OKLAHOMA CITY (Sept. 19, 2014) – Sister Christian universities Oklahoma Christian and Harding would seem to be natural rivals, in so many ways. But in the athletic arena, meetings between the Eagles and Bisons have been few and far between.

Harding's teams rarely have journeyed from Searcy, Ark., to OC's campus in Oklahoma City, but for the first time in a quarter-century, one will do so this weekend, as the Bisons will visit OC for a men's soccer game at 3 p.m. Saturday.

"We've been trying to get this game scheduled for a couple of years and I'm glad that it's finally going to happen," OC coach David Scott said.

It will be the first time Harding (1-2) and OC (1-2) ever have met in soccer, men's or women's. In fact, except for a handful of tennis matches – all played in Arkansas, and most won by OC's powerhouse program – over the past 15 or so years, OC and Harding teams in any sport haven't competed against each other on a regular basis.

The last time any Harding team played at OC was on Jan. 6, 1989, in women's basketball. OC won that game 92-39 and that remains the only meeting between the schools in that sport. OC hasn't hosted Harding in men's basketball since the 1969-70 season and is 1-2 all-time against the Bisons, with the last meeting coming in November 1984, an OC win in a tournament played in Springfield, Mo.

Harding's track and cross country coach, Steve Guymon, is a former OC runner, but neither he nor longtime OC track coach Randy Heath can recall Harding ever competing in meets hosted by OC during the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s or 2000s, although squads from both schools occasionally have seen each other in meets hosted by other schools.

Harding hosted OC in the Bisons' 1984 baseball season opener in what's thought to be the only meeting between the schools in that sport (Harding won 9-3) and the schools never have played each other in softball. In golf, OC's men never have lost to Harding and the Lady Eagles are 3-2 in matchups dating back to when OC's program began in fall 2011.

So how did Saturday's soccer match get scheduled? Harding coach Odie Guzman and Scott became acquainted when Guzman worked as an assistant at Lubbock Christian (Texas), OC's longtime league rival in both in the Sooner Athletic and Heartland Conferences.

Guzman became the coach at NCAA Division II Harding before the 2012 season, just as OC was beginning the Division II membership process. The coaches began discussing a series and found a date that worked well for both teams this season. Harding's team already is in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area, as the Bisons played at Southern Nazarene in a Great American Conference game on Thursday.

"We'd like to make this a regular game," Scott said. "I think it would be good for both programs and both schools."