 As the Atlantic Sun Conference enters its 30th year of athletic competition, the league leaps into a period of new growth.
The A-Sun welcomes two new members, Florida Gulf Coast and USC Upstate, growing the league to 12 institutions while Ted Gumbart begins his first full season as conference Commissioner. This fall, the A-Sun introduced a new positioning statement and tag line for the league: “Building Winners for Life”. While the league re-focuses on branding of the conference, the internet becomes a critical component to the effort. In conjunction with PlayOn! Sports, a division of Turner Sports, the conference debuted ASun.TV, the official broadband channel of the Atlantic Sun Conference. Fans will receive exclusive online video of more than 540 sporting events and special programs including a full schedule of A-Sun men’s and women’s basketball games.
Building Winners for Life
“The Building Winners for Life statement is way to summarize all that we value in Atlantic Sun athletic competition,” commented Gumbart. “The experience of an A-Sun student-athlete should be about building - individual growth, team development, about success - winning in competition and in the classroom and in preparing for success in your life. This initiative is part of a branding campaign, but it honestly and accurately represents who we are and what we do; that is an important statement for us to make to all our constituents.”
The league’s reputation in the academic world continued to grow as 58 percent of all student-athletes posted a 3.0 grade point average (GPA) or better, a new record high. Also, for the first time in conference history, every institution reached or bettered the 50% All-Academic success rate for its student-athletes. Leading the league were the student-athletes at Gardner-Webb. The Boiling Springs, N.C.-based school had 65 percent of its student-athletes honored, edging out Belmont, who had 63 percent of its student-athletes earn the honor. Belmont held the title the previous five years. North Florida had the most honorees, with 163 student-athletes making the grade.
Belmont’s Justin Hare, in addition to leading the Bruins to their second straight NCAA Tournament appearance in basketball and performing at an All-Atlantic-Sun level, is a three-time Atlantic Sun All-Academic Team member and earned Male Student-Athlete of the Year accolades. Gardner-Webb’s Katherine Warden earned the honor for women. A champion on the track in the 800-meter run, she was named an Academic All-Atlantic Sun Conference selection seven times. Also last year, the A-Sun awarded its first post-graduate scholarships to recipients Michael Narveson of Mercer and KatherineWarden of Gardner-Webb.
The success continued in the competitive arena as well. On the hardwood, the Atlantic Sun Conference teams piled up 20 or more victories 13 times in the last six years. Among the eight Division I conferences that do not sponsor football, only the Missouri Valley Conference (20 20-win teams) and the Atlantic 10 Conference (17), both of which are traditional multiple-bid leagues, have produced more 20-win teams during the time frame.
Campbell University added more hardware to their evolving women’s golf dynasty in the conference. Hall of Fame Coach John Crooks led the Camels to their eighth conference title in the last 12 years.
In the rapidly more successful sport of men’s golf, ETSU spent most of the year ranked in the top 15 and Rhys Davies earned the No. 1 ranking by Golfstat.com en route to his third All-American selection. Additionally, a conference record four individuals advanced to NCAA Regional play.
On the baseball diamond, the A-Sun placed two schools in the NCAA Tournament for the ninth consecutive season. However, the strength of the conference is not merely at the top. After taking each A-Sun school’s RPI and finding the conference average, the A-Sun ranked ninth nationally.
One former A-Sun alumnus had a year to remember as the NBA tabbed former Mercer standout Sam Mitchell Coach of the Year after leading the Toronto Raptors to a franchise-record-tying 47 victories and their first Atlantic Division title.
Membership The A-Sun is a blend of the southeast's finest private and most dynamic state schools.
Belmont Bruins ........................................................................................................................ Nashville, Tenn. Campbell Camels ................................................................................................................ Buies Creek, N.C. East Tennessee State Buccaneers............................................................................... Johnson City, Tenn. Florida Gulf Coast Eagles ........................................................................................................ Fort Myers, Fla. Gardner-Webb Bulldogs ................................................................................................ Boiling Springs, N.C. Jacksonville Dolphins ........................................................................................................... Jacksonville, Fla. Kennesaw State Owls .............................................................................................................. Kennesaw, Ga. Lipscomb Bisons .................................................................................................................... Nashville, Tenn. Mercer Bears ..................................................................................................................................... Macon, Ga. North Florida Ospreys ........................................................................................................... Jacksonville, Fla. USC Upstate Spartans ........................................................................................................ Spartanburg, S.C. Stetson Hatters .............................................................................................................................. DeLand, Fla.
Conference members made great gains in the Fall 2007 U.S. News & World Report list of America’s Best Colleges. Three schools finished in the top-12 in the “Best Universities-Master’s” Southern division, highlighted by Stetson University’s ranking of second. In addition to boasting great institutions, the A-Sun, headquartered in Macon, Ga., encompasses six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. |