When watching the Chicago Bears, you will hear Shepherd University as Tyson Bagent’s school. It’s not the traditional college for a football player, and to most fans, it’s a school they’ve never heard of.
Shepherd University is a public liberal arts college located in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. The school overlooks the Potomac River and is about 90 minutes from Washington, D.C., and Baltimore. In 2004, the school changed its name from Shepherd College to Shepherd University.
Shepherd University was established in 1871 and has about 3,200 students, most of whom are from West Virginia. The school’s nickname is the Rams, and the teams wear blue and gold.
What NCAA Level Does Shepherd Play At?
Shepherd University competes at the Division II level and has been a member of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference since 2019. The school has 15 varsity sports, seven men’s and eight women’s teams.
Shepherd was an original member of the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and stayed until the league ended in 2013. The conference originally was affiliated with NAIA and moved to Division II in 1994.
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Shepherd competes in football, baseball, basketball, cross country, soccer, tennis, golf, softball, volleyball, and women’s lacrosse.
Shepherd University Football Alumni
Former Shepherd quarterback Tyson Bagent set an NCAA record across all divisions with 159 career touchdown passes. He also set 27 school records and led the school to the NCAA tournament three times, including semifinal appearances in 2021 and 2022.
As a junior, Bagent won the 2021 Harlon Hill Trophy, considered the Heisman Trophy of Division II football. He had 5,000 pass yards and 53 touchdowns in 15 games.
Bagent was the first Shepherd player to be invited to the Senior Bowl after being named second-team All-American as a senior. Bagent went undrafted but signed with the Bears. He made his NFL debut two weeks ago against the Minnesota Vikings and won his first NFL start last week against the Las Vegas Raiders.
There have been three players from Shepherd selected in the NFL Draft. The Baltimore Colts selected quarterback John Shearer in the 1956 Draft. The Colts and the AFL’s Oakland Raiders both selected offensive tackle Bob Hogue in 1960 — neither played in the NFL or AFL.
The last Shepherd player drafted was running back Wayne Wilson, who was a 12th-round selection by the Houston Oilers in 1979. He rushed for over 2,500 yards in 111 career games over nine seasons.
Linebacker Howard Jones (24 games), tight end Dominique Jones (22 games), safety Tre Sullivan (12 games), and kicker Ricky Schmitt (one game) are the other Shepherd players to make the NFL over the last 15 years.
Shepherd University Baseball Alumni
Shepherd University has had four baseball players go on to play in Major League Baseball. Lefty Willis was the first to reach the majors from Shepherd, and he pitched in 29 games for the Philadelphia Athletics from 1925 to 1927. Cecil Perkins pitched in two games for the New York Yankees in 1967. Frank Funk went 20-17 in 137 games with Cleveland and Milwaukee from 1960 to 1963.
Rockies outfielder Brenton Doyle made his major league debut in 2023 and played 126 games with the Rockies. Doyle, who was drafted in the 4th round of the 2019 draft, had ten home runs and drove in 48 runs in his rookie year. He had a .380 batting average and 32 home runs in four seasons at Shepherd.
Including Doyle, Shepherd has had four players drafted in the MLB Draft since 2012.
Tyler Bagent’s father, Travis, was a pitcher at Shepherd before becoming a champion arm wrestler. Travis Bagent has won over 15 world and 25 national championships as a professional during his career.
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