After officially announcing its intentions to develop an intercollegiate athletics program in 2011 and officially joining the NCCAA in early 2012, the Bob Jones Bruins will officially kick off its first sports season at the end of the month. 

Bob Jones University, a conservative Christian school in the Wade Hampton area of Greenville, will officially begin its first athletic season on Aug. 31. 

The soccer seasons will kick off with back-to-back home games starting at 6 p.m. on Aug. 31, with the women’s team hosting Truett-McConnell College, and the men’s team competing against Southern Wesleyan University at 8:15 p.m.

The university announced in December 2011 that it would establish an intercollegiate athletics program after the Board of Trustees unanimously approved intercollegiate athletic participation at its regularly scheduled Board meeting on Dec. 2, 2011. By March, BJU had announced the hiring of Neal Ring as its first athletics director, and later selected the Bruin as its mascot.