CHENEY, Wash. — Eastern Washington University Athletics announced the return of men's golf as a varsity program. The team will begin competition during the 2025-26 academic year. 

The Eagle men's team made their debut at the NAIA level in the 1960s before playing in NCAA Division II in the 80s. After a 10-year hiatus from 1982 to 1992, the men's program returned with the addition of the women's team and went on to play through the 2001-02 academic year. 

"As the region's polytechnic university, we felt that it was important to sponsor a sport that strengthens our connection to our community and future prospective students at EWU," said EWU Director of Athletics Tim Collins. "We have a great opportunity to build a roster featuring student-athletes from the Pacific Northwest and reconnect with our golf alumni as we rebuild the program alongside the women's team which has been active for 32 years."

According to the National Golf Foundation, golf's overall reach in the United States is up over 30% since 2016, with over 123 million players over the age of five having played golf or followed golf in the media in 2023 alone. Juniors have seen the largest increase of any age group since 2019 (over 40%) with over 3.5 million having played on a golf course in 2023. 

The EWU men's team will compete in regional tournaments that fulfill NCAA Division I sport sponsorship requirements. 

To support the Eagle men's golf program, join the Eagle Athletic Fund at goeags.com/eaf or contact EAF staff members Rickie Alvarez at 509-359-0018 or via email at ralvarez12@ewu.edu or Marc Hughes at 509-280-3152 or mhughes@ewu.edu for more information.

Eagle Men's Golf History

The Eastern Washington University men's golf team first began competition at the NAIA level in the 60's and 70's and in the NCAA Division II ranks in the early 80's. Following the 1982-83 season, the men's team went on a 10-year hiatus before returning in 1992-93 along with the addition of the women's golf team.

At the beginning of the rebirth, the golf program was coached by Kelly Lynch-Stewart. Stewart coached in the spring of 1993 before taking a job as an assistant golf pro at Downriver Golf Course in Spokane.

Following Stewart's departure, long-time Eagle coach and professor Don Kallem returned to coach for the first time since 1982 when the golf program was dropped. In the 1993-04 season, the men finished in third place in the Big Sky with two all-conference selections in Brandon Bolt, who placed fifth, and Matt Bunn, who finished eighth. In their first season, the women's team placed seventh in the conference and featured all-conference player Julie Gish, who finished second at the championships. 

Kallem then retired from coaching and teaching and was succeeded by Jamie Hanna in 1994-95. In her first season, she led the Eagles to a third-place finish on the men's side and a fifth-place finish with the women. Hanna coached the men to fourth and second-place finish in 1995-96 and 1996-97 respectively. The women were fifth in 1995-96 and then improved to fourth the following season.

Hanna left the team before the 1997-98 season and her assistant Julie Scott took over as head coach. Scott led the men to a second-place finish for the second time in three years as the Eagles came a stroke away from the Big Sky title. As a result, Scott captured Big Sky Coach of the Year honors. That same season the women finished seventh at the Big Sky Championships.

Following the departure of Scott, Eastern hired Marc Hughes to lead the men and women in 1998-99. Since then he has coached three All-Big Sky honorees and 11 Big Sky All-Acdemic selections. In his first season, Hughes coached the men to a third-place finish in the Big Sky and the women to a sixth-place finish. Last season he led the men to a sixth-place finish, while the women finished in a tie for eighth.

Before reinstating its men's golf team in 1992-93, Eastern had outstanding golf success in the 60's and 70's under Kallem in the NAIA ranks.

Kallem spent 16 years as the men's golf coach from 1966 to 1982 and was a physical education instructor at Eastern until 1994. Kallem was the NAIA Coach of the Year three times and coached seven district medallists between 1966-82. Kalem's teams appeared in nine NAIA national championships in 16 years with a best-ever finish of 10th place. Kallem's squads won six straight district titles from 1967-72, then won titles in 1978 and 1979 before Eastern moved to NCAA Division II competition. 

In 1979 Gene Kun and Steve Michaelson finished tied for 17th place at the NAIA National Championships, as they led the Eagles to a 16th-place finish as a team. That was the team's last appearance in the NAIA classification before moving up to NCAA Division II. Gary Linebald and Bruce Brefet each went to the NAIA National Championships four times in the late 60's. 

Reclassification of Men's Tennis 

Eastern Washington University will discontinue its men's tennis program at the varsity level  upon completing the 2024-25 school year. Men's tennis will be reclassified as a club sport beginning with the 2025-26 academic year.

The Eastern women's tennis team will continue as a varsity and Big Sky Conference member.

EWU will honor the athletic scholarships of current Men's Tennis team members through a student-athletes graduation from Eastern  if those student-athletes choose to stay at EWU.
 

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Join the Eagle Athletic Fund for as low as $50 per year! Support Eagle student-athletes on and off the field while enjoying exclusive EAF perks such as season ticket and tailgating priority, invitations to special events, exclusive access and more. Visit goeags.com/eaf for more information.

ABOUT EASTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
Eastern Washington University Athletics sponsors 14 intercollegiate sports, six for men and eight for women, both as learning opportunities for its most athletically talented students and as an enhancement to student and community life. Eastern is affiliated with Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and is a member of the Big Sky Conference, an association of 10 regional schools with comparable enrollments and academic goals.

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