CHENEY, Wash. — The preparation for the return of Eastern Washington men's golf is in full swing and the program officially has a conference to call home. The Big Sky conference formally announced Eastern as a member for the 2025-26 season with first year head coach
Russell Grove. EWU rejoins the conference after previously being a member from 1992 until 2002.
Along with Eagles, Francis Marion joins the conference giving the Big Sky six programs including current conference members Idaho, Northern Colorado, Sacramento State and Weber State. Francis Marion's program competed in the Southland conference this past season.
The return of the men's golf as a full NCAA Division I program was announced by Eastern Athletic Director Tim Collins last October. The program now resumes competition after being discontinued following the 2001-02 season.
Grove was hired to lead the program's restart in January, and will be the sixth head coach in Eastern's history. He moves up to the Division I level after coaching both men's and women's golf at North Idaho College for the past 10 years, where the Cardinals won multiple Northwest Athletic Conference (NWAC) conference championships. Grove was also named NWAC Coach of the Year while at North Idaho.
The Eagles return to the Big Sky with a history of success in the conference. EWU finished third in the conference for the 1993-94 season under the leadership of Don Kallem. He coached two all-conference selections, Brandon Bolt and Matt Bunn, to top 10 finishes at the conference championships that season.
In the following season, Kallem departed and was succeeded by Jamie Hanna. She led the men to another third-place finish in 1994-95, following up with a fourth-place finish in 1995-96 and then runner up in 1996-97.
Prior to the 1997-98 season, Hanna moved on from the program and was replaced by Julie Scott. Under Scott's guidance, EWU placed second at the Big Sky Championships and was a stroke away from winning the title. Scott earned Big Sky Coach of the Year honors for the '97-'98 season.
Scott departed Eastern in the offseason and Marc Hughes took the reins for the 1998-99 season. Hughes coached the Eagles to a third-place finish in the conference championships in '99 and led the program until '02. During his tenure, Hughes coached three All-Big Sky players and 11 All-Academic honorees.
Men's golf returns to competition in the fall with four tournaments currently on the schedule. The Eagles begin with the Palouse Collegiate in Pullman, Wash. on Sept. 8 through the 10th. Eastern other tournaments include The Tindall (Sept. 21-23) in Bremerton, Wash., the Mark Simpson Invitational (Sept. 28-30) in Erie, Colo. and the Beaver Invitational (Oct. 13-25) in Salem, Ore.
Grove has five players signed for the 2025-26 roster currently, with the group including
Cal Anderson,
Charlie Gaffney,
Trey LeCheminant,
Zach Miller and
Kevin Wang.
The 2026 Big Sky men's golf championship is scheduled for April 26-29 next year at the Wigwam Golf Club in Litchfield Park, Ariz.
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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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