Indiana Wesleyan University announced that two varsity sports will launch in the spring of 2027, along with ten new club sports set to begin within this coming year.
A new hire and a familiar face changing roles came from the addition of women’s flag football and men’s volleyball as varsity sports.
Travis Combs was hired as the head coach of the women’s flag football team and former IWU Athletic Director Deane Webb transitioned into the position of men’s volleyball head coach.
“I look forward to our players meeting the expectation that the school has, working together to help in the community and to get closer to Christ,” Coach Combs said.
Combs is no stranger to success as he compiled an 82-11 record during his 5 years of coaching high school flag football.
“Good programs start with building people first through Christ, caring for each other and being good teammates. Mend this with skill and hard work, and the winning will take care of itself,” Coach Combs said.
The addition of these sports will provide more opportunities for students to bring their skills to the college level and experience IWU athletics’ Both/And culture.
Men’s club sports being added are baseball, basketball, golf and tennis. Additional women’s club sports are basketball, tennis and volleyball. Finally, three coed teams of disc golf, pickleball and trap shooting will be new additions to the club program.
“Anybody that played high school golf that wants to keep going, they have an opportunity to get paid, to be able to play free golf and to be able to travel to a couple tournaments a semester,” IWU golf head coach Kyle Bloom said.
Bloom emphasized his excitement for the opportunity the program has to share their culture with more players. This excitement is not constrained to the golf program, as club team culture is already being experienced by players that have participated in existing IWU club sports.
Club soccer player Ella Garber, when asked about the club team culture, said, “We’re like family. We have Bible studies on Mondays. We practice a couple times a week, and we all eat dinner together on Sundays, and we take turns who’s cooking.”
More students will be exposed to IWU’s athletics’ culture through the addition of these teams. The coming years foster new opportunities for students to bring their athletic skills to the college level and be immersed in community.
