FOLEY, Ala. – Three new names will be among the more than 30 schools sending athletes to the 2025 HotelPlanner USA Archery Collegiate 3D Nationals, which run from Thursday to Saturday in the Yellowhammer State.
Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction, Missouri Valley College Archery in Marshall and PRCC (Pearl River Community College) in Poplarville, Mississippi either boast new archery programs or are new to national collegiate competition and will compete in what is set to be a record-breaking event.
Ashley Teal is the Shooting Sports Head Coach at Colorado Mesa University. She said, “We are looking forward to being around the collegiate atmosphere and meeting new teams. This will be our team’s first major 3D competition, so we are all just excited to learn something new and be a part of something major like this!”
The program at Colorado Mesa began in 2022, and competition up to now has been kept to local and state events.
“We are excited to be stepping out of our comfort zone and be able to offer our students the chance to compete against other teams around the nation,” Teal added. “I have heard the atmosphere is something you can’t explain, you just have to feel it.”
When registration closed last week, 485 athletes had signaled their intent to be at the Graham Creek Interpretive Center in southern Alabama. That would beat the 460 to compete 12 months ago, itself a new high, and would highlight continued growth in collegiate archery.
The inaugural Collegiate 3D Nationals in 2017 attracted just 73 archers. That swiftly ballooned to more than 300 for the 2018 edition and the numbers (2020 aside) have been growing ever since.
“Collegiate archery continues to experience tremendous growth, and the Collegiate 3D Nationals at Graham Creek is a reflection of that momentum,” said USA Archery Director of Sport Development, Callie Grieser.
“Thanks to the strong partnership between USA Archery, the Archery Shooters Association, and the dedicated staff at the Graham Creek Interpretive Center, this event has become a highlight of the season. We are excited to welcome new programs and returning teams alike to this record-breaking event.”
University of the Cumberlands are the defending Overall Team champions, a position they have held since winning on their first appearance in 2018. And while they will again be the team to beat, a school making only their second appearance has high hopes of making a challenge.
The University of Rio Grande only began their archery program last year but will have 41 student athletes in Alabama. Only Cumberlands, with 45, will have a larger team.
As well as Rio Grande, expect any one of the following programs to be in the mix, with all sending sizable rosters to Foley.
Competition gets underway on Thursday afternoon with the first round of shooting across barebow, compound, fixed pins and recurve. The second round takes place on Friday morning, to be followed by the Individual Class Shoot-Down.
O?cial Team Rounds are scheduled for Saturday morning before the action switches from outdoors at the Graham Creek Interpretive Center to indoors and the Mixed Equipment Team Rounds inside the Foley Event Center.
You can follow all the latest scores and results from Foley, view photographs from each session, and watch the Mixed Equipment Team Rounds live on USA Archery’s YouTube channel from 6.30pm CT on Saturday.
Learn more about USA Archery’s Collegiate Archery Program by contacting the Outreach Program Manager at [email protected] or call (719) 866-3452.
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Blue Mountain College |
Mississippi College |
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Campbellsville University |
Missouri Valley College |
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Carson Newman University |
Mount Marty University |
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Colorado Mesa University |
Muskingum University |
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Connors State College |
Pearl River Community College |
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Eastern Kentucky University |
Rend Lake College |
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Emmanuel College |
Southeastern Illinois College |
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Georgia Institute of Technology |
Texas A&M University |
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Georgia Southern University |
Union Commonwealth University |
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Kentucky Christian University |
University of Montevallo |
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Liberty University |
University of Pikeville |
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Lindenwood University |
University of Rio Grande |
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Lindsey Wilson University |
University of the Cumberlands |
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Lyon College |
Wabash Valley College |
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Michigan State University |
William Carey University |
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Midway University |
William Woods University |
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