Houston Christian University

Houston Christian University
Former name	Houston Baptist College (1960–1973); Houston Baptist University (1973–2022)
Motto	John 14:6
Type	Private university
Established	1960; 64 years ago
Religious affiliation	Baptist General Convention of Texas, SACSCOC
Endowment	$132 million (2021)
President	Robert B. Sloan
Provost	Stan Napper
Academic staff	152 (2014)
Administrative staff	231 (2014)
Students	4,257 (2022)
Undergraduates	2,823 (2022)
Postgraduates	1,434 (2022)
Location	Houston, Texas, U.S.
Campus	Urban, 158 acres (64 ha)
Colors	Royal blue and orange;
Nickname	Huskies
Sporting affiliations	NCAA Division I – Southland Conference
Mascot	Wakiza III (Live), Mingo (Animated)
Website	www.hc.edu

Houston Christian University (HCU), formerly Houston Baptist University (HBU), is a private Baptist university in Houston, Texas. It is affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas. Its Cultural Arts Center houses three museums: the Dunham Bible Museum, the Museum of American Architecture and Decorative Arts, and the Museum of Southern History.

The Houston Theological Seminary is one of the university's graduate schools that offers the Doctor of Ministry and Master of Divinity, among other degrees.^[4]

History

The university was founded in 1960 by the Baptist General Convention of Texas as Houston Baptist College.^[5] In 1973, it became a university. ^[6] The university announced a name change from Houston Baptist University to its current name in September 2022.^[7]^[8]

Campus

It is located in Sharpstown Section 3A,^[9]^[10] within the Southwest Management District (formerly Greater Sharpstown) in Houston, Texas, near the Southwest Freeway.^[11]

According to the Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau, the land housing HCU is in the Chinatown area.^[12]

Campus housing

The Reuben & Rebecca Bates Philips Residence Colleges for Men and Women^[13] are two separate residence hall facilities for freshmen, with each serving one gender. The Sadie & Doug Hodo Residence College^[14] is the largest single residential building on campus that houses both genders on opposite sides of the building. Husky Village,^[15] seven apartment buildings with various layouts, are usually reserved for the university and house mostly upper classmen and staff.

Community life and worship

Eighty Community Life and Worship Credits (CLW Credits) are required for graduation from HBU. Transfer students are also allotted 0.75 CLW Credits for each credit hour transferred into the university. CLW Credits may be accrued from a variety of opportunities including: campus service, a weekly traditional chapel service known as Convocation, a weekly student-led contemporary worship service known as Quest, small group Bible studies, lecture series and through the Assisting Communities Through Students office which coordinates community service and volunteer work in the Houston community. The on-campus "Community Life and Worship" biyearly magazine lists the different opportunities through which students may earn CLW Credits. The spiritual life office also awards credits for students who participate in church or university sponsored mission trips.

The university received a Title IX exemption in 2017, which allows the university to legally discriminate against LGBT students on religious grounds.^[16] University president Robert Sloan has stated that special civil rights protections for people who engage in homosexuality are unnecessary because like "a tendency towards arson or theft" homosexuality is a sinful tendency that stems from a person's individual and therefore chosen "behavior."^[17]

Athletics

The Houston Christian athletic teams are called the Huskies. The university is a member of the Division I level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the Southland Conference for most of its sports since the 2013–14 academic year, while its men's soccer team competes in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). The Huskies previously competed the D-I Great West Conference from 2008–09 to 2012–13 after spending one season as an NCAA D-I Independent during the 2007–08 school year (since returning back to NCAA D-I as a transitional member); in the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) from 1998–99 to 2006–07; and as an NAIA Independent from 1989–90 to 1997–98. Houston Christian's (HCU) official school colors are royal blue and orange.

HCU competes in 17 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer and track and field (indoor and outdoor); while women's sports include basketball, beach volleyball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, track and field (indoor and outdoor) and volleyball.

Football

Houston Christian's football program began in 2013.^[18] For its first 10 years, Husky football was led by Vic Shealy. As of 2023, HCU football’s head coach is Braxton Harris. Former Huskies in the NFL as of 2023 are Caleb Johnson (Jacksonville Jaguars) and Bailey Zappe (New England Patriots).

Baseball

The HCU baseball team participated in the 2015 NCAA Baseball Tournament, winning the Southland Conference tournament championship in Sugar Land, Texas, and advanced to the Houston Regional, hosted by the University of Houston. The Huskies also won the Great West's final championship at the 2013 GWC Baseball Tournament.

As of 2022, the HCU baseball team is managed by Lance Berkman - Houston Astros Hall-of-Famer, 2011 World Series Champion with the St. Louis Cardinals, and 1997 National College Player of the Year. The Huskies currently compete in the Southland Conference.

Women's soccer

The HCU women's soccer team participated in the 2014 NCAA Tournament, winning the Southland Conference tournament championship in Beaumont, Texas, before falling to No. 5 Texas A&M in the first round.

The HCU women's soccer team made their second appearance in the NCAA tournament in 2016 after winning the Southland Conference tournament championship in Corpus Christi, Texas. They fell to No. 1 Stanford in the first round.

Women's basketball

During the 2016 Southland Conference women's basketball tournament, senior Anna Strickland posted 21 points, 31 rebounds, eight assists, and seven blocked shots in the Huskies' first-round loss to Lamar University. Her 31 rebounds broke the Southland Conference single-game record, established a new tournament record, and were the most rebounds in Division I women's basketball in 2016. Strickland's all-around stat sheet has not been achieved in men's or women's Division I basketball or the NBA in the past twenty years.

Men's soccer

Two student athletes have earned CoSIDA Academic All-American status: volleyball's Allison Doerpinghaus and men's soccer's Bryan Brody. Both students earned the honor in 2015. They join numerous student-athletes who have earned CoSIDA Academic All-District and academic all-conference honors, and numerous Academic All-American at the NIAA level.

Achievements

Notable NCAA D-I athletic achievements:

1983 NCAA high-jump champion, Ricky Thompson; t-32nd place in the 1983 Track & Field Championships
Alma Mater of European Tour great Colin Montgomerie
1983-84 Men's basketball team participated in the NCAA tournament in the play-in game vs. Alcorn State; 1983-84 Men's basketball team led the entire NCAA in team field-goal percentage, shooting 55.2% - this is also tenth all-time in NCAA history^[19]
Participants in the NCAA men's golf championships in 1984, 1987 (5th place), and 1988
Participants in the NCAA men's gymnastics championships in 1982 (10th place) and 1987 (7th place); 1987 men's gymnastics (Rings) champion, Paul O'Neill
1982, 83, 84, 85 Trans-America (now Atlantic Sun) Men's soccer Champions, and conference tournament champions in 82, 84, and 85^[20]
1982, 83, 84, 85 Trans-America (now Atlantic Sun) men's cross country champions; individual titles won by Charlie Foreman (83 & 84) and Magnus Fyhr (85)

Notable NAIA athletic achievements:

2007 NAIA Baseball World Series, third place; 2007 Baseball Region VI Champions
Participants in NAIA Men's Basketball Tournament ten straight seasons from 1997 to 2007^[21]
Dwight Jones II, son of Dwight Jones Sr. who played on the 1972 USA Olympic Silver medal basketball team in Munich, was drafted by the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA Developmental League as well as the East Kentucky Miners in the CBA draft^[22]

Gallery

Morris Cultural Arts Center and Belin Chapel
Athletic Center
Brown Administrative Complex
Smith Blvd Entrance Graffiti Mural
Husky Live Oaks, a 9-hole object disc golf course on campus

Notable alumni

Voddie Baucham, Jr. Pastor, preacher, author, apologist, and current Dean of Theology at African Christian University
Van G. Garrett, Poet
Colin Montgomerie, Professional Golfer
Elliot Segal, DJ host of Elliot in the Morning (did not graduate)
Caleb Johnson, NFL Player
Bailey Zappe, NFL Player
Jerreth Sterns, CFL Player