The Sun Conference to Add Football in 2014
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Sun Conference will begin sponsoring football beginning in the fall of 2014. The announcement was made by league Commissioner Mark Pope on Monday. The new football league will include four current members of the Sun Conference, as well as two additional schools that will join the league as single sport members. These six institutions will be able to compete for the inaugural Sun Conference Championship this fall.
Having six teams sponsoring football makes The Sun Conference champion eligible for NAIA postseason play and allows the league to appoint a rater, who will rate teams on the national level on a weekly basis.
“Football is a significant sport of interest in the Southeast and we are thrilled to offer football as a sponsored sport,” Pope said. “In addition to the possibility of postseason play and the addition of a rater, our student-athletes will now compete for All-Conference honors. Adding football continues our primary goal of providing a great competitive and educational experience for our student-athletes.”
The three league teams that currently sponsor football are Ave Maria, Warner and Webber International. Warner and Webber International have been TSC members since the league’s inception, while Ave Maria joined the conference in 2010. Webber International has fielded a football team since 2004, competing as an independent for the last 10 seasons. Ave Maria started it football program in 2011, while Warner football completed its first season of competition in 2013.
In 2012, current league member Southeastern announced the addition of a football program on its campus. The Fire will play its first home game against Warner on Sept. 13, 2014 in the new Fire Football Stadium currently under construction.
The two single sport members are Edward Waters and Point. Edward Waters (Jacksonville, Fla.) is no stranger to The Sun Conference as the Tigers were members of the league before moving to the Gulf Coast Athletic in 2006. Located in West Point, Ga., Point is a member of the Appalachian Athletic Conference and the Skyhawks’ football team will be in their second season of competition in 2014.
Football brings the number of sports sponsored by The Sun Conference to 16. The league also sponsors championships in baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s soccer, softball, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s and women’s track and field, and women’s volleyball.