete and fan at our school. We all love celebrating championships.
But the greatest victories happen when people like Jason and Coach Knight — and dozens more I could name — invest in students’ lives before kick-off and after the last whistle.
Ouachita is relatively small compared with universities nationwide. But when it comes to our purpose, no school has a bigger mission than impacting students’ lives with the Gospel. Our campus in Arkadelphia, Arkansas truly has a global impact.
Thank you, Arkansas Baptists, for supporting that mission.
And Go Tigers in the new season that’s about to begin!
One Response
Amen and Amen!