The OBU women's tennis program got a kick start in 1997 after the program had been shut down since 1978. One of the stated goals of that 1997 team was to establish a tradition on a national level.

The 1997 Lady Bison inherited basketball player Jennifer Harjo midway through the season and added new life to a program trying to find itself. Harjo went 12-1 and advanced to the NAIA Tournament in OBU's first year back on the courts.

Former Bison player Brad Aylor coached that team to a 5-11 record and had them playing .500 at 9-9 the next season. When Aylor moved on, the program was assigned to assistant basketball coaches until 2001 when Sue Dick, a long-time tennis instructor, came on board with the task of rebuilding the program.