In the Netherlands we enjoyed a white Easter the past few days, in Oklahoma City one of our student-athletes enjoyed temperatures above 25 degrees. Since we all dream of a sunny holiday, we start dreaming away at todays University Spotlight. We take a look at Mid America Christian University, where goalkeeper Sven van den Oever recently joined the group of student-athletes.
Sven played at FC Eindhoven during his youth, but mainly grew up at UNA and became part of the first team when he was sixteen years old. In 2017 he started playing at soccer club RKVVO, where he played for two seasons. After that it became time for an adventure and Sven left for the USA.
Sven planned to go to Angelina College in Texas for 2 years, but corona measures caused the cancellation of the NJCAA soccer competition for that year. Which is why Sven followed his second year of study online from the Netherlands, while he started training at UNA again. After he graduated for his associate degree, he wanted more USA adventure. He therefore makes the transfer to Mid America Christian University, where he can continue to combine his study and soccer career. It is therefore clear that Sven knows how to find his way up through the Junior College System.
Below you can read why Sven chose Mid America Christian University:
‘I chose MACU because of the ambition of the program! The school is investing a lot in new facilities so that shows me they are serious. The school checked everything on my wishlist so for me it feels like the best choice.’
Want to know more about MACU? Keep on reading!
Campus
MACU is a private university founded in 1953. Since 2003 it has the current name. The campus consists of 8 different (main) buildings on approximately 260,000 m2. The campus is considered an ‘Urban Campus’ since it is located in Oklahoma City, a city of nearly 600,000 inhabitants.
Various beautiful study buildings, libraries and other things can be found on campus. But as we do in every University Spotlight, we highlight the most interesting part of the campus: the sports facilities!
MACU takes good care of the group of student-athletes called ‘The Evangels’. Below we show a number of facilities that are used for training and competitions.
The ‘Gaulke Activity Center’ is where the basketball and volleyball teams have been active for more than 20 years. Not only university matches are played in the center, but other matches and events are also held. For example, the NCCAA Division II Basketball Championship. It has been organized several times over the past years. The center offers seating for 750 people and has real American locker rooms: you can see them in the photo below.
The James Curtis Outdoor Complex is an important place to be for MACU’s student-athletes. It consists of 3 different parts: the Jack Allen Field, the James Curtis Field and the Evangel Field.
The Evangel Field is the facility where the soccer team, and therefore also Sven, can be found regularly. The field contains dugouts and a press room. You can see a picture of the field below.
Looks good right? Besides the above facilities, more facilities have been made available for the Evangels. If you would like to see more of the campus, check the video below!
Athletics
The student-athletes at MACU are called ‘The Evangels’. In total, the group of student-athletes consists of 3 men’s teams: baseball, basketball and soccer, and 4 women’s teams: basketball, soccer, softball and volleyball. The teams are part of the NAIA and compete in the Sooner Athletic Conference but have also participated in the NCCAA.
In 2016, the Men’s Basketball Team managed to win the NAIA Championship, which was held in Kansas City. This was the first national NAIA title for the university, but the university has previously won several NCCAA titles.
Only recently, in 2018, the soccer team won the conference title. This was the first time in school history! Stakes are high Sven, but we are confident that you and your team will be able to achieve this again! GO MACU!
Another sport can be added to the list of men’s sports: Esports! League of Legends, Rocket League and Super Smash Bros – games in which the following men of the Esports team have now become Masters. Another way to become a student-athlete ..!
Enough about the campus and sports, because studying is also being done at MACU! You can read more about this below.
Academics
Studying, the second aspect that makes a student-athlete. That is why as a student-athlete it is important that the study you want to follow is offered at the university you prefer. That is no problem at MACU, as more than 60 studies are offered. These studies are divided into 12 different categories. Do you want to know whether your study is offered? Then check this link.
And when you at the end graduate at MACU, your diploma will be handed to you in the traditional way. Graduation Day at MACU can be seen in the picture below.
Do you, just like Sven, want to become a student-athlete in the USA? Or do you want more information? Reach out and we will help you.
