Bolivar, Mo. – Southwest Baptist University will be adding three new NCAA Division II sports – men’s and women’s swimming and men’s volleyball – to its athletics department beginning in the 2025-2026 academic year.
The additions will give SBU, a member of the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC), 21 varsity sports. The university will begin searching for coaches immediately in order to recruit student-athletes throughout the 2024-2025 academic year.
“We are thrilled to be adding men’s volleyball and men’s and women’s swimming here at SBU,” said Director of Athletics Clark Sheehy. “We are confident there will be strong interest in the region for these programs, and we are excited about the momentum this can bring to SBU athletics. It’s a great day to be a Bearcat!”
Men’s volleyball will become a GLVC sponsored sport in 2025-26, the same year as SBU will begin competition. SBU joins six other GLVC schools to begin a men’s volleyball program: Lewis, Maryville, McKendree, Missouri S&T, Rockhurst, and Quincy.
Men’s and women’s swimming has been a GLVC sponsored sport since 2013. SBU will be the 12th men’s team in the conference and the 11th women’s team.
Other recent sports added to the SBU athletics department have been stunt in 2023-2024 and beach volleyball in 2022-2023. SBU athletics has delivered strong results in the GLVC since being admitted to the conference in 2018, including this past season with a second-place finish in the women’s outdoor track and field championship and by winning the conference’s overall sportsmanship award across all sports.
Coaching candidates interested in either position should email Clark Sheehy with a cover letter, resume, and statement of faith at csheehy@sbuniv.edu.
