Oklahoma City won the NAIA national title. Now the program is being eliminated
· Yahoo Sports
Oklahoma City University, an NAIA program, won its 12th men's golf national championship in school history on Friday. Barring a last-minute change of heart from school administrators, it will be the school's last.
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In November, the school announced it was dropping its men's and women's golf programs after the season. The school president called the decision not easy but done since "the cost structure of golf practice and competition presents unique challenges."
But the Stars are going out on top.
OCU topped Friends by two shots in the team competition at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Illinois, thanks to a stellar finish from senior Christian Yanovitch, who won the individual title, too. He birdied the 17th hole to move OCU two in front of Friends, and then made par on the final hole while the other counting scores all made bogey. The result was the school's first national championship in eight years.
"Proud of this team," OCU coach Blake Trimble. "They fought hard all year and overcame some major adversity. This was truly a team effort. Still shocked this is the end of such a historic program, but happy to go out on top."
Carter Ray finished T-5 while Cameron Boyzk, Lorenzo Santinelli and Jack Newton also contributed to the title.
The golf teams at OCU have now won a combined 20 national championships and were among the best programs in school history. After the decision was announced in November, coaches informed players they would help them find other schools if they wished to transfer but stay and coach them if they wanted to stick around for the spring.
Not only did the men's team stay, they rallied around each other to overcome an administration that didn't believe in them, even as numerous alumni and others offered financial support to help the programs continue, to win the sport's highest honor.
And as of Saturday, the program will be defunct.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Oklahoma City wins NAIA men's golf title before program is dropped