SMITHFIELD, RI – Bill Smith, Bryant University vice president of athletics and recreation, announced that Bryant’s women’s tennis, men’s golf and women’s golf teams will join the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) as associate members, effective immediately.

The Bulldogs have competed as an associate member in all three sports of the Southland Conference for the past two seasons.

With the addition of the Bulldogs, the OVC now has 11 men’s golf institutions: Bryant, Eastern Illinois, Lindenwood, Little Rock, Morehead State, SIUE, Southern Indiana, Tennessee State, Tennessee Tech, UT Martin and Western Illinois.

There will now be nine OVC women’s golf schools: Bryant, Eastern Illinois, Lindenwood, Little Rock, Morehead State, Southern Indiana, Tennessee State, Tennessee Tech and Western Illinois.
There are currently eight venues for women’s tennis: Bryant, Eastern Illinois, Lindenwood, Southeast Missouri, SIUE, Southern Indiana, Tennessee State and Western Illinois.

“I am incredibly grateful to Commissioner Beth DeBauche and the entire OVC administrative staff for providing a home for our women’s tennis, men’s golf and women’s golf programs for the upcoming 2024-25 season,” Smith said. “I also want to thank the Southland Conference for providing a home for our student-athletes over the past two seasons. We now look forward to being a proud member of the Ohio Valley Conference.”

Bryant women’s tennis has won two conference titles in the history of the DI program. The Bulldogs won the Northeast Conference Championships in 2015 and most recently in 2022.

The Bryant men’s golf team has appeared in 33 NCAA tournaments and won two conference titles (2014 and 2017) at the Division I level.

Bryant’s women’s golf team begins its third season, the second under head coach Angel MacLeodthis fall.

“We are excited to have Bryant University join the OVC in men’s golf, women’s golf and women’s tennis,” said OVC Commissioner Beth DeBauche. “The OVC has a long-standing commitment to promoting these sports and is excited about the opportunity to create additional partnerships to strengthen them.”

“We are very proud of our men’s golf, women’s golf and women’s tennis programs and are excited to have OVC as a conference site for these Bulldog teams,” said Bryant University President Dr. Ross Gittell.

The 2025 OVC Men’s Golf Championship will be held April 20-23 at Dalhousie Golf Club in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. It will be the third time the championship has been held at the course (and the first since 2023).

The 2025 OVC Women’s Golf Championship will be held April 13-15 on the Fighting Joe Course at RTJ at the Shoals in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. The event has been played at this course four times.

The 2025 OVC Women’s Tennis Championship will be held April 18-20 at the Dwight Davis Tennis Center in St. Louis, Missouri. It will be the second consecutive year the event will be held at the facility.