Atlantic Sun Conference

Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN)
Established	1978
Association	NCAA
Division	Division I non-football
Members	8
Sports fielded	19 (men's: 8; women's: 11)
Region	Southeastern United States and New Jersey
Former names	Trans America Athletic Conference (1978–2001)
Headquarters	Macon, Georgia
Commissioner	Ted Gumbart (since 2007)
Website	www.asunsports.org
Locations

The Atlantic Sun Conference, branded since the 2016–17 school year as the ASUN Conference, is a collegiate athletic conference operating mostly 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.

The most recent change in the ASUN membership came in 2015–16, when Northern Kentucky University (transitioning from NCAA Division II sports to Division I) left the conference to join the Horizon League^[2] and was replaced by the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), previously the only Division I basketball independent.^[3] Northern Kentucky had replaced Belmont University, which moved to the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC);^[4] this maintained the membership roster at 10 schools. The 2014 departure of East Tennessee State University and Mercer University to the Southern Conference left the ASUN with its current membership number of eight.

Membership history

Current members

Institution	Location	Founded	Type	Enrollment [5]	U.S. News Ranking[5]	Endowment (mil)[5]	Joined	Nickname
Florida Gulf Coast University	Fort Myers, Florida	1991	Public	14,098	87 (Regional: South)	$51.0m	2007	Eagles
Jacksonville University	Jacksonville, Florida	1934	Private	4,157	73 (Regional: South)	$40.3m	1998	Dolphins
Kennesaw State University	Kennesaw, Georgia	1963	Public	35,507	70 (Regional: South)	$36.5m	2005	Owls
Lipscomb University	Nashville, Tennessee	1891	Private	4,580	18 (Regional: South)	$62.3m	2003	Bisons
New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT)	Newark, New Jersey	1881	Public	11,323	135 (National)	$103.1m	2015	Highlanders
University of North Florida	Jacksonville, Florida	1969	Public	16,083	51 (Regional: South)	$84.2m	2005	Ospreys
University of South Carolina Upstate	Spartanburg, South Carolina	1967	Public	5,358	32 (Regional: South)	$6.7m	2007	Spartans
Stetson University	DeLand, Florida	1883	Private	4,044	6 (Regional: South)	$173.2m	1985	Hatters

Associate members

Institution	Location	Founded	Type	Enrollment	Joined	Nickname	Primary Conference	ASUN Sport(s)
Central Michigan University	Mount Pleasant, Michigan	1892	Public	27,693	2015–16	Chippewas	MAC	Women's Lacrosse
Coastal Carolina University	Conway, South Carolina	1954	Public	10,263	2015–16^BV 2016–17^WLAX	Chanticleers	Sun Belt	Beach Volleyball Women's Lacrosse
Delaware State University	Dover, Delaware	1891	Public	3,400	2016–17	Hornets	MEAC	Women's lacrosse
University of Detroit Mercy	Detroit, Michigan	1877	Private	5,700	2012–13	Titans	Horizon	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
Mercer University	Macon, Georgia	1833	Private	8,500	2014–15	Bears	SoCon	Women's Lacrosse Beach Volleyball
Old Dominion University	Norfolk, Virginia	1930	Public	24,125	2014–15	Monarchs	C-USA	Women's Lacrosse

Future associate member

Institution	Location	Founded	Type	Enrollment	Joining	Nickname	Primary Conference	ASUN Sports
Wofford College	Spartanburg, South Carolina	1854	Private	1,584	2017–18	Terriers	SoCon	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[a 3]	NCAA D-I Independent (NCAA Division I non-football)	WAC (NCAA Division I non-football)
Northeast Louisiana University[a 4]	Monroe, Louisiana	1931	Public	8,405	1978	1982	Indians[a 4]	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 5]	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 6]	Sun Belt (NCAA Division I non-football)[6]	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)[b 5]	CAA[b 5]
University of Central Florida	Orlando, Florida	1963	Public	60,181	1992	2005	Golden Knights[a 7]	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) [b 11]
Northern Kentucky University	Highland Heights, Kentucky	1968	Public	15,263	2012	2015	Norse	Horizon (NCAA Division I non-football)

Notes

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

1. Oklahoma City adopted its current nickname of Stars in 1999.
2. Pan American adopted its final name of the University of Texas–Pan American in 1989. In 2015, it merged with the University of Texas at Brownsville to form the new University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV).
3. UTRGV inherited UTPA's athletic program, with the nickname being changed from Broncs to Vaqueros. UTRGV also inherited UTPA's membership in the Western Athletic Conference.
4. 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.
5. Nicholls State was a provisional member, and as such was never a full member of the TAAC.
6. FIU dropped the word "Golden" from its nickname in 2010, becoming simply the Panthers.
7. UCF dropped the word "Golden" from its nickname in 2007, becoming simply the Knights.

1. The Midwestern City Conference is now known as the Horizon League.
2. Although the Sun Belt Conference competes in football at the Division I FBS level, Little Rock does not sponsor the sport.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. Although both the Southern Conference and CAA compete in football at the Division I FCS level, Charleston has never sponsored the sport.
6. Florida Atlantic joined the Sun Belt for football in the 2005 season before becoming an all-sports member in 2006.
7. Troy became a Sun Belt football member in 2004, a year before it became an all-sports member.
8. 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.
9. Although the OVC competes in football at the Division I FCS level, Belmont does not sponsor the sport.^[7]
10. ETSU, which had left the SoCon to join the ASUN in 2005 after dropping football in 2003. The Buccaneers returned to the SoCon as part of relaunching the dormant football program in 2014; football began play in 2015 as an FCS independent, with SoCon football membership following in 2016.
11. Mercer joined the SoCon after the football program, which last played a game in 1941, signed its first players in 2012, with full play beginning in 2013.

Membership timeline

• Northeast Louisiana became the University of Louisiana at Monroe (Louisiana–Monroe) in 1999.
• Pan American, later known as Texas–Pan American or UTPA, merged with the University of Texas at Brownsville in 2015 to create the new University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV). The new school inherited UTPA's athletic program.

Sports sponsored

The ASUN sponsors championship competition in eight men's and eleven women's NCAA sanctioned sports.^[8]

In 2008, the ASUN, in an agreement with the Southern Conference (SoCon), Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC), and Big South Conference, formed the Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association (CCSA) for schools sponsoring men's and women's swimming and diving within the associated conferences. For the past several years, the ASUN's Commissioner has served as the president of what was initially a swimming & diving-only conference. In 2014 the CCSA expanded to include several other schools from other conferences, and the following year the conference added beach volleyball (women-only at the NCAA level) as a sponsored sport, changing its name to the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association. Currently the conference has 22 member schools, with eight men's swimming and diving teams, 11 women's swimming & diving teams, and eight beach volleyball teams.^[9]

The most recent change to the roster of ASUN sports took place after the 2013–14 school year. Under a cooperative agreement between the ASUN and SoCon, the two leagues agreed to split lacrosse sponsorship. The SoCon took over the ASUN men's lacrosse league, while women's lacrosse sponsorship remained with the ASUN.^[10]

More recently, on September 13, 2016, the ASUN and Big South announced a football partnership that allows any ASUN members with scholarship football programs to become Big South football members, provided they are located within the geographic footprint of the two conferences. At the time of announcement, the only ASUN member with a scholarship football program, Kennesaw State, was already a Big South football member. Should any ASUN member add scholarship football, or any non-scholarship football program of an ASUN school (at the time of announcement, Jacksonville and Stetson) upgrade to scholarship football, that team will automatically join Big South football.^[11]

ASUN Conference teams

Sport	Men's	Women's
Baseball	8	-
Basketball	8	8
Beach volleyball*	-	6
Cross country	8	8
Golf	7	7
Lacrosse^‡	-	11
Soccer	6	8
Softball	-	7
Tennis	7	7
Track and field (indoor)	5	6
Track and field (outdoor)	5	6
Volleyball	-	8

• ^‡ = Starting in 2014-15, men's lacrosse is sponsored by the Southern Conference and women's by the ASUN.^[10]
• * = Beach volleyball is a fully sanctioned NCAA sport which held its first national championship in the spring of 2016.^[12] The ASUN was the first conference to sponsor a championship in the sport.

Men's sports

Men's sponsored sports by school

School	Baseball	Basketball	Cross country	Golf	Soccer	Tennis	Track & field (indoor)	Track & field (outdoor)	Total sports
Florida Gulf Coast							N	N	6
Jacksonville						N	N	N	5
Kennesaw State					N				7
Lipscomb									8
NJIT				N					7
North Florida									8
Stetson							N	N	6
USC Upstate									8
Totals	8	8	8	7	7	7	5	5	56

Men's varsity sports not sponsored by the league which are played by ASUN schools:

School	Fencing[m 1]	Football	Lacrosse	Rowing	Swimming & Diving	Volleyball
Jacksonville	No	Pioneer League	SoCon	MAAC	No	No
NJIT	MACFA	No	Independent[m 2]	No	CCSA	EIVA
Kennesaw State	No	Big South	No	No	No	No
Stetson	No	Pioneer League	No	MAAC	No	No

1. Fencing is a coeducational team sport; schools have separate men's and women's teams, but the NCAA awards only a single team championship.
2. The ASUN and Southern Conference have a lacrosse alliance under which the two conferences split lacrosse sponsorship, with men's in the SoCon and women's in the ASUN. Although NJIT will presumably become part of this alliance, no announcement regarding the school's lacrosse affiliation was made when NJIT was announced as a new ASUN member.

Women's sports

Women's sponsored sports by school

School	Basketball	Beach volleyball	Cross country	Golf	Lacrosse	Soccer	Softball	Tennis	Track & field (indoor)	Track & field (outdoor)	Volleyball	Total Sports
Florida Gulf Coast					N				N	N		8
Jacksonville								N				10
Kennesaw State		N										10
Lipscomb		N			N							9
NJIT		N		N	N		N					7
North Florida					N							10
Stetson									N	N		9
USC Upstate		N			N							9
Totals	8	4+2**	8	7	3+8*	8	7	7	6	6	8	72+10

• * = Associate members Central Michigan, Coastal Carolina, Delaware State, Detroit, Furman, Howard, Mercer, and Old Dominion. Wofford will join for the 2018 season (2017–18 school year).
• ** = Associate members Mercer and Coastal Carolina.

Women's varsity sports not sponsored by the league which are played by ASUN schools:

School	Fencing[w 1]	Rowing	Swimming & diving
Florida Gulf Coast	No	No	CCSA
Jacksonville	No	MAAC	No
NJIT	Independent	No	No
North Florida	No	No	CCSA
Stetson	No	MAAC	No

1. Fencing is a coeducational team sport; schools have separate men's and women's teams, but the NCAA awards only a single team championship.

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	Swisher Gymnasium	1,500	John Sessions Stadium	1,500	Ashley Sports Complex	500
Kennesaw 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	1,500	Lipscomb Soccer Complex	600
NJIT	Fleisher Athletic Center Prudential Center (alternate)	1,000 18,711	Bears and Eagles Riverfront Stadium	6,200	J. Malcolm Simon Stadium	1,000
North Florida	UNF Arena	5,800	Harmon Stadium	1,000	Hodges Stadium	9,300
Stetson	Edmunds Center	5,000	Melching Field at Conrad Park	2,500	Stetson Soccer Complex	500
USC Upstate	G. B. Hodge Center	828	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 won this overall trophy seven of the nine years it has been awarded; Florida Gulf Coast won in 2012–13, 2014–15 and 2015-16.^[13]

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
2014–15	North Florida
2015–16	North Florida

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
2014–15	Florida Gulf Coast
2015–16	Florida Gulf Coast

Championships

Basketball

^[14]

Season	Regular Season Champion(s)	Tournament Champion
1978–79	Northeast Louisiana	Northeast Louisiana
1979–80	Northeast Louisiana	Centenary (LA)
1980–81	Houston Baptist	Mercer
1981–82	Arkansas–Little Rock	Northeast Louisiana
1982–83	Arkansas–Little Rock	Georgia Southern
1983–84	Houston Baptist	Houston Baptist
1984–85	Georgia Southern	Mercer
1985–86	Arkansas–Little Rock	Arkansas–Little Rock
1986–87	Arkansas–Little Rock	Georgia Southern
1987–88	Arkansas–Little Rock Georgia Southern	Texas–San Antonio
1988–89	Georgia Southern	Arkansas–Little Rock
1989–90	Centenary (LA)	Arkansas–Little Rock
1990–91	Texas–San Antonio	Georgia State
1991–92	Georgia Southern	Georgia Southern
1992–93	Florida International	—
1993–94	College of Charleston	Central Florida
1994–95	College of Charleston	Florida International
1995–96	College of Charleston (TAAC East) Samford (TAAC West) Southeastern Louisiana (TAAC West)	Central Florida
1996–97	College of Charleston (TAAC East) Samford (TAAC West)	College of Charleston
1997–98	College of Charleston (TAAC East) Georgia State (TAAC West)	College of Charleston
1998–99	Samford	Samford
1999–00	Georgia State Troy State	Samford
2000–01	Georgia State	Georgia State
2001–02	Georgia State Troy State	Florida Atlantic
2002–03	Belmont (ASUN North) Mercer (ASUN South) Troy State (ASUN South)	Troy State
2003–04	Troy State	Central Florida
2004–05	Central Florida Gardner–Webb	Central Florida
2005–06	Belmont Lipscomb	Belmont
2006–07	East Tennessee State	Belmont
2007–08	Belmont	Belmont
2008–09	Jacksonville	East Tennessee State
2009–10	Belmont Campbell Jacksonville Lipscomb	East Tennessee State
2010–11	Belmont	Belmont
2011–12	Belmont	Belmont
2012–13	Mercer	Florida Gulf Coast
2013–14	Florida Gulf Coast Mercer	Mercer
2014–15	North Florida	North Florida
2015–16	North Florida	Florida Gulf Coast

Baseball

• Atlantic Sun Conference Baseball Tournament

Notes and references

1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2006-02-06. Retrieved 2006-03-01.
2. "Northern Kentucky University to Join Horizon League in July" (Press release). Horizon League. May 11, 2015. Retrieved May 2015. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
3. "New Jersey Institute of Technology to Join the Atlantic Sun: #NJITtoASun" (Press release). Atlantic Sun Conference. June 12, 2015. Retrieved June 12, 2015.
4. "Northern Kentucky to Join Atlantic Sun" (Press release). Atlantic Sun Conference. December 8, 2011. Retrieved December 14, 2011.
5. Rankings
6. 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.
7. "Belmont moving to Ohio Valley Conference in 2012-13". USA Today. December 7, 2011. Retrieved December 7, 2011.
8. http://www.atlanticsun.org/
9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-11-17. Retrieved 2015-06-11.
10. "SoCon, ASUN Partner to Enhance Lacrosse" (Press release). Southern Conference. January 9, 2014. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
11. "Big South and ASUN Conference Establish FCS Membership Partnership" (Press release). ASUN Conference. September 13, 2016. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
12. http://www.ncaa.com/news/ncaa/article/2015-01-17/ncaa-dii-diii-membership-approves-sand-volleyball-90th-championship
13. Atlantic Sun: All Sports Race
14. "TAAC/Atlantic Sun Conference summary". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. 2016. Retrieved April 20, 2016.

External links

• Official website