Athletic director Connor Smith Varsity teams 13 | Location Dallas, Texas | |
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University Dallas Baptist University Conference Heartland Conference
Missouri Valley Conference (baseball only) NCAA Division II
Division I (baseball only) | ||
The Dallas Baptist Patriots (also DBU Patriots) are the 13 athletic teams that represent the Dallas Baptist University, located in Dallas, Texas, in NCAA intercollegiate sports. All of the Patriot athletic teams compete at the Division II level with the exception of the baseball team, which plays in Division I. As such, all athletic teams, except for baseball, compete in the Heartland Conference while the baseball program is an associate member of the Missouri Valley Conference.
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Athletic program
The Athletic Department also features a Christ-centered Patriot Discipleship program, entitled "Champions for Christ," as well as the Athletic Department's Global Missions Initiative with athletic mission trips to Guatemala, Northern England, Peru, and South Korea. With a focus on academics as well, the school developed the Athletic Study Hall, which has helped boost the department GPA to the highest in the history of Patriot Athletics.
Connor Smith serves as Dallas Baptist University’s Director of Athletics. Over the last several years, additions have been made to the Athletic Department, including the construction of the Sadler Patriot Clubhouse, Patriot Athletic Guesthouse, Horner Ballpark, and the Athletic Training Center. In addition, several new sports have been added, including: NCAA Div II Sports - Men's Basketball and Women’s Golf; Club Sports: Bass Fishing, Cheerleading, Drill Team, Ice Hockey, Lacrosse, and Swimming.
DBU has recently seen their first-ever NCAA Regional Tournament appearances in Baseball, Men’s Basketball and Men and Women’s Golf, Women's Volleyball and a National appearance by the Women's Cross Country team.
Varsity teams
Dallas Baptist sponsors teams in eight men's and seven women's NCAA sanctioned sports:
Baseball
Although the baseball team played as an independent for several years, in 2013, the team played as a part of the Western Athletic Conference. Beginning in the 2014 season, the Patriot Baseball team became a member of the Missouri Valley Conference. In 2008, the Patriots made the NCAA baseball tournament for the first time, marking the first DBU Athletic team to make the NCAA postseason. The Patriots won the Fort Worth Regional in the 2011 tournament to advance to the Super Regional round for the first time.
In 2013, the Joan and Andy Horner Ballpark was completed and the first game was played on February 15, an 11-9 loss to the Creighton Bluejays. Designed by HKS, Inc., this advanced facility can accommodate over 2,000 patrons.
Track & field
The men's and women's cross-country/track program holds ten of the school's conference championship wins. All intercollegiate athletic teams also hold membership in the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA).