SAN ANTONIO – Right in the heart of San Antonio lies Trinity University, and when you walk the hallways of William H. Bell Center — you’re bound to run into rows and rows of hardware.
This past fall and winter, the Trinity Tigers were the only Division III school in the country to send eight programs to NCAA tournaments:
- Football — Competed in the 2nd Round of NCAA playoffs
- Volleyball — Won regional final for NCAA quarterfinals appearance
- Men’s Soccer — Reached the NCAA 2nd Round
- Women’s Soccer — Won SCAC championship for NCAA playoff appearance
- Men’s Basketball — Reached the NCAA 1st Round
- Women’s Basketball — Reached the NCAA 2nd Round
- Men’s Swimming & Diving — Two qualifiers for NCAA Championships
- Women’s Swimming & Diving — Finished 12th at NCAA Championships, Neely Burns won 400 IM
The institution has just a 31% acceptance rate and an athletic department that sits at 19th in the latest Directors’ Cup standings.
Trinity often flies under the radar, but Cameron Hill, Trinity’s women’s basketball head coach of 13 seasons, doesn’t mind.
“I’m a big fan of that, I like the ‘if you know, you know’,” said Hill (Trinity ‘99). “I think we see a ton of schools that have dominant programs, but not dominant departments.”
“I wouldn’t have stayed here all of these years if I wasn’t absolutely loving being at Trinity, every day you look forward to coming to work,” said 40-year volleyball head coach Julie Jenkins. “We have the funding to get out and play a national schedule, we have the funding to get out and recruit, and there’s no reason you can’t be successful in any of our sports.”
Continuity is inevitable at Trinity, which makes for a great culture — a culture that brought Jerheme Urban (Trinity ‘03) back to head the football program after a long NFL career.
“For me, it’s being able to sit down and look parents in the eye and authentically say ‘There is no difference in terms of intensity and what the game meant for me when I was getting ready for the Super Bowl or playing in a Super Bowl — compared to running up the steps here as a player here in the national semifinals game or winning playoff games the last two years here,’” said Urban. “Football is football, we have phenomenal competitors and then just being able to say ‘I love being here.’”
The Tigers are on track for more success this spring. The baseball team, women’s golf team, and men’s and women’s tennis teams are all nationally ranked.
