The University of Mobile (UM) recently joined the Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) and will begin conference play in fall 2010. The university was one of five schools that made the move from the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC) to the SSAC. The schools will compete in the GCAC through spring 2010.
“The University of Mobile will be competing in what will now be one of the strongest small college conferences in the nation,” UM President Mark Foley said. “The Southern States Athletic Conference offers our athletic program the best opportunity to continue our pursuit of national recognition.”
In addition to UM, the conference has added Spring Hill College in Mobile; Belhaven College in Jackson, Miss.; Loyola University in New Orleans; and William Carey University in Hattiesburg, Miss.
“It is a genuine pleasure to welcome these five fine institutions to our conference,” said Paul Conn, chairman of the SSAC board of presidents. “Each of them provides top-quality education to students, and each institution is committed to the student-athlete as a part of the total educational enterprise. These are schools [that] understand the priority of academic life for student-athletes. They will be a great fit for our conference.”
With the recent additions of the five GCAC schools and Truett-McConnell College in Cleveland, Ga., the SSAC’s total membership will grow to 16 schools next fall. The conference will be divided into Eastern and Western divisions. UM will compete in the Western Division.
Conn said each team will play its regular season conference games within its division with season-ending championships in each sport bringing together qualifying teams from both divisions.
UM’s intercollegiate athletic program began in 1985 and has more than 260 student-athletes competing in 13 sports. UM has won eight National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) national championships and 75 GCAC championships. The school also has won 18 Thomas Howell Cups, which are awarded annually to the top overall program in the GCAC.
UM Athletic Director Joe Niland said, “One strength of the Southern States conference is the increased opportunity to go to a national tournament, since there are enough teams competing in 13 sports that the conference can give out at least one automatic bid in a sport to the NAIA national tournament and more bids in most team sports.” (UM)
Share with others: