As part of a Christ-centered educational environment, Union Adventist University Athletics exists to develop the whole person — mind, body, and spirit — through competitive and exhibition athletics. We aim to reflect Christian values in character, sportsmanship, teamwork, and academic excellence.
Students at Union Adventist University have played sports since the university's founding in 1891, with stories of baseball, basketball, hockey and even ski jumping dotting the pages of Union’s history books. However, it wasn’t until 1986 when a group of students got together to form a “basketball witness team” that intercollegiate sports became part of campus life. Under the leadership of Head Coach Paul Gnadt, Union’s first varsity men’s basketball team visited other small colleges on the Great Plains as well as Adventist high schools and churches. The next year, a women’s basketball witness team was organized by Coach Brad Forbes.
When other colleges asked what name or mascot our teams wanted to go by, the students chose the alliterative, “Witness Warriors,” and the “Warriors” moniker has stuck ever since, with the athletes taking as their symbols elements of the armor of God listed in Ephesians 6:10-18. The “shield of faith” is currently represented in the logo, replacing the “helmet of salvation” previously depicted.
Union’s academic dean at the time, Dr. Ward Hill, explained the decision to bring varsity sports to an Adventist campus. “The Basketball Witness Program gives Union College another avenue for witnessing, recruitment, evangelism, and service,” he said. “Furthermore, it provides those students with superior God-given athletic ability an opportunity to use that talent to glorify God.” Those goals continue to drive Union’s athletic program to this day.
The philosophy of a sermon in (athletic) shoes extends also to expectations of spectators. Warrior fans are asked to always cheer for and never against any team or player. In the words of former President John Wagner, “When players from other schools visit our campus, they should come away feeling like our school was different in a positive way.”
Warriors Core Values
Integrity: We act with honesty and fairness in and out of competition.
Excellence: We pursue our best in training, competition, and academics.
Community: We support one another as teammates and fellow believers.
Stewardship: We care for our bodies, talents, and responsibilities as gifts from God.
