About UT Tyler Athletics
The University of Texas at Tyler is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II and the Lone Star Conference (LSC). UT Tyler is one of the newest members of the NCAA, having achieved full NCAA membership in the summer of 2007 after a four-year provisional period required of all new Division III members. In 2018, UT Tyler was accepted into NCAA Division II's three-year membership process, receiving provisional membership starting in 2019-20. In 2021, UT Tyler was accepted as full Division II members after successfully completing the three-year provisional period required of all new members.
UT Tyler sponsors intercollegiate teams in 17 sports: baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's golf, men's and women's soccer, softball, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's track and field, men's and women's indoor track and field and volleyball.
UT Tyler has one of the newest intercollegiate athletic programs in the country and the programs at UT Tyler are known for producing winners - on and off the athletic venues. UT Tyler has already won NCAA National Championships in men's golf (2013), softball (2016, 2024, 2025), and Baseball (2018) along with individual National Champions with Laura Lindsey (2013, women's golf), Kevonte Shaw (2015, indoor track - 200 meters) and Whitney Simmons (2016, outdoor track & field - Hammer and 2017, indoor track & field - Weight Throw). The athletic program won 67 American Southwest Conference team titles, 82 individual championships and made 77 NCAA tournament appearances at the Division III level. The Patriots have claimed 15 Lone Star Conference Championships and have appeared in 21 NCAA Division II National Tournaments in the first few seasons of full-fledged Division II status.
At the same time, UT Tyler student-athletes are maintaining a higher GPA than the student body as a whole. Student-athletes are involved in dozens of community service projects and are leaders on and off campus.
The UT Tyler athletics program began in 2001-2002 with the revival of the men's and women's tennis programs (UT Tyler had previously competed in intercollegiate tennis from the 1970's to the early 1990's at the NAIA level). UT Tyler also began a scheduling alliance with the American Southwest Conference. The 2002-2003 academic year saw the program take a giant leap forward with the first-ever seasons of men's and women's soccer, men's and women's cross country and men's and women's golf. During the summer of 2003, UT Tyler was accepted for provisional membership in the NCAA and was granted full membership in the ASC. The following year, 2003-2004, brought the major sports of volleyball, men's and women's basketball and baseball on-line. In 2004-2005, UT Tyler began its softball program, and in the summer of 2007, the University announced that it would be adding men's and women's track and field.
The intercollegiate athletics program at UT Tyler provides opportunities for student-athletes to build their bodies and their minds, including learning to act and compete with integrity and honor while developing leadership and teamwork abilities. Opportunities are provided to plan, practice and execute team and individual skills under competitive circumstances, learn the value of dedication and perseverance and to represent the University well while accepting outcomes with grace.
UT Tyler athletics provides an active student life on campus by providing a myriad of opportunities for students to participate in athletic events as athletes, members of music and spirit groups and as enthusiastic spectators.
Opportunities are provided for all students, faculty, and staff to join together in celebrating the University as a whole in festive and meaningful ways that build a sense of community and loyalty among us.
As a component of the renowned University of Texas System, The University of Texas at Tyler continues to build on more than 100 years of higher education tradition and international recognition. The university has earned recognition for offering rigorous academic training as a four-year comprehensive university with pre-professional programs. UT Tyler offers more than 70 degree programs and has campuses in Tyler, Longview and Palestine.
UT Tyler became a four-year university in 1997 and admitted its first freshman class in 1998. Created in 1971 as an upper-division institution serving junior, senior and graduate level students, the university has been a member of the UT System since 1979. While welcoming freshman students, the university still recognizes the importance of its transfer and graduate enrollment. A steady increase in enrollment has brought the university to more than 10,527 students.
| Address |
3900 University Blvd.
Tyler, Texas 75799 |
| Enrollment |
10,541 (Fall 2024) |
| Founded |
1971 |
| Mascot |
Patriots |
| Colors |
Orange and Navy |
| President |
Dr. Julie Philley |
| Director of Athletics |
Dr. Sam Ferguson |
| Senior Associate AD, Compliance and Academic Support |
James Bonnette |
| Senior Associate AD for Internal Operations, Head Softball Coach |
Mike Reed |
| Associate AD of Athletic Facilites and Operations/SWA |
Jackie Martin |
| Sports Information Director |
Dalton Johnson |
| Affiliation |
NCAA Division II |
| Conference |
Lone Star Conference |
| Sports Sponsored |
17 (baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's golf, men's and women's soccer, softball, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's (indoor and outdoor) track and field, and volleyball) |
NCAA Division II
Division II is a collection of more than 300 NCAA colleges and universities that provide thousands of student-athletes the opportunity to compete at a high level of scholarship athletics while excelling in the classroom and fully engaging in the broader campus experience. This balance, in which student-athletes are recognized for their academic success, athletics contributions and campus/community involvement, is at the heart of the Division II philosophy.
All three NCAA divisions emphasize athletics and academic excellence for their student-athletes; after all, the NCAA's overall mission is to make athletics an integral part of the educational experience at all member schools. The differences among the divisions emerge primarily in how schools choose to fund their athletics programs and in the national attention they command.
Most Division I institutions, for example, choose to devote more financial resources to support their athletics programs, and many are able to do so because of the large media contracts Division I conferences are able to attract, mostly to showcase the publicly popular sports of football and men's basketball.
Division II student-athletes are just as competitive and in many cases just as skilled as their Division I counterparts, but institutions in Division II generally don't have the financial resources to devote to their athletics programs or choose not to place such a heavy financial emphasis on them.
What makes Division II unique:
- Division II schools are located in 45 states, including Alaska and Hawaii, and the District of Columbia. The division also expands its membership into Canada with the NCAA's only international member institution, Simon Fraser University, and features three schools located in Puerto Rico.
- Enrollments at Division II schools range from more than 25,000 to less than 2,500, though about 87 percent of the division's member schools have fewer than 8,000 students.
- Division II offers a "partial-scholarship" model for financial aid in which most student-athletes' college experiences are funded through a mix of athletics scholarships, academic aid, need-based grants and/or employment earnings.
- Division II features a high championship-participant ratio (one championship opportunity for every eight student-athletes – the highest among all three NCAA divisions), an emphasis on regional competition in order to reduce missed class time, and a robust community engagement philosophy that integrates student-athletes within both their campus and regional communities.
- Division II is the only NCAA division that conducts National Championships Festivals, Olympic-style events in which a number of national championships are held at a single site over several days.
- Division II student-athletes get their share of television exposure. Since 2006, the NCAA has produced regular-season Division II television broadcasts in football and men's and women's basketball. In addition, almost all Division II championship finals are either broadcast live or live-streamed online.
- Student-athletes generally comprise a high percentage of the student body at Division II schools, which insists that athletics is an important component of the learning experience at these institutions.
- The Division II Student-Athlete Advisory Committee initiated a fundraising campaign with the Make-A-Wish Foundation in 2003 and has raised more than $5 million since then for the national nonprofit, helping to fund more than 600 wishes for children with life-threatening medical conditions.
UT Tyler Athletics Mission
Inspiring champions of today and leaders of tomorrow. The mission of The University of Texas at Tyler Athletic Department is to champion a balanced approach of personal development, academic success, community engagement, and athletic competition in support of the mission of the University.
UT Tyler Athletics Program Outcomes and Assessment Methodology
Program Outcomes
The athletic program will:
- Provide academic support for student-athletes.
- Provide community service and service learning opportunities for student-athletes.
- Provide activities and opportunities for student life enhancement.
Assessment Methodology
- Student academic performance is monitored through:
- Mid-term reports from faculty.
- Periodic meeting with students to discuss academic performance.
- End-of-the season review of academics.
- Compilation of team GPA's.
- Student community service and service learning opportunities are maintained on a database by the University.
- Activities and opportunities for enhanced student life are offered through:
- Sporting events
- Pep rallies
