It did, however, continue a tradition in the university's athletic department that began more than 80 years ago. Trevor is the son of OBU Track Coach Ford Mastin. He's the grandson of Gerald Mastin, who played baseball, basketball and golf for the Bison in the 1950s. And Trevor is the great-grandson of the late Robert Mastin, who was inducted into the OBU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1983 in recognition of his standout career as a three-sport star in football, track and baseball.

The newest Mastin Bison is carrying on more than a tradition. He has a full course load, track practice and meets, and a budding start to on-stage performance. A theatre major, Trevor has already appeared on stage at the Shawnee Little Theater.

"I'm glad he's well-rounded," said Ford, who was a music major at OBU. "He's got a lot of demands for his time in theatre. It was easier for me. I was a music major and had track practice, but nobody really wanted me to be involved in music stuff!"

Unlike his forefathers, Trevor comes in with a few expectations. There was enough gap between Robert and Gerald, that not many people at OBU put the two together. The same held true for Gerald and Ford. But Trevor is competing under his father and for one of the most prominent track programs in the NAIA.

Playing for one's parent isn't a new concept at OBU and Trevor isn't the first to go through that. In fact, he's just one of five children of OBU coaches to play for the Bison or Lady Bison this decade. That list includes graduates Kyle and Keely Tolin, Chris Cox, and freshmen classmates Kelly Fink and Trevor.

And like those others, he's going to have something to contribute. Trevor has a strong chance at scoring in the Sooner Athletic Conference track meet and helping the Bison, Ford said.

Strong coaching has been one of the constants in the lives of the Mastin boys. Robert was a two-time All-State and All-Conference pick for the Bison under OBU Hall of Famer Victor Hurt. Gerald played basketball under Bob Bass. And Ford ran under a young Jeff Potter, who coached several colleges and now teaches at St. Gregory's in Shawnee.

Another OBU mainstay, Eddie Hurt, was a teammate of Robert's and the athletic director for Gerald's year.

Despite that, there were some rough patches. Gerald played for four basketball coaches in four years before Bass steadied things in 1952. The golf team was a little more out of sorts, but successful all the same.

"We put about five of us together who had played golf and went over to the Oklahoma City Country Club and won the conference championship in 1952," said Gerald, who was OBU's Outstanding Senior Athlete his final year on Bison Hill.

He recalls the playing days, including an unusual road basketball game at McAlester where the Bison toured the state penitentiary before taking on a team of inmates. Gerald didn't come to OBU in the traditional parent-drop-off means. He and two other OBU athletes-to-be came in a car ride from Gary, Ind., with one of the boy's parents.

After graduating and getting a master's degree from the University of Oklahoma, Gerald taught and coached for 35 years in Okmulgee and Stillwater. He and his wife, Atha, had four sons - Darrell, Ford, Kyle and Gene. Ford and Kyle both ran track at OBU and all four have been involved in school athletics to some degree.

Ford's track career was nearly cut short by a lack of funds.

"I had the same spikes all four years that I had used in high school," Ford said. "Potter was pretty resourceful. He got a deal on some jackets and got ‘OBU' put on them with those old heat-transfer screens."

It looked for a while that what little funding for track was about to be taken away, but a presidential decision saved the program and indirectly continued the Mastin tradition at OBU.

Already burdened by having to set up track meet after track meet on their own and pay their own way for road meets, rumor set in that the scholarship days were coming to an end for the athletes.

"We lost a few guys because the word was out that the scholarships were going to be taken away and I had thought about it too, but when (then president) Dr. Tanner decided to keep track, it was full-speed ahead."

After graduating, Ford got degrees from seminary and graduate school and coached at various levels from Happy Hill Academy to Texas Christian University.

Thirteen years ago, he made the move to OBU from Prague High School.

Robert, who was one of the most decorated football players in Bison history, would be proud. Ford can't hang every coaching honor he has won in his office, but the highlights include three national championships - including the first women's national title in school history - and four NAIA Coach of the Year awards.

In addition to that, he's produced athletes and assistant coaches who are making names for themselves in conference and national levels. There are hundreds of All-Americans, a couple of Olympic hopefuls and one tradition-continuing son.

It's difficult to get the Mastin boys talking about awards. Atha had to call in the Outstanding Senior Award for this report. But the kids are another matter. Ford will tell you - sometimes in poetry - about his athletes. But of his own flesh and blood, the prose is more than lyric. It's from the heart.

And OBU is richer for it.