Don Byers, an insurance agent in Nebraska, is one of the newest members of the Bellevue University men’s golf team. Oh, and he’s 61 years old.
Byers is one of seven athletes on the 2017-18 roster, and he’s the only freshman. Bellevue, a private university in Bellevue, Neb., competes in the NAIA, which does not use the same eligibility rules the NCAA enforces.
Byers, a 1 handicap recruited by the school’s head coach, told WOWT News his friends hardly believe he’s on the team.
“Nobody believes it,” he said. “They all laugh and then once they figure out it’s for real they are 100 percent behind me.”
According to the NAIA, Byers, a former baseball player, is believed to be one of the oldest athletes in the history of college athletics (exact records are not available).
The Bruins resume their season in Las Vegas in March.
“I’ll just have to compete and I guess the ball doesn’t know who’s hitting it,” Byers said.
