- May 11th, 2006, 6:52 pm
#14984
Since I know conference affiliation news is always big on this board, I thought I'd mention that Florida Gulf Coast University has been accepted into the A-Sun Conference. This article also says that South Carolina-Upstate (formerly USC-Spartanburg) may also get an invite. I knew that FGCU was trying to move up to Div. I, but I had no idea that USC-Upstate was...neither school has a football team...
http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll ... 10404/1010
Here comes the A-Sun
Eagles accept bid into Div. I league
By Craig Handel
chandel@news-press.com
Originally posted on May 11, 2006
As he watched a projection screen raise up and show the Atlantic Sun Conference logo, Florida Gulf Coast University baseball coach Dave Tollett said he "got a little chill, a little excitement."
Then the reality of the situation hit him.
"It also means I've got more games scheduled in 2008 than I do in 2007," Tollett said.
Atlantic Sun commissioner Bill Bibb officially extended an invitation Wednesday to FGCU to become a member starting in the fall of 2007. President Bill Merwin, on behalf of the school's board of trustees and university officials, gladly accepted.
"We finally have a home," FGCU athletic director Carl McAloose said.
The move into the Division I conference further legitimizes FGCU's athletic program for fans who are unfamiliar with their Division II opponents.
"We can say we're playing Stetson or Jacksonville this weekend instead of Concordia or a name people never heard of," Tollett said.
Being in a conference for the first time also means that scheduling problems are eased, and athletes will spend less time out of class and can vie for individual conference honors.
While FGCU's basketball, golf, tennis, soccer, cross country, women's swimming and softball teams can play for regular-season conference titles, they can't compete in the A-Sun's conference tournament or get an automatic NCAA bid for four years. Volleyball and baseball will be allowed to compete in the postseason after two years.
However, there's good news. As FGCU officials had thought, Bibb and A-Sun associate commissioner Ted Gumbart confirmed that if the Eagle men's basketball team wins the regular-season conference title during the reclassification period, FGCU will get an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament.
The women's basketball team also has a good chance to reach the Women's NIT if it wins the league title, Gumbart said.
"That's what we've been told all along," FGCU men's basketball coach Dave Balza said. "We have that as a carrot.
"Without a doubt, it impacts recruiting. We're not in a situation where we'll be in four years of sitting out."
The Eagles became the conference's 11th member. South Carolina-Upstate could be named as the 12th member in the next week or so.
Merwin said the work now begins, particularly in fundraising. A feasibility study compiled by McAloose calls for a budget of $5.142 million in 2007-08 and almost $6 million in 2009-10. The budget for 2005-06 was just under $3 million.
"We'll need people to dig deep in their pockets," Merwin said to chuckles.
The crowd of about 100 in attendance cheered Merwin's acceptance. All of the school's sports had a coach present.
The pairing of FGCU and the Atlantic Sun comes at a perfect time.
FGCU had been rebuffed in numerous attempts to join NAIA and Division II conferences.
Bibb sought two new members after losing Florida Atlantic after this season and Central Florida and Troy (Ala.) in past years because those schools took their Division I-A football programs to the Sun Belt Conference.
"In the last five years, we've been in kind of a revolving door," Bibb said. "With the exception of one school, it had to do with football.
"But now our stability is really good and we're on our way."
So is FGCU.
"For the people and the players and this community, it's great," Tollett said.
ATLANTIC SUN CONFERENCE
• Founded: Sept. 19, 1978
• Commissioner: Bill Bibb (1991)
• Charter member: Macon
• Members: 11
• Teams — South: FGCU, Stetson, North Florida, Jacksonville, Kennesaw (Ga.), Mercer (Ga.).
• North: Belmont (Tenn.), Lipscomb (Tenn.), Campbell (N.C.), Gardner-Webb (N.C.), East Tennessee State, S.C.-Upstate (tentative)
• Markets: Atlanta, Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbourne, Charlotte, Raleigh-Durham, Nashville, Jacksonville, Cape Coral-Fort Myers-Naples, Tri-Cities (Tenn., Va.), Macon, Ga.
http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll ... 10404/1010
Here comes the A-Sun
Eagles accept bid into Div. I league
By Craig Handel
chandel@news-press.com
Originally posted on May 11, 2006
As he watched a projection screen raise up and show the Atlantic Sun Conference logo, Florida Gulf Coast University baseball coach Dave Tollett said he "got a little chill, a little excitement."
Then the reality of the situation hit him.
"It also means I've got more games scheduled in 2008 than I do in 2007," Tollett said.
Atlantic Sun commissioner Bill Bibb officially extended an invitation Wednesday to FGCU to become a member starting in the fall of 2007. President Bill Merwin, on behalf of the school's board of trustees and university officials, gladly accepted.
"We finally have a home," FGCU athletic director Carl McAloose said.
The move into the Division I conference further legitimizes FGCU's athletic program for fans who are unfamiliar with their Division II opponents.
"We can say we're playing Stetson or Jacksonville this weekend instead of Concordia or a name people never heard of," Tollett said.
Being in a conference for the first time also means that scheduling problems are eased, and athletes will spend less time out of class and can vie for individual conference honors.
While FGCU's basketball, golf, tennis, soccer, cross country, women's swimming and softball teams can play for regular-season conference titles, they can't compete in the A-Sun's conference tournament or get an automatic NCAA bid for four years. Volleyball and baseball will be allowed to compete in the postseason after two years.
However, there's good news. As FGCU officials had thought, Bibb and A-Sun associate commissioner Ted Gumbart confirmed that if the Eagle men's basketball team wins the regular-season conference title during the reclassification period, FGCU will get an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament.
The women's basketball team also has a good chance to reach the Women's NIT if it wins the league title, Gumbart said.
"That's what we've been told all along," FGCU men's basketball coach Dave Balza said. "We have that as a carrot.
"Without a doubt, it impacts recruiting. We're not in a situation where we'll be in four years of sitting out."
The Eagles became the conference's 11th member. South Carolina-Upstate could be named as the 12th member in the next week or so.
Merwin said the work now begins, particularly in fundraising. A feasibility study compiled by McAloose calls for a budget of $5.142 million in 2007-08 and almost $6 million in 2009-10. The budget for 2005-06 was just under $3 million.
"We'll need people to dig deep in their pockets," Merwin said to chuckles.
The crowd of about 100 in attendance cheered Merwin's acceptance. All of the school's sports had a coach present.
The pairing of FGCU and the Atlantic Sun comes at a perfect time.
FGCU had been rebuffed in numerous attempts to join NAIA and Division II conferences.
Bibb sought two new members after losing Florida Atlantic after this season and Central Florida and Troy (Ala.) in past years because those schools took their Division I-A football programs to the Sun Belt Conference.
"In the last five years, we've been in kind of a revolving door," Bibb said. "With the exception of one school, it had to do with football.
"But now our stability is really good and we're on our way."
So is FGCU.
"For the people and the players and this community, it's great," Tollett said.
ATLANTIC SUN CONFERENCE
• Founded: Sept. 19, 1978
• Commissioner: Bill Bibb (1991)
• Charter member: Macon
• Members: 11
• Teams — South: FGCU, Stetson, North Florida, Jacksonville, Kennesaw (Ga.), Mercer (Ga.).
• North: Belmont (Tenn.), Lipscomb (Tenn.), Campbell (N.C.), Gardner-Webb (N.C.), East Tennessee State, S.C.-Upstate (tentative)
• Markets: Atlanta, Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbourne, Charlotte, Raleigh-Durham, Nashville, Jacksonville, Cape Coral-Fort Myers-Naples, Tri-Cities (Tenn., Va.), Macon, Ga.
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- By alabama24