The post-game smiles on the faces of the Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys as they poured water on their head coach, Roy Thompson, told the story.
Arkansas Tech University clinched its first winning football season since 2017 with a 42-17 victory over Southern Nazarene University last Saturday.
“That was one of the goals we set at the beginning of the year,” said Thompson when asked about securing a winning record. “Tech’s been close over the past couple of years, and we really wanted to knock that wall down. Before you can win championships, you’ve got to have winning seasons and you have to do that consistently. It meant a lot to our kids. They and the coaches put in a lot of work over the last couple of weeks to try to reach that goal. When we go out and recruit, we can talk about having a winning season and hopefully kids will see that the program is on the upswing.”
The Wonder Boys (6-3) will go for their seventh win of the season on Saturday, Nov. 8, when they face the Oklahoma Baptist Bison (2-7) for a 2 p.m. Great American Conference contest at Crain Family Stadium in Shawnee, Okla.
Live coverage of the ATU-Oklahoma Baptist game will be provided by KCJC 102.3 FM, the EAB Media Group app and www.arkansastechsports.com.
If the Wonder Boys win, they will secure just their third 7-win season in the last 15 seasons.
“We’ve been talking to the guys about how we prepare and how we do our job…really treating every opponent the same,” said Thompson. “We have to go out there and beat Oklahoma Baptist. They’re not just going to take a butt whooping. I think our guys got the message and that we’re prepared to go out and try to win the football game.”
Oklahoma Baptist ranks second in the GAC in passing offense (242.8 yards per game). Saturday’s game will mark the final home contest of the season for the Bison.
“It’s important for us to go out there and start fast,” said Thompson. “If we do what we’re supposed to do, I believe we’ll have that fast start and take the momentum. If we don’t, we’ll be in for a fight. We’re looking forward to going out there and playing fast.”
Each Arkansas Tech victory increases the size of the opportunity in the subsequent game. A win over Oklahoma Baptist could make the regular season finale against Harding University on Saturday, Nov. 15, very interesting…more interesting than even the most optimistic Arkansas Tech fan could have dreamed at the outset of the 2025 season.
But only if the Wonder Boys take care of business this Saturday. Bison first. Then the Bisons.
Talk to you on the radio.
Tech Tidbits is a column written by Sam Strasner, ATU director of university relations and radio play-by-play voice for ATU football and basketball.
