The Balance of Faith, Sports, and Academics

By Jonah Alvarez

Being a collegiate athlete is already a busy lifestyle, and adding faith and academics into the mix creates a greater challenge balancing multiple responsibilities.  

College athletes spend hours practicing, lifting weights, traveling, watching film, and competing while also having to keep up with classes and schoolwork. For Christian athletes, there is another important part of life they are trying to prioritize- their relationship with God. 

Three Simpson University athletes, Michael Wood, Malachi Fuller, and Moriah Bowles, all have different stories, but they all share one thing in common- their faith in Jesus Christ.  

Faith comes first for Michael Wood. 

Michael Wood is a basketball player at Simpson University who came to Simpson after playing at a junior college. 

Simpson was an easy choice. 

“Definitely my faith. That’s an easy question to answer,” said Wood when asked what brought him to Simpson. 

When deciding where he wanted to continue his basketball career, Wood has interests from other schools even at the Division II level, but Simpson offered something more important to him- faith.  

Wood studies business with an emphasis in data science and AI while also balancing basketball, and multiple jobs on campus.  

With such a busy schedule, Wood believes priorities are important. 

“Number one is my faith, of course,” Wood said, “Just everything that I do has to be wrapped around my faith.”  

Wood starts his mornings getting into the Word. School is second, and basketball is third.  

Game day: 

Wood starts his game day mornings out in the Word, gets shots up, goes to his classes, tries to not work those days, watches extra film, and prepares mentally for the game. 

Wood’s identity is outside of basketball.  

For Wood, basketball is something he takes very serious but does not let it define who he is. 

“I can fully say that my identity is in Jesus Christ,” said Wood. 

An injury led Malachi Fuller to Simpson  

Fuller’s journey to Simpson looked a little different. 

From starting his collegiate baseball career in Oklahoma, to Sacramento, Fuller is now in Redding, Calif. at Simpson University. 

Fuller is a baseball player who first learned about Simpson after playing against them in 2024. A year later, he broke his hand while playing baseball and was unsure if he was going to continue playing after that. 

Must fight through adversity.  

Fuller began questioning whether baseball was still part of God’s plan for his life.  

“I was praying, just asking God, like, is this His plan that He has for me?” said Fuller. 

Eventually a door opened at Simpson. 

“I really think God just answered prayers,” said Fuller 

Currently studying history and plans to become a high school history teacher, Fuller is also an RA and involved in student life on campus. 

Like Wood, Fuller puts his faith first. 

“I don’t think there would be any point in playing baseball or any sport without God,” Fuller said, the reason I’m playing is to glorify Him.” 

‘They are more than just teammates.” 

"Being on a team with 68 other guys,” Fuller sees it as an opportunity to share his faith. 

He believes one of the best ways to share his faith is by leading by example and having “accountability without judgement.”  

Game day for Fuller: 

8am to 6pm 

Long days mean missing class, and less alone time with God, especially with the double headers at the NAIA level. 

“There’s so many opportunities for us to pray and spend time with the Lord,” said Fuller, “it’s just, do we choose to, and do we think about it?” 

Basketball is not Moriah Bowles’ Identity. 

Moriah Bowles is a women’s basketball player at Simpson who also transferred from junior college. 

From JUCO to Simpson. 

Bowles had a connection through her junior college coach who knew the Simpson basketball coach, Anthony Taylor. 

Recruitment conversations were not centered around basketball. 

“We talked about faith a lot on my phone call. We barely talked about basketball,” Bowles said. 

Bowles studies biblical studies at Simpson, which allows her academics and faith to always connect. 

Although basketball is very important to Bowles, she has learned that her performance on the court does not determine who she is. 

“My identity is not in basketball,” Bowles said. 

That perspective comes from her experiences much deeper than a basketball game- Bowles lost her mother at 3 years old and has seen grief throughout her life with her family. 

“My faith doesn’t move anymore,” Bowles said.  

Because of what she has experienced, a bad basketball game does not shake her faith. 

Bowles believes loving people is one of the biggest ways she connects with God, so showing her teammates her faith is how she shows love to her teammates. 

Even on game days, Bowles reminds herself that basketball is only one part of her life.  

“it’s just another day,” said Bowles, “I happen to get to play the sport that I love.”  

Sports is what might have brought these three to Simpson University, but their faith is what continues to guide them throughout life.