THIS IS THE ATLANTIC SUN CONFERENCE

For 30 years the Atlantic Sun Conference has stood for achievement with integrity in both the academic and athletic arenas, with a focus on the balance between the two for its student-athletes. The A-Sun consists of a blend of the Southeast’s most dynamic and prestigious private universities and public institutions in the region; the conference commits itself to Building Winners for Life.

The experience for a student-athlete in the A-Sun is supported by the entire university community, from coaches to faculty, and from the CEOs to the athletic and academic support staff. With All-America selections, National All-Academic honorees, teams and individuals qualifying for and advancing in NCAA Championship play, Atlantic Sun student-athletes achieve at the highest levels of collegiate athletics.

ACADEMIC SUCCESS

For the second straight year, all 11 institutions placed at least 50 percent of its student-athletes on the All-Academic Team. The membership also established a new overall record of 59 percent of all student-athletes earning All-Academic status during the 2007-08 academic year.

Belmont proved to be the class of the conference in capturing the All-Academic Trophy for the sixth time in seven years with 70.3% of the student-athletes earning All-Academic status. Justin Hare, one of the most celebrated Bruin student-athletes, earned the conference’s male Scholar Athlete of the Year for the second straight year, in addition to multiple national scholar honors.

Hare was far from alone when it came to national honors, as Jacksonville’s Anton Axelsson, the conference Player of the Year in men’s soccer earned CoSIDA’s Academic All-America of the Year. Overall, 25 student-athletes earned places on the 2007-08 CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Teams.

ATHLETIC SUCCESS

Men’s basketball garnered unprecedented attention with upsets of nationally-ranked Kentucky and Southern Cal, plus a win at Cincinnati in a four-day span. The feats earned a full-page feature from USA Today, as well as notoriety from ESPN.com, The Sporting News and Rivals.com. The league added wins against SEC foes Georgia and Alabama during the course of the year. Belmont captured the A-Sun Tournament title for the third straight season, becoming the first A-Sun school to ever do so and enters 2008-09 as one of just six schools in the country to have won its league’s championship in each of the previous three seasons. Among the company Belmont keeps in this achievement are the two finalists from the NCAA Tournament, Kansas and Memphis.

Lipscomb, Belmont’s Nashville rival, provided a pair of memorable moments on the baseball diamond. The Bisons secured their first NCAA Tournament appearance by defeating Gardner-Webb in the A-Sun Championship game 9-8 in a 15-inning marathon, the longest conference title game in Division I history. Then, they drew Georgia for their opening NCAA Championship game, and despite allowing four runs in the first inning, came back to stun the eventual national runner-up Bulldogs 10-7.

The league’s four newest members, Kennesaw State, North Florida, Florida Gulf Coast and South Carolina Upstate all enjoyed successes in 2007-08. Kennesaw State captured its first women’s soccer tournament championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history. The Owls also added titles in men’s indoor and outdoor track and field. North Florida won its first A-Sun title of any kind, erasing a nine-stroke deficit in the final two days to dethrone East Tennessee State in men’s golf.

Florida Gulf Coast and South Carolina Upstate each made its first year in the conference memorable, combining to win three outright regular-season titles and sharing in two others. The Eagles finished atop the standings in volleyball, baseball and tied for the softball title. The women’s hoops team, one year removed from the Division II national title game, won 22 games including an opening round game in the WNIT, the first postseason win for an A-Sun school in ten years. The Spartans turned in an unblemished women’s tennis campaign for their first-ever A-Sun title in any sport.

East Tennessee State featured two top individual efforts as golfer Gareth Shaw made the cut at the NCAA Championship and helped Europe win the Palmer Cup, a Ryder Cup-style event featuring the top collegiate golfers. He garnered All-America status for both his play and his academic achievement. Buccaneer tennis star Enrique Olivares won two matches at the NCAA men’s singles championship, joining his coach, Yaser Zaatini, as the only two in school history to make the Sweet 16 and earn All-America honors.

Jacksonville’s dynamic duo of Natasha Harvey and Shaquania Lundy carried the Dolphins to indoor and outdoor track and field titles. They finished one-two in five events at the two championships, and finished first and second at the NCAA East Regional in the long jump. Harvey earned All-America honors in both indoor and outdoor track, finishing in the top three at both championships. The two competed for the chance to represent their country at the 2008 Olympic Trials. Harvey would don the team USA colors at the North American-Central American-Caribbean under-23 championships, taking second in the long jump.