OKLAHOMA CITY (Jan. 13, 2022) – Disc golf will join Oklahoma Christian's burgeoning list of club sports, with men's and women's scholarship programs to be added for the fall 2022 semester, OC Athletic Director David Lynn said Thursday.
OC's teams will be built and led by Calvin Ryan, who graduated from Oklahoma State University in December and will serve as a graduate assistant coach within the OC athletic department. Ryan, 23, is a local disc golf enthusiast who is deeply plugged into the local and regional scenes within the sport, said James Hayes, OC's director of club sports.
The Eagles will compete in local tournaments and as part of a national club circuit under the auspices of College Disc Golf, the sport's national governing body. According to the organization's website, collegediscgolf.com, there are almost 150 collegiate club teams with nearly 1,100 players in the U.S. A national college championship tournament for the sport has been held since 2007.
According to the Professional Disc Golf Association, the sport is played like golf, but instead of balls and clubs, players use a flying disc. The object of the sport, formalized in the 1970s, is to complete each hole in the fewest number of throws. Disc golf already is popular on OC's campus thanks to the university's 12-hole course, which opened in 2008.
OC now will have seven club sports, with men's and women's disc golf joining men's and women's bowling, Ultimate, cheer and Esports. All those have been added since 2018. The university also offers 17 NCAA Division II team sports, and with 24 sports, OC's athletic department is the largest of any Lone Star Conference member school.
"We are extremely excited to announce our next club sport offering, disc golf," Lynn said. "We have been very successful the past four years with the additions of men's and women's bowling, cheer, Ultimate and Esports. Disc golf aligns very well with our mission to create opportunities to attract new students to Oklahoma Christian while also providing a more organized opportunity for our existing OC students to connect with one another."
As with OC's innovative Ultimate club program, the university's disc golf programs will offer scholarships and will aim to recruit top talent, Hayes said. OC will be one of the few – and perhaps the only – university offering scholarships for disc golf players.
"We will be leading the charge again, like we have in Ultimate," Hayes said. "We will be recruiting everywhere."
OC plans call to expand its current disc golf course to a full 18 holes in time for the fall semester, Hayes said. Hayes, who himself plays disc golf, had the idea to add the sport at OC.
"When I took on this new role as the director of club sports, I was told to look at sports we could bring in," Hayes said. "I was looking at sports that would be cost-effective. Disc golf is pretty big on a collegiate level and the community can play it. We already have a course on our campus, so it really is a no-brainer to do this."
Ryan said he's been involved with disc golf most of his life, and became more serious about it during his teenage years. He continued playing during his time at OSU.
"This job is almost a dream come true," he said. "I'm getting to do something that I love and grow the sport. I think that's a beautiful thing. It's just a really good opportunity that's come up in my life and I'm very appreciative for it. I'm very excited."
