Nick’s fantastic season culminated in making the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s regional playoffs in Stillwater, Oklahoma held from the 16th to the 18th May.  The tournament was held at the Karsten Creek Golf Club.

Nick was the lone participant from the Cyclones in the Regional Tournament competing as an individual.  There were 14 colleges participating and 5 individuals.  There were six regional competitions held around the US with the top five teams and the top individual going through to the National Tournament being held at the Eugene Country Club.

Nick finished in a tie for 22nd on 228 after carding rounds of 70, 81 and 77.  Kristoffer Ventura of Oklahoma State was the medalist at 216 with University of Missouri-Kansas City’s Antoine Rozner securing the lone individual berth to the NCAA finals by finishing second in the medalist race at 217.

Karsten Creek Golf Club

In the 1970’s Mike Holder (former Oklahoma State University (OSU) Head Golf Coach and current OSU Athletic Director) envisioned a sanctuary for college golf. After many years of planning and fundraising, the pieces were finally in place to create what is now Karsten Creek. With the talents of renowned golf course designer, Tom Fazio, spawned one of the most challenging golf courses in the country. On May 9th, 1994, the course opened, and was named the “Best New Course” in the country by Golf Digest. The zoysia fairways were cut from a forest of oaks and black jacks, complemented by an undulating terrain that flows throughout the course. The back nine cascades around the 110 acre Lake Louise that is featured on the finishing holes. Complementing the course, are the clubhouse, two multi-level guest lodges, and state of the art practice and teaching facilities. 

Karsten Creek was so named to honor the late Karsten Solheim, founder of Karsten Manufacturing (PING), and Lake Louise honors his wife. The Solheims support of OSU golf over the last 20 years has been instrumental in the success of the golf program. As the home of the Oklahoma State Men’s and Women’s golf programs, the course is kept in a challenging condition, allowing team members to maintain their competitive edge.

NCAA

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a non-profit association which regulates athletes of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations, and individuals. It also organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States and Canada, and helps more than 450,000 college student-athletes who compete annually in college sports. The organization is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. In 2014, the NCAA generated almost a billion dollars in revenue. 80 to 90% of this revenue was due to the Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament. This revenue is then distributed back into various organizations and institutions across the United States.

In August 1973, the current three-division setup of Division I, Division II, and Division III was adopted by the NCAA membership in a special convention. Under NCAA rules, Division I and Division II schools can offer scholarships to athletes for playing a sport. Division III schools may not offer any athletic scholarships. Generally, larger schools compete in Division I and smaller schools in Division II and III.  Iowa State University is a Division I college so they compete against other Division I colleges throughout the season in the lead up to the NCAA Regionals.

Inter-collegiate sports began in the US in 1852 when crews from Harvard University and Yale University met in a challenge race in the sport of rowing.    For several years, the NCAA was a discussion group and rules-making body, but in 1921, the first NCAA national championship was conducted: the National Collegiate Track and Field Championships. Gradually, more rules committees were formed and more championships were created, including a basketball championship in 1939.

Until the 1980s, the association did not offer women’s athletics. Instead, an organization named the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) governed women’s collegiate sports in the United States. By 1982, however, all divisions of the NCAA offered national championship events for women’s athletics and most members of the AIAW joined the NCAA. A year later in 1983, the 75th Convention approved an expansion to plan women’s athletic program services and pushed for a women’s championship program.

Over the last two decades recruiting international athletes has become a growing trend among NCAA institutions. For example, most German athletes outside of Germany are based at US-universities. For many European athletes, the American universities are the only option to pursue an academic and athletic career at the same time. Many of these students come to the US with high academic expectations and aspirations.