MIAMI, Fla. (December 15, 2020) – The Sun Conference and Southern States Athletic Conference have reached a three-year sport sponsorship agreement to provide additional championship opportunities for their member schools, beginning August 1, 2022. The agreement includes all varsity NAIA sports in which both conferences do not have the required number of institutions to sponsor the sport independently.
 
The first championships created will be men’s and women’s swimming & diving, women’s lacrosse, men’s and women’s indoor track & field, women’s flag football and competitive cheer. Details such as which conference will host each championship and host sites will be released at a later date.
 
They Said It
Dustin Wilke, Sun Conference Commissioner: “We are thrilled to finalize this agreement with our friends in the SSAC. This partnership will provide Sun Conference institutions with new championship experiences, assist in filling out regular season schedules, provide opportunities for sport sponsorship growth, and in some cases will significantly reduce travel requirements. Additionally, we are thankful for the opportunity to align ourselves with a like-minded NAIA conference in a way that will strengthen both leagues and further establish an elite level of NAIA competition in the Southeast.”
 
Mike Hall, SSAC Commissioner: “I’m very excited to be able to reach this agreement with Dustin Wilke and the Sun Conference schools. This is an exciting day to be able to provide both of our conferences’ student-athletes with championship opportunities. This agreement is sensitive to cost, travel expenses and missed classes, and can only strengthen these sports as they continue to grow. I am very excited about the collegial spirit that has gone into this agreement and I’m confident that this will be very successful and beneficial for each of our member institutions.”
 
Additional Notes

• Additional conferences or independent institutions may be considered for the purposes of sport sponsorship, with approval from both commissioners.
• In the NAIA, a conference must have six schools sponsor a sport to receive an automatic bid to the NAIA National Championship.

 
ABOUT THE SUN CONFERENCE
Now entering its 31st year, The Sun Conference, a 501c3 organization, continues to be one of the most successful intercollegiate athletic conferences in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Under the guidance of Commissioner Dustin Wilke, the league sponsors championships in 18 NAIA sports: Baseball, Men’s and Women’s Basketball, Beach Volleyball, Men’s and Women’s Cross Country, Men’s and Women’s Golf, Men’s and Women’s Indoor Track and Field, Men’s and Women’s Soccer, Softball, Men’s and Women’s Tennis, Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track and Field and Women’s Volleyball.  Corporate sponsorship of the Conference has increased ten-fold; but most importantly, every Sun Conference member institution earned the NAIA’s prestigious 5-Star Champions of Character Award in each of the last five years. Learn more @ thesunconference.com   
 
ABOUT THE SSAC
The SSAC is one of the premier NAIA conferences, founded in 1999, with 10 member institutions across Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi. The Montgomery, Ala.-based conference sponsors 16 intercollegiate sports, culminating in 16 neutral-site conference championship events held annually throughout the Southeastern region of the United States.