By Kenny Knudsen
Staff Writer
In the wake of Tennessee Temple University (Chattanooga, Tennessee) shutting its doors, Bryan College welcomed former Temple student-athletes into its athletic programs this fall.
Bryan was one of three institutions that allowed displaced Temple students to continue their education at Temple’s tuition prices. The other two schools were Piedmont International University (Winston-Salem, North Carolina) and Shorter College (Rome, Georgia).
In the transition, Bryan acquired several student-athletes from Temple. A few teams at Bryan have welcomed a significant number of Temple athletes to their programs, including the men and women’s soccer teams and the cross country team.
Transferring to a different school to play can be a difficult and challenging process.
“It is a challenging place for a student to be,” Men’s Head Soccer Coach Drew Courtney said. “There is a lot of uncertainty when you transfer, especially after your school closes its doors. As a coach, my take on these students is like my take on any transfer students. Are they going to fit into our culture? Are they going to help us? Are they willing to work and put the team first?”
For some athletes, the transition from Temple to Bryan was a change of pace.
When asked about the biggest difference between Bryan and Temple, junior defender for the women’s soccer team Kalina Hyde said, “Everything is way more organized. There’s more of a system on how to do things.”
“Learning to work with [the team] has been different, but I think we are starting to really mesh, and it has been working out really well during the games,” Hyde continued.
The transition, has not only posed a challenge for transfer athletes, but Bryan coaches as well. They have had to adapt to the process of welcoming a large number of new student-athletes.
Women’s Soccer Head Coach Mark Sauve is not known for bringing in transfer athletes because he believes that it takes time to get a good feel for Bryan.
“I don’t pursue transfers because I believe that it takes a while to understand and adapt to our culture, not only my team’s culture but also the culture of Bryan College,” Sauve said. “This year is an exception because of the unfortunate circumstances with Temple.”
