Athleticexcellence hasbeen a hallmark ofCedarville University for more than a century,almostsinceitsfoundingin 1887.Now,in 2024, Cedarville University iscelebrating100years ofitsathleticidentityas the Yellow Jacketsanditscommitment to innovation,integrityandhighperformance in the world ofintercollegiatesports.

Whilesports have always been part of the cultureat Cedarville,in 1923,Cedarville’sfootball team wasknown asthe“Orange and Blue Warriors.”Named after the school’s earlier color scheme, thismonikerwould beshort-lived,asthename changedone year laterto the Yellow Jackets.This new identitydefinedCedarville University andled toits current mascot—Stinger.

While the Yellow Jacketsoriginally offered onlyfootball,basketballand baseball, Cedarville’s AthleticsDepartment nowhas16intercollegiatesports. Each team competesin the GreatMidwest Athletic Conference(G-MAC)andtheNational Collegiate Athletics Association(NCAA)DivisionII.

During Dr. Don Callan’s tenure as athletic directorfrom 1961to1997, Cedarville’s athletic departmentgrew from two sports to14.During this period, Cedarvillecompetedasa member of theNational Association of Intercollegiate Athletics(NAIA).

Under Dr. Alan Geist’sleadership asathletic director, Cedarville Universitymoved from theNAIA to the NCAA—putting the Yellow Jackets on a more visible platform. This multi-year process was announced in 2009as Cedarville entered two years of trial candidacy and strengthened the quality of its athletic program.Throughoutthis process,the Yellow Jackets thrived under new coaching conditions, new faculty members andclose monitoring with NCAA personnel.Three years later, the Yellow Jackets became a full-time member ofthe NCAA Division II, competing in the newly formedG-MACconference.

Athletic excellence has been a trademark of the Yellow Jackets. In 2024, Cedarville won the NCAA Presidents’Award for Academic Excellence for the 11th consecutive year. Meanwhile,as a member of the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA), the Yellow Jacketshave won53national championships, including the 2024 men's basketball and women's indoor track & field titles.

In addition, this year, Cedarville won its third straight G-MAC women'scross countrytrophy, was represented in five NCAA Division II Championships, and totaled ten NCAA All-America performances.Seniorstudent Haleigh Eckert set Yellow Jacket records for pole vaulting and earned an invitation totheNCAADivision II Women’s Outdoorand IndoorTrack & Field Championships.Jaden Johnson also had an exceptional record during his time at Cedarville, graduating in 2024 with five school records for indoor trackandparticipatedin the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championship as well as finishing as an All-American in the400metercategory.

In prior years,many Yellow Jackets have made headlines and broken records at Cedarville University.One of the most accomplished Yellow Jackets wasCarsyn Koch of the Class of’18,who was theNCAA Division II Women's Indoor800-meterchampionin2016and2017,NCAA Women's Outdoor800-meterchampionfrom2016and2017and was aqualifier forthe2016 U.S. Olympic Trials.OtherproudYellow Jacket accomplishments includebut are not limited to:TommyAnsiel’s2019 NCAA Division II Men's Outdoor Pole Vault Championship win, Daniel Michalski’s2017 NCAA Division II Men's Outdoor3,000-meterSteeplechase Championship winand many others.

While competing ata high levelis the expectation, Yellow Jacket athletesarealsocommitted to their faithand serving others.

Callan believed sports was an avenue Cedarville athletes could use tosharethegospelby the way they respected their opponents and byparticipatinginmissionstrips.Long before Athletes in Action and other notable sports mission organizations were formed, the Cedarville Yellow Jackets led the charge by sending dozensofteams.Men’s basketball teamshave served in thePhilippines,Thailandand other countries,while other teams have modeled the same missions-minded philosophyelsewhere.

The first sports mission trip occurred in 1971, and Callan, along with Cedarville’s president, Dr. James T. Jeremiah,led the Yellow Jacketsto Japan, China,Taiwanand the Philippines.The basketball team played close to 50 games in that first trip and provided individual coaching to high school studentsacrossthe four countrieswhile using their platform toopenlyshare and live out the gospel.

These trips continued throughout Callan’s retirement in 1995, and while the NCAA has different rules about the frequency ofcollege team trips, each Yellow Jacketteam now plans to take a sports mission trip every four years.Onenotabletripduring2016was in Italy,as former men'sbasketballheadcoach Pat Esteppledthe Yellow Jacketsthrough basketball coaching, community service and street evangelism. In addition,Yellow JacketGabriel Portillo, anative of Italy,was able to help his new team connect with the culture and the people that he proudly callshis ownthrough providing connections for the Yellow Jackets to serve alongside his family’s church outreach.

Althoughmany changes in culture andtheinstitutionhave occurred since the Yellow Jackets formed,the vision for Cedarville athleticsremainsfocused on ministry, respect of opponents, and intense competition.

“If you watch any of our gamestoday, you’ll see our players always asking the opposing teamif they are willingto pray with themafter each and every game, win or lose,” saidChristopher Cross,vicepresident forathletics at Cedarville University.“In a nutshell, that’s whatYellow Jacket Athletics is all about: we want to share the love of Christ and integrity ofgood sportsmanshipto everyone weencounter.”

Today,CedarvilleAthleticsremainsdedicated to serving onand off the court.Student athletes regularly take part in sports mission trips,like the onethe Lady Jackets basketball teamembarkedupon toGreece during the summer of 2024.In addition, Cedarvilleathletes find ways to serve locally, such as an ongoing reading program started by Yellow Jacket student athletes for elementary schools during COVID thatwasnamednationalrunner-up for the NCAA Award of Excellence.

“While sportsareoftenseen asidolsin today’s culture, Cedarville wants tosee sports reclaimedwith thecorrectperspective,” said Cross. “We recognize thatwe have a platform given to us by sports thatcan beusedto connect with students, audiences,familiesand communities andtohelp us proclaim the gospel.”

As the Yellow Jackets look to the future, Cedarvilleremainsdedicated to raising the athletic excellence standard with all its sports teams.A member of the G-MACconference of NCAA Division II since its induction in 2012,Cedarville University has faced one of the toughest conferences in the country and has weathered the storm.

Now, the Yellow Jacketsbelieveit istheir turn to go on the offensive by elevatingalltheirteams to the standardset by theirhigher-profileteams such as men’s basketball.

“Athletic success isn’t just the end goal for our Yellow Jackets,” said Cross. “Success is about buildinga culture that honors Christ, honors differences, honors skills, honorscompassionand honors sportsmanship.If we find ourselves rooted in creating that culture for our teams and our school,the athletic success will come.”