Atlantic Sun Conference

Atlantic Sun Conference
	File:Atlantic Sun conf logo.png
Association	NCAA
Commissioner	Ted Gumbart (since 2007)
Sports fielded	19 men's: 8; women's: 11; ;
Division	Division I
Subdivision	non-football
Region	Southeastern United States
Official website	atlanticsun.org
Locations

The Atlantic Sun Conference (A-Sun) is a collegiate athletic conference operating in the Southeastern United States. The league participates at the NCAA Division I level, and does not sponsor football. Originally established as the Trans America Athletic Conference (TAAC) in 1978,^[1] its headquarters are located in Macon, Georgia.

Northern Kentucky University, which is transitioning from NCAA Division II sports to Division I, joined the A-Sun in 2012. The league's newest program replaced Belmont University, which moved to the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC),^[2] and maintained the membership roster at 10 schools. The 2014 departure of East Tennessee State University and Mercer University to the Southern Conference left the A-Sun with 8 full members.

Membership history

Current members

Institution	Location	Founded	Type	Enrollment	U.S. News Ranking^[3]	Endowment ^[3]	Joined	Nickname
Florida Gulf Coast University	Fort Myers, Florida	1991	Public	20,000	79 (Regional: South)	N/A	2007	Eagles
Jacksonville University	Jacksonville, Florida	1934	Private	3,400	62 (Regional: South)	$35,399,399	1998	Dolphins
Kennesaw State University	Kennesaw, Georgia	1963	Public	24,600	69 (Regional: South)	$24,388,385	2005	Owls
Lipscomb University	Nashville, Tennessee	1891	Private	4,593	20 (Regional: South)	$55,828,784	2003	Bisons
Northern Kentucky University	Highland Heights, Kentucky	1968	Public	15,405	77 (Regional: South)	$74,270,000	2012	Norse
University of North Florida	Jacksonville, Florida	1969	Public	16,500	51 (Regional: South)	$75,526,635	2005	Ospreys
University of South Carolina Upstate	Spartanburg, South Carolina	1967	Public	6,000	29 (Regional College: South)	$4,010,537	2007	Spartans
Stetson University	DeLand, Florida	1883	Private	2,200	5 (Regional: South)	$147,682,533	1985	Hatters

Associate members

Institution	Location	Founded	Type	Enrollment	Joined	Nickname	Primary Conference	A-Sun Sports
University of Detroit Mercy	Detroit, Michigan	1877	Private	5,700	2012–13	Titans	Horizon League	women's lacrosse
Furman University	Greenville, South Carolina	1826	Private	3,121	2013–14	Paladins	SoCon	women's lacrosse
Howard University	Washington, D.C.	1867	Private	10,991	2012–13	Lady Bison	MEAC	women's lacrosse
Old Dominion University	Norfolk, Virginia	1930	Public	24,125	2014–15	Monarchs	Conference USA	women's lacrosse

Former members

Institution	Location	Founded	Type	Enrollment	Joined	Left	Nickname	New Conference (Classification)	Current Conference (Classification)
Oklahoma City University	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	1904	Private	3,770	1978	1979	Chiefs^{[a 1]}	Midwestern City^{[b 1]} (NCAA Division I non-football)	Sooner (SAC) (NAIA Division I)
Pan American University^{[a 2]}	Edinburg, Texas	1927	Public	19,302	1978	1980	Broncs	NCAA D-I Independent (NCAA Division I non-football)	WAC (NCAA Division I non-football)
Northeast Louisiana University^{[a 3]}	Monroe, Louisiana	1931	Public	8,405	1978	1982	Indians^{[a 3]}	Southland (NCAA Division I FCS)	Sun Belt (NCAA Division I FBS)
Houston Baptist University	Houston, Texas	1960	Private	2,567	1978	1989	Huskies	NAIA Independent (NAIA non-football)	Southland (NCAA Division I FCS)
Hardin–Simmons University	Abilene, Texas	1891	Private	2,435	1978	1990	Cowboys	TIAA (NCAA Division III)	American Southwest (NCAA Division III)
Centenary College of Louisiana	Shreveport, Louisiana	1825	Private	787	1978	1999	Gentlemen (men's) Ladies (women's)	NCAA D-I Independent (NCAA Division I non-football)	SCAC (NCAA D-III) (NCAA Division III non-football)
Samford University	Homewood, Alabama	1841	Private	4,440	1978	2003	Bulldogs	OVC (NCAA Division I FCS)	SoCon (NCAA Division I FCS)
Northwestern State University	Natchitoches, Louisiana	1884	Public	9,244	1979	1984	Demons	Southland (NCAA Division I FCS)
University of Arkansas at Little Rock	Little Rock, Arkansas	1927	Public	13,000	1979	1991	Trojans	Sun Belt^{[b 2]}
Georgia Southern University	Statesboro, Georgia	1906	Public	20,584	1979	1992	Eagles	SoCon (NCAA Division I FCS)	Sun Belt (NCAA Division I FBS)
Nicholls State University^{[a 4]}	Thibodaux, Louisiana	1948	Public	7,093	1982	1984	Colonels	Gulf Star (NCAA Division I FCS)	Southland (NCAA Division I FCS)
Georgia State University	Atlanta, Georgia	1913	Public	32,087	1983	2005	Panthers	CAA (NCAA Division I non-football)^{[b 3]}	Sun Belt (NCAA Division I FBS)
University of Texas at San Antonio	San Antonio, Texas	1969	Public	30,474	1986	1991	Roadrunners	Southland (NCAA Division I non-football)^{[b 4]}	C-USA (NCAA Division I FBS)
Southeastern Louisiana University	Hammond, Louisiana	1925	Public	17,800	1991	1997	Lions	Southland (NCAA Division I FCS)
Florida International University	University Park, Florida	1965	Public	50,394	1990	1998	Golden Panthers^{[a 5]}	Sun Belt (NCAA Division I non-football)^[4]	C-USA (NCAA Division I FBS)
College of Charleston	Charleston, South Carolina	1770	Public	11,320	1991	1998	Cougars	SoCon (NCAA Division I non-football)	CAA^{[b 5]}
University of Central Florida	Orlando, Florida	1963	Public	60,181	1992	2005	Golden Knights^{[a 6]}	C-USA (NCAA Division I FBS)	The American (NCAA Division I FBS)
Florida Atlantic University	Boca Raton, Florida	1961	Public	29,290	1993	2006	Owls	Sun Belt (NCAA Division I FBS)^{[b 6]}	C-USA (NCAA Division I FBS)
Jacksonville State University	Jacksonville, Alabama	1883	Public	9,490	1995	2003	Gamecocks	OVC (NCAA Division I FCS)
Troy University	Troy, Alabama	1887	Public	29,689	1997	2005	Trojans	Sun Belt (NCAA Division I FBS)^{[b 7]}
Gardner–Webb University	Boiling Springs, North Carolina	1905	Private	4,300	2002	2008	Runnin' Bulldogs	Big South (NCAA Division I FCS)
Campbell University	Buies Creek, North Carolina	1887	Private	4,120	1994	2011	Fighting Camels	Big South (NCAA Division I FCS)^{[b 8]}
Belmont University	Nashville, Tennessee	1890	Private	6,647	2001	2012	Bruins	OVC (NCAA Division I FCS)^{[b 9]}
East Tennessee State University	Johnson City, Tennessee	1911	Public	15,530	2005	2014	Buccaneers	SoCon (NCAA Division I FCS)^{[b 10]}
Mercer University	Macon, Georgia	1833	Private	8,300	1978	2014	Bears	SoCon (NCAA Division I FCS)

Notes

School names and nicknames listed here reflect those used during the schools' time in the TAAC/A-Sun. One school has changed both its name and nickname, and three others have changed only their nicknames:

^ Oklahoma City adopted its current nickname of Stars in 1999.
^ Pan American adopted its current name of the University of Texas–Pan American in 1989.
^ ^a ^b Northeast Louisiana adopted its current name of the University of Louisiana at Monroe in 1999. The school adopted its current nickname of Warhawks in 2006, when it joined the Sun Belt Conference.
^ Nicholls State was a provisional member. Therefore, the school was never a full member of the TAAC.
^ FIU dropped the word "Golden" from its nickname in 2010, becoming simply the Panthers.
^ UCF dropped the word "Golden" from its nickname in 2007, becoming simply the Knights.

^ The Midwestern City Conference is now known as the Horizon League.
^ Although the Sun Belt Conference competes in football at the Division I FBS level, UALR does not sponsor the sport.
^ The CAA began an FCS-level football league in 2007, but Georgia State did not sponsor the sport until 2010. It began a transition from FCS to FBS in 2013, and joined the FBS Sun Belt Conference in 2014.
^ Although the Southland Conference competes in football at the Division I FCS level, UTSA did not sponsor the sport until 2011. It never competed in the Southland Conference in football; it started a two-year transition to FBS in 2011, joined the WAC in 2012, and joined Conference USA (C-USA) in 2013.
^ Although the CAA competes in football at the Division I FCS level, Charleston does not sponsor the sport.
^ Florida Atlantic joined the Sun Belt for football in the 2005 season before becoming an all-sports member in 2006.
^ Troy became a Sun Belt football member in 2004, a year before it became an all-sports member.
^ Campbell is a full member of the Big South, but does not participate in the Big South’s football conference. The school operates a non-scholarship FCS program in the Pioneer Football League.
^ Although the OVC competes in football at the Division I FCS level, Belmont does not sponsor the sport.^[5]
^ Although the SoCon competes in football at the Division I FCS level, ETSU, which had left the SoCon to join the A-Sun in 2005, returned as a non-football member. ETSU will relaunch its dormant football program in the SoCon in 2015.

Membership timeline

Northeast Louisiana became the University of Louisiana at Monroe (Louisiana–Monroe) in 1999.
Pan American now brands itself for athletic purposes as UTPA, but media generally refer to the school by its more complete name of Texas–Pan American. In July 2015, UTPA will merge with the University of Texas at Brownsville to create the new University of Texas–Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV); the new school will inherit UTPA's athletic program.

Sports sponsored

The Atlantic Sun Conference sponsors championship competition in eight men's and eleven women's NCAA sanctioned sports.^[6] In the 2014–15 school year, four schools are associate members in women's lacrosse: Detroit, Howard, Furman, and Old Dominion.

The most recent change to the roster of A-Sun sports took place after the 2013–14 school year. Under a cooperative agreement between the A-Sun and Southern Conference (SoCon), the two leagues agreed to split lacrosse sponsorship. The SoCon took over the A-Sun men's lacrosse league, while women's lacrosse sponsorship remained with the A-Sun.^[7]

**Teams in Atlantic Sun Conference competition**
Sport	Men's	Women's
Baseball	10	-
Basketball	10	10
Cross Country	10	10
Golf	10	10
Lacrosse^‡	-	7
Sand Volleyball*	-	5
Soccer	9	10
Softball	-	10
Tennis	9	9
Track and Field (Indoor)	6	7
Track and Field (Outdoor)	6	7
Volleyball	-	10

^‡ = Under a cooperative agreement, starting in 2014-15, men's lacrosse is sponsored by the Southern Conference and women's by the A-Sun.^[7]
* = Sand volleyball is an NCAA "emerging sport" which is fully sanctioned, but does not yet have a national championship.^[8]

Facilities

School	Basketball arena	Capacity	Baseball stadium	Capacity	Soccer stadium	Capacity
Florida Gulf Coast	Alico Arena	4,633	Swanson Stadium	1,500	FGCU Soccer Complex	1,500
Jacksonville	Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena (men) Swisher Gymnasium (women)	14,091 1,500	John Sessions Stadium	1,500	Ashley Sports Complex	500
Kennessaw State	KSU Convocation Center	4,792	Fred Stillwell Stadium	1,200	Fifth Third Bank Stadium	8,300
Lipscomb	Allen Arena	5,028	Ken Dugan Field at Stephen Lee Marsh Stadium	1,500	Lipscomb Soccer Complex	600
North Florida	UNF Arena	5,800	Harmon Stadium	1,000	Hodges Stadium	9,300
Northern Kentucky	The Bank of Kentucky Center	9,400	Bill Aker Baseball Complex	500	NKU Soccer Stadium	1,000
Stetson	Edmunds Center	5,000	Melching Field at Conrad Park	2,500	Stetson Soccer Complex	500
USC Upstate	G. B. Hodge Center	1,535	Cleveland S. Harley Baseball Park	500	County U. Soccer Stadium	300

All sports championships

The Jesse C. Fletcher and Sherman Day Trophies are awarded each year to the top men's and women's program in the conference. The Bill Bibb Trophy, combining the men's and women's results for the best overall program, was first awarded in 2006-07. East Tennessee State has won this overall trphy seven of the eight years it has been awarded; Florida Gulf Coast won in 2012-13.^[9]

Men's All Sports: Jesse C. Fletcher Trophy

Year	Champion
1978-79	Oklahoma City
1979-80	Northeast Louisiana
1980-81	Northeast Louisiana
1981-82	Northeast Louisiana
1982-83	Georgia Southern
1983-84	Centenary
1984-85	Georgia Southern
1985-86	Houston Baptist
1986-87	Georgia Southern
1987-88	Georgia Southern
1988-89	Georgia Southern
1989-90	Georgia Southern
1990-91	Georgia Southern
1991-92	Florida International
1992-93	Florida International
1993-94	Florida International
1994-95	Central Florida
1995-96	Central Florida
1996-97	Florida International
1997-98	Georgia State
1998-99	Central Florida
1999-00	Georgia State
2000-01	Georgia State
2001-02	Georgia State
2002-03	Central Florida
2003-04	Central Florida
2004-05	Central Florida
2005-06	East Tennessee State
2006-07	East Tennessee State
2007-08	East Tennessee State
2008-09	East Tennessee State
2009-10	East Tennessee State
2010-11	East Tennessee State
2011-12	East Tennessee State
2012-13	Florida Gulf Coast
2013-14	East Tennessee State

Women's All Sports: Sherman Day Trophy

Year	Champion
1978-79	None
1979-80	None
1980-81	None
1981-82	None
1982-83	None
1983-84	None
1984-85	None
1985-86	Stetson, Georgia State
1986-87	Stetson
1987-88	Georgia State
1988-89	Georgia State
1989-90	Georgia State
1990-91	Florida International
1991-92	Florida International
1992-93	Georgia State
1993-94	Florida International
1994-95	Campbell
1995-96	Central Florida
1996-97	Central Florida
1997-98	Georgia State
1998-99	Central Florida
1999-00	Georgia State
2000-01	Georgia State
2001-02	Central Florida
2002-03	Central Florida
2003-04	Central Florida
2004-05	Central Florida
2005-06	Florida Atlantic
2006-07	East Tennessee State
2007-08	Jacksonville
2008-09	Jacksonville
2009-10	Kennesaw State
2010-11	Jacksonville
2011-12	Kennesaw State
2012-13	Florida Gulf Coast
2013-14	Jacksonville

Championships

Notes and references

^ [1]
^ "Northern Kentucky to Join Atlantic Sun" (Press release). Atlantic Sun Conference. December 8, 2011. Retrieved December 14, 2011.
^ ^a ^b Rankings
^ The Sun Belt did not start its Division I-A (now FBS) football league until 2001, and FIU did not start a football program until 2002. It competed as a Division I-AA (now FCS) independent until joining Sun Belt football in 2005.
^ "Belmont moving to Ohio Valley Conference in 2012-13". USA Today. December 7, 2011. Retrieved December 7, 2011.
^ http://www.atlanticsun.org/
^ ^a ^b "SoCon, A-Sun Partner to Enhance Lacrosse" (Press release). Southern Conference. January 9, 2014. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
^ http://web1.ncaa.org/onlineDir/exec2/sponsorship
^ Atlantic Sun: All Sports Race

External links

Official website

[4] Oklahoma City adopted its current nickname of Stars in 1999.

[6] Pan American adopted its current name of the University of Texas–Pan American in 1989.

[ULM-7] Northeast Louisiana adopted its current name of the University of Louisiana at Monroe in 1999. The school adopted its current nickname of Warhawks in 2006, when it joined the Sun Belt Conference.

[9] Nicholls State was a provisional member. Therefore, the school was never a full member of the TAAC.

[12] FIU dropped the word "Golden" from its nickname in 2010, becoming simply the Panthers.

[15] UCF dropped the word "Golden" from its nickname in 2007, becoming simply the Knights.

[5] The Midwestern City Conference is now known as the Horizon League.

[8] Although the Sun Belt Conference competes in football at the Division I FBS level, UALR does not sponsor the sport.

[10] The CAA began an FCS-level football league in 2007, but Georgia State did not sponsor the sport until 2010. It began a transition from FCS to FBS in 2013, and joined the FBS Sun Belt Conference in 2014.

[11] Although the Southland Conference competes in football at the Division I FCS level, UTSA did not sponsor the sport until 2011. It never competed in the Southland Conference in football; it started a two-year transition to FBS in 2011, joined the WAC in 2012, and joined Conference USA (C-USA) in 2013.

[14] Although the CAA competes in football at the Division I FCS level, Charleston does not sponsor the sport.

[16] Florida Atlantic joined the Sun Belt for football in the 2005 season before becoming an all-sports member in 2006.

[17] Troy became a Sun Belt football member in 2004, a year before it became an all-sports member.

[18] Campbell is a full member of the Big South, but does not participate in the Big South’s football conference. The school operates a non-scholarship FCS program in the Pioneer Football League.

[20] Although the OVC competes in football at the Division I FCS level, Belmont does not sponsor the sport.^[5]

[21] Although the SoCon competes in football at the Division I FCS level, ETSU, which had left the SoCon to join the A-Sun in 2005, returned as a non-football member. ETSU will relaunch its dormant football program in the SoCon in 2015.

[1] [1]

[2] "Northern Kentucky to Join Atlantic Sun" (Press release). Atlantic Sun Conference. December 8, 2011. Retrieved December 14, 2011.

[Rankings-3] Rankings

[13] The Sun Belt did not start its Division I-A (now FBS) football league until 2001, and FIU did not start a football program until 2002. It competed as a Division I-AA (now FCS) independent until joining Sun Belt football in 2005.

[19] "Belmont moving to Ohio Valley Conference in 2012-13". USA Today. December 7, 2011. Retrieved December 7, 2011.

[22] ttp://www.atlanticsun.org/

[A-Sun,_SoCon_LAX-23] "SoCon, A-Sun Partner to Enhance Lacrosse" (Press release). Southern Conference. January 9, 2014. Retrieved March 31, 2014.

[24] ttp://web1.ncaa.org/onlineDir/exec2/sponsorship

[25] Atlantic Sun: All Sports Race

[1]

[2]

[3]

[a 1]

[b 1]

[a 2]

[a 3]

[b 2]

[a 4]

[b 3]

[b 4]

[a 5]

[4]

[b 5]

[a 6]

[b 6]

[b 7]

[b 8]

[b 9]

[b 10]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

v t e Atlantic Sun Conference
Full members	Austin Peay Governors Bellarmine Knights Central Arkansas Bears/Sugar Bears Eastern Kentucky Colonels Florida Gulf Coast Eagles Jacksonville Dolphins Lipscomb Bisons North Alabama Lions North Florida Ospreys Queens Royals Stetson Hatters West Georgia Wolves
Men's lacrosse associates	Air Force Falcons Mercer Bears Utah Utes
Women's lacrosse associates	Coastal Carolina Chanticleers Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens (joining in 2025) Kennesaw State Owls Liberty Lady Flames Lindenwood Lions
Men's swimming & diving associates	Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens (joining in 2025) Florida Atlantic Owls Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs Old Dominion Monarchs
Women's swimming & diving associates	Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens (joining in 2025) Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs Liberty Lady Flames UNC Asheville Bulldogs
Related	United Athletic Conference (most football-playing members)