LPC Athletics is keeping pace with the advancement of the college toward university status. In its second year since the athletics program restart, we have much to celebrate – with even bigger plans to come.
By: Rod Light
As Life Pacific College continues to move toward university status with the expansion of academic degree programs and a community-wide master plan, Athletic Director Tim Cook says the athletics program is keeping pace.
The upward direction is evident in the advancement of our Cross Country program this fall to intercollegiate status, bringing a new level of competition and pressing LPC athletics as a whole closer to a goal of regional and national rankings.
The Warriors have a long-held tradition of competitive Cross Country mostly competing as “club programs,” a designation for collegiate athletic teams not regulated by organizations like the National Christian College Athletics Association (NCCAA) or the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). That is all changing this fall with the new intercollegiate status.
Life Pacific will compete in the NCCAA for the foreseeable future although future plans call for the school to apply for membership with the California Athletic Conference (Cal Pac). The transition this fall means the Warriors will compete against Division 1 teams like Pepperdine, UC Irvine, San Jose State, Southern Utah, and Santa Clara, among others.
Runners will now be eligible for national ranking within the NCCAA. Further, LPC now can recruit and offer scholarships for Cross Country/Track and Field student athletes starting in 2017-18. For Warrior fans, the transition means more local events with a majority of track meets scheduled in California eliminating the need for extensive team-travel out of state.
Our inaugural season of women’s volleyball ended with more losses than wins, but the Warriors fought hard throughout the season. In their second year since the athletic program reboot, Warrior volleyball will face fierce competition against teams like Westmont, Masters University, and Hope International.
Then, the Lady Warriors face a familiar foe at University of Antelope Valley who they defeated in separate matches last spring. They will end their season this fall with matches against Providence Christian and Biola on the road before returning home for the final game of the season against Emory Riddle.
The Lady Warriors compete against higher-level teams with nearly every match. But, they will welcome a level playing field when the program is approved to join the Cal Pac conference in the future.
Tim Cook is excited about the progress of Men’s Basketball and the highly anticipated affiliation as the 13th team in the Cal-Pac, a national organization with a strong reputation among college athletics. As a possible Cal-Pac member, Warrior Basketball will play a schedule with less out-of-state travel, allowing our fans to attend more away games. He also has hopes of this year’s team doing well enough to travel to Indiana for the national conference tournament in March.
Warrior basketball fans are invited to watch the first-ever televised game when the men take on the Pepperdine Waves in Malibu on November 17. Check local listings for details.
Beyond the schedules, the competition, and the win-loss records, Tim Cook believes that athletics in Christian higher education builds disciples of Jesus Christ. He found Jesus as Lord while playing college sports and uses his personal testimony to build young men and women as leaders who live their lives and compete as Christians first and athletes second.
“Discipleship is a major part of Christian college athletics that many fans never see,” Tim says. “But we are working constantly behind the scenes to help transform lives for the Kingdom of God.”
Learn more about LPC athletics.
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By: Rod Light, M.A., an ordained Foursquare minister, LPC adjunct professor, and Communications Coordinator for Foursquare Missions International.
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