There’s always been a spark of passion when whispers of Azusa Pacific University travel through Biola’s campus. This passion is hard to define, but has been in the hearts of Biolans for generation upon generation as graduates hand down their desire for a healthy rivalry to the younger generations.
However, in recent years, the rivalry has seemed to slow, causing students to wonder: Is Biola still competing with the Cougars?
Sports Still Going Strong
Josh Crichton, sophomore goalkeeper for the men’s soccer team, has friends at Azusa and said he has no hard feelings toward the school itself. But when it comes to soccer, the need to beat the Cougars gets the best of him and his teammates.
“In sports there’s no option. You’ve got to beat Azusa no matter what sport you’re in,” Crichton said.
According to Crichton, the rivalry is still very much alive in the hearts of Biola’s sports teams. This rivalry gives even more reason for students to get pumped up for game time and to deck out in red and black to watch the Eagles score.
Although APU left the NAIA for NCAA Division II in 2011, the two soccer teams play each other once a year during pre-season, Crichton explained. The seniors who still remember when APU and Biola played in the same league regard the pre-season game as a vital win for the team.
“Whenever we play them it’s always, ‘We’ve got to beat Azusa,’” he said.
Both Sides of the Story
Senior Stephanie Pugh transferred from Azusa to Biola and has thus seen both sides of the rivalry.
“To me, it doesn’t appear to be a fierce rivalry, but rather a friendly one,” she said.
At basketball games she has attended in the past, Pugh said both schools have stepped up their game and exemplified school spirit to the fullest extent. Outside of sports, though, Pugh has seen little to no evidence of a fierce rivalry.
Though there may not be an obvious show of outright competition, Pugh said students compare the Bible programs that Azusa and Biola have to offer — each with its own strengths and weaknesses. For example, she stated that Biola has the reputation of being the more conservative university.
Pugh said that the best thing about this rivalry is that students from both schools get to experience a friendly competition. A rivalry like this should not be allowed to be extinguished, if only because it brings students from both campuses together, explained Pugh.
“Biola can keep the rivalry between the two schools alive by continuing to support the athletic programs at Biola, attending games and supporting our teams,” Pugh said.
Another Take
Tim Posada, current professor at both Biola and Azusa, believes that the spirited heat between the opposing Christian colleges has simmered down immensely in the past few years.
As an APU graduate, Posada remembered the pranks he and his friends played on Biola, as well as Biola students’ attempted retaliations. Though they were never harmful, he considered the pranks apt for amusing, teasing and stirring up some friendly competition. The most dangerous exhibit of rivalry that he remembers happened at a basketball game.
“There was one situation where a basketball game got a little out of hand and Biola won and they ran out onto the court and started stomping on the Cougar logo. So a bunch of APU students rushed them,” Posada said.
From his understanding, no one was physically injured. However he stated that in the moment, the rivalry got so heated that it bruised some egos, feelings and the schools’ reputations.
Other than the basketball incident, Posada explained the rivalry has all been one-sided. He believes Azusa has reigned victorious for quite some time because Biola never retaliates. While turning the other cheek is one thing, Posada thinks a harmless eye for an eye comeback could enliven the spirit of the age-old rivalry.
APU: 1, BU: 0
Posada remembered another strike against Biola’s reputation when Azusa students once snuck onto campus and hung a big APU shirt over the Jesus mural. Biola never sought revenge. Although a small prank, Posada thinks Biola needs to step up and do something about a prank like this.
“Lately I haven’t heard anything. I always talk to my students about how it’s kind of a sad rivalry … especially since the sports teams aren't in the same division anymore,” Posada said.
Students from both schools give a half-hearted “boo” when he informs them of his hours spent at the other campus, but Posada said no one really gets into the hype of the rivalry.
What Can We Do?
If students from both Azusa and Biola sought fun, harmless ways to keep the competition alive between the schools, Posada said that it would add history to both campuses.
To rekindle the flames of the once strong rivalry, Posada said Biola students need to go scope out Azusa’s campus and see what’s there. He said that students should make something happen so that when whispers of APU travel through the school, there will be a spark in the hearts of Biolans once again.
