In addition to strong academics and a caring community, Trinity is also home to an athletics program marked by decades of success. From the early 1990s until last year, Trinity had been a part of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC). This season, Trinity athletics will embark on its first full season as a member of the Southern Athletic Association (SAA) and will attempt to carry on the standard of success they set in the SCAC.
Trinity was consistently the most successful athletics program in the SCAC for over a decade, winning the SCAC’s President’s Trophy, an award given for best overall program, for 14 consecutive years. Winning the President’s Trophy is an achievement for the entire athletic department, and each sport needs to contribute to win it. Here are some of those sports:

Football

Play at: Trinity Multi-Purpose Stadium
Head Coach: Jerheme Urban
Home Opener: Sept. 13 vs. Belhaven University

Trinity’s football team is the only program that was already competing in the SAA before the university officially moved all sports. The team has won the SAA title across four consecutive seasons, winning it outright in 2022 and 2023, and sharing the title in 2021 and 2024.

Jerheme Urban, their long-time head coach, is entering his 12th season and played with the Tigers during his college days. He graduated in 2003 on his way to a six-year NFL career with the Seattle Seahawks, Arizona Cardinals and Kansas City Chiefs.

Last season, Trinity finished 8-3 and lost in the first round of the postseason. It was the Tigers’ first season without winning a playoff game since 2021. Trinity’s football season begins on Sept. 4 on the road against Texas Lutheran University in Seguin, which is around a 30-minute drive for students interested in making the trip. The home opener will be the following week on Saturday, Sept. 13 against Belhaven University. Show up for tailgates,  food and lots of confetti.

Volleyball

Play at: Calgaard Gymnasium at the Bell Athletic Center
Head Coach: Julie Jenkins
Home Opener: Aug. 29 vs. Millikin University 

Tiger volleyball is leaving the SCAC after collecting its 23rd conference title and is looking to have similar success in the SAA. Head volleyball coach Julie Jenkins is entering her 41st season with the program and took Trinity to the national championship game in 2022. Her 41 years of success have left a strong impact on Trinity athletics, as the Tigers will play their first season on the newly redone Julie Jenkins Court in Calgaard Gymnasium. 

Last season, Trinity volleyball finished 26-7 and 14-1 in conference play, but ultimately lost in the NCAA regional in Atlanta. The Tigers start this season at home on Friday, Aug. 29 against Millikin University, with two matches the following day. This will include a game against New York University, a rematch from the 2022 postseason that Trinity won on its way to the national championship game. Every home volleyball game this season will happen on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday, making supporting the volleyball easier for students.

Cross Country

Play at: Trinity Multi-Purpose Stadium
Head Coach: Emily Daum
Home Opener: N/A

Trinity cross country is coming off a successful 2024 season that saw both the men’s and women’s teams finish second in the SCAC. The program is led by Head Coach Emily Daum, who is entering her 12th season on the job. 

Under Coach Daum, Trinity has collected six conference titles along with a regional championship, as they look to carry over this level of success to the SAA. Last season was also filled with individual accomplishments, as six runners made the All-SCAC team, and sophomore Charlotte Martin won the SCAC Newcomer of the Year award. Cross country does not have an invitational on campus this season, but their first competition will be across the street at the University of Incarnate Word on Friday, Aug. 29.

Soccer

Play at: Paul McGinlay Field
Head Coaches: Paul McGinlay (Men), Dylan Harrison (Women)
Home Openers: Aug. 29 Men’s Team vs. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps College, Women’s Team vs. Texas A&M University-San Antonio 

Last season, both Trinity’s men’s and women’s soccer teams finished as SCAC champions and led successful runs in the NCAA postseason. 

Head Coach Paul McGinlay leads the men’s team, is entering his 35th season, and helped the program win its first national championship in 2003. During his tenure, McGinlay has coached Trinity to 23 SCAC championships and has amassed a record of 571-96-47 since he was hired in 1991. He built on that record last season as the men’s team went 19-1-3, not losing a single game before being eliminated in the third round of the NCAA playoffs. 

The women’s team, coached by Dylan Harrison in his 10th year, had similar success last season. They secured their 28th SCAC title, going a perfect 10-0 in conference play and sweeping the SCAC tournament. The women’s team dominated, only allowing one total goal in ten conference games. Their strong defense and standout play from now-graduated goalkeeper Lauryn Lewis helped the team earn 19 shutouts in 23 games and advance to the NCAA quarterfinals. 

Both the men’s and women’s teams will open their seasons at home on Friday, Aug. 29 at Paul McGinlay Field, with the women playing Texas A&M University-San Antonio and the men facing off against Calremont-Mudd-Scripps College.

Golf

Play at: The Quarry Golf Course (Off-Campus)
Head Coaches: Shelby DeVore (Women), Sean Etheredge (Men)
Home Opener: Oct. 6 & 7

The men’s and women’s golf teams for Trinity putted successful 2024-25 campaigns. The women’s team, coached by Shelby DeVore, won their fifth consecutive SCAC championship. The conference championship was a cap to a season filled with victories, as the women secured four team victories and two individual first-place finishes on the year. 

Five members of the team also earned All-SCAC honors. Coach DeVore is entering her fifth year as head coach of the women’s team and has won the SCAC title in each season she’s coached. The men’s team finished just short of the conference crown, but were able to secure an at-large bid into the NCAA championships where they tied for 17th in the country. Four members of the team received All-SCAC honors, while they also finished with two first-place finishes on the season. 

Trinity men’s golf is coached by Sean Etheredge, who is entering his 13th season in the position. The best season under Etheredge came in 2021, when the Tigers won the SCAC and finished 11th in the NCAA championships. The golf season will begin in September, when the women play the Division III NCAA Preview on Sept. 13 and 14 in Palm Desert, Calif. Their next competition will be in San Antonio on Oct. 6 and 7 at the Quarry Golf Course, just a couple of miles away from Trinity’s campus. The men will begin on Sept. 21 at the NCAA Division-III preview at the Mission Resort and Club in Florida, and will also play The Quarry Golf Course the same weekend at the women.   

Swimming and Diving

Play at: Hixon Natatorium at the Bell Athletic Center
Head Coach: Cathleen Pruden
Home Opener: TBD

Trinity swimming and diving turned in another productive season in their final year with the SCAC. The women’s team claimed the SCAC title, winning the championship meet by nearly 300 points at their 22nd consecutive SCAC championship. The men finished second, missing out on their own SCAC title by only eight points. The women’s streak of 22 straight SCAC titles will come to an end this year as they move to the SAA, but the move also presents an opportunity to create a new one. Head Coach Cathleen Pruden coaches both the men’s and women’s teams and is entering her fifth season in the role. Pruden and the rest of her coaching staff earned SCAC Women’s Swimming and Diving Coaching Staff of the Year last season. 

The schedule for swimming and diving’s season has not been announced yet, but the team had a total of eight home meets last season. If this year’s schedule is similar, there will be many opportunities for the Trinity community to support the swimming and diving team. Any home meets this season will be at the Bell Athletic Center in the Hixon Natatorium. If the schedule remains consistent from prior years, the season could begin sometime in October.

Basketball

Play at: Calgaard Gymnasium at the Bell Athletic Center
Head Coaches: Cameron Hill (Women), Marwan Elrakabawy (Men)
Home Opener: TBD

Both the men’s and women’s basketball teams for Trinity fell short in their respective SCAC championship games last season. The women turned in a final record of 16-12, while the men finished their year 22-5, just missing an at-large spot in the NCAA tournament despite their record.

The women’s team is coached by Cameron Hill, who’s held the position for 14 years. During his tenure, Trinity women’s basketball won eight SCAC championships, including three consecutive wins from 2022-2024. The team also advanced to NCAA quarterfinals in 2022. 

The men’s teams will be led by a new head coach this season, as the Trinity community welcomes Marwan Elrakabawy, aka “Coach Rock.” Prior to Trinity, Elrakabawy was the head coach at Schreiner University, leading the Mountaineers to a SCAC title in 2022 — beating Trinity in the championship game hosted in Calgaard Gymnasium. Now Coach Rock gets the chance to oversee Trinity’s first season in the SAA. 

Both men’s and women’s basketball play in Calgaard Gymnasium in the Bell Center, with the schedule typically lining up so both teams play on the same night in a doubleheader. This season, the men will play before the women, as they alternate each year. The basketball schedule for this season has not been released yet, but the season starts in early November, a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving break. Games often occur during winter break, so students who are still in San Antonio have the opportunity to support both teams.

Fun Fact

In 2007 Trinity football defeated Millsaps College 28-24 on a miracle lateral play. Down 24-22, Trinity had the ball at their own 40-yard line  with two seconds on the clock. 60 yards away from a winning touchdown, Trinity elected to lateral their way to the endzone. On the play, seven different Tigers touched the ball and combined for 15 laterals to score the winning touchdown with no time left, stunning Millsaps. The play still lives on in the halls of the Williams H. Bell Athletic Center as the “Mississippi Miracle,” where photos are on display outside the coaches’ offices.