Last December, the Oklahoma Gazette published pointed commentary questioning the leadership and direction of Oklahoma City University after the university announced it would dissolve its men’s and women’s golf programs.
At the time, the decision shocked alumni and supporters. The article noted the irony of eliminating one of the university’s most successful athletic programs during a period of historic economic growth in Oklahoma City, describing the move as evidence of a university drifting from the identity that once made it a cornerstone of the city.
Five months later, the decision has become even harder to explain.
The OCU men’s golf team just won the national championship.
In one of the most remarkable exits imaginable, the Stars captured the 2025 NAIA Men’s Golf National Championship at TPC Deere Run in Illinois, months after learning their program was being eliminated.
They did not fade quietly. They went out on top.
For head coach Blake Trimble, the championship run began with disbelief. After winning the team’s previous two tournaments, Trimble said he was called into the athletic director’s office expecting encouragement and praise for the program’s momentum. Instead, he was informed the university was eliminating men’s and women’s golf.
Trimble said there was virtually no opportunity to change the decision. He proposed increasing fundraising, expanding recruiting efforts and continuing to build the program, but was told the decision had already been made.
Yet somehow, the season did not collapse under the weight of uncertainty.
“We said it from the day it was announced,” Trimble said in an interview with the Gazette. “We were going to go win the national championship and make our school look pretty silly for dropping this program.”
Mission accomplished.
What makes the championship resonate beyond sports is that this was not a struggling program barely hanging on. OCU golf has long been one of the premier NAIA golf dynasties in America, winning 11 national championships under former coach Kyle Blaser.
Many of these student-athletes came to Oklahoma City specifically because of golf, including players from Italy, Germany and Sweden. Once the program disappeared, so did the reason many of them chose Oklahoma City University in the first place.
In many ways, that is exactly what has always made OCU special. Its athletic and arts programs have long brought students from across the globe to a beautiful campus on Northwest 23rd Street in the heart of one of America’s fastest-growing cities. For generations, students came to Oklahoma City chasing opportunity—to perform, compete, create, study and build a future.
Perhaps the most remarkable part of the season was what Trimble spent much of the year doing behind the scenes: He was helping his own players transfer elsewhere.
“I was trying to coach my guys, plan schedules, budget—and on top of that I was reaching out to other coaches trying to help my guys find places to play,” Trimble said
Despite the emotional toll, the team rallied around one another. They won their final regular season tournament, then the conference championship, and finally the national championship.
The title also reopens the very questions raised in December. According to Trimble, supporters assembled approximately $4 million in fundraising commitments in an effort to preserve the golf programs. University leadership reportedly informed supporters that it would take $10 million to keep the programs alive.
To many, the championship now stands as both a triumph and an indictment.
How does a university eliminate a national championship program that appeared to be thriving?
In the end, perhaps the greatest criticism of the decision is not coming from angry alumni or frustrated donors.
It is coming from the trophy itself.
Because no matter what happens next, the fact is now permanently etched into OCU history that the final OCU men’s golf team left as national champions.
And now the larger question facing Oklahoma City remains unavoidable: What exactly is happening on 23rd Street?
When asked to comment on the program’s dissolution, the university provided the following statement:
“The university community is extremely proud of the men’s golf team, as well as the women’s golf team, for their hard work and composure this season. It is never an easy decision to discontinue an athletics program. The tradition and success of our golf teams is deeply valued and respected and will always be a part of OCU history.”
National champions are supposed to be celebrated, invested in and built around.
Not eliminated.
This article appears in deadCENTER Film Festival returns.