"This is a very proud day for the A-SUN as we begin a partnership with the entire Liberty University community," said A-SUN Conference Commissioner Ted Gumbart. "Together, we play a role in higher education and providing a lifelong learning experience to university students. We call it Building Winners for Life. As we celebrate this new relationship, we salute the alumni, the faculty, the donors, the parents, the coaches, all the teammates who contribute to the athletic, academic, and ultimately, the lifelong success of our graduates."
What we know About Both teams- UNA:
Announced on December 8, 2016, UNA is coming to the A-SUN from NCAA DII Gulf South Conference (GSC), where their mascot is the lions. The Lions bring along 13 teams including their football team.
The Lions have the following sports along with their football program:
• Football
• Men's & Women's Basketball
• Baseball
• Men's & Women's Cross Country
• Men's Golf
•Women's Soccer
• Men's & Women's Tennis
• Softball
• Volleyball
• Women's Track
12 of the 13 teams for UNA will be competing in the A-SUN. Their football team will be competing in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Big South Conference as an independent team.
Breakdown of UNA Sport Teams and Success from 2017-18:
The list determines how each sports team did at UNA, who their head coach is and if they made any playoff pictures:
Football: 5-5, 5-3 GSC (6th place finish)- head coach Chris Willis (2nd season)
Volleyball 27-8, 14-2 GSC (2nd place in conference, GSC Tournament Runner-Up, NCAA South Regional Tournament participant)- head coach Bob White (1st season)
Women' Soccer: 13-4-2, 11-2-1 GSC (4th place in conference, GSC runner-up, NCAA South Regional Tournament participant)- head coach Chris Walker (6th season)
WBB: 24-5, 17-3 GSC (2nd in conference, GSC semifinalist, NCAA South Regional Tournament participant)- head coach Missy Tiber (6th season)
MBB: 15-13, 10-10 GSC (6th in conference, GSC Tournament quarterfinalist)- head coach Tony Pujol (1st season)
Men's Golf: Best finish(es) (1st place: TVA Community Credit Union Invitational), finished 7th in conference championship- head coach Cullen Carstens (2nd season)
WXC: best finishes (2nd place: Watson Ford Invitational), 7th in conference meet- Jeremy Provence (1st season)
MXC: best finishes (3rd place 2x: Greater Louisville Classic, Watson Ford Invitational), 8th in conference meet- Provence (1st season)
Women's Track and Field: best finishes (3rd: UAH Charger Invitational)- head coach Jeremy Provence (1st season)
Men's Tennis: 8-9, 5-6 GSC (6th place in conference, GSC Tournament quarterfinalist)- head coach Brice Bishop (8th season)
Women's Tennis: 12-7, 8-4 GSC (5th place in conference, GSC Tournament semifinalist)- head coach Brice Bishop (8th season)
Baseball: 31-20, 19-11 GSC (5th place in conference, GSC Tournament participant)- head coach Mike Keehn (11th season)
Softball: 46-7, 29-3 GSC (1st place in conference, GSC Tournament co-Champion, NCAA South 2 Regional Tournament participant)- head coach Ashley Cozart (6th season).
Since UNA has moved from NCAA DII to DI, they will not be eligible to participate in any of the national tournaments, but they will be eligible to participate in the conference tournaments. All of the sports for UNA, including the football team, will comply to the four-year transitional period to be eligible as a full-time member (until the 2022-23 season).
What we know About Both teams-Liberty:
Liberty, a Christian university from Lynchburg, Virginia, comes to the A-SUN from DI Big South Conference. They are the second Christian university to join the A-SUN (1st: Lipscomb, 2003) and the fourth private university in conference (Stetson, Lipscomb and Jacksonville).
The Mascot for Liberty is the Flames (for the women: Lady Flames), where they come with six D1 national championships and over 100 championship appearances.
Announced on May 17, Liberty brings to the A-SUN 14 teams:
• Baseball
• Men's & Women's Basketball
• Men's & Women's Cross Country
• Men's Golf
• Women's Lacrosse
• Men's & Women's Soccer
• Softball
• Women's Swimming & Diving
• Men's & Women's Tennis
• Men's & Women's Indoor & Outdoor Track
• Volleyball
Three of the other sports Liberty has will be competing in three different conferences: swimming and Diving (CCSA), football (FBS Independent) and field hockey (Big East).
Since Liberty is a D1 school, they are automatically eligible for the conference and national tournament opportunities and do not have to comply to the four-year transitional period.
Breakdown of Liberty Sport Teams and Success 2017-18:
The list determines how each sports team did at Liberty, who their head coach is and if they made any playoff pictures:
Baseball: 32-26, 17-10 BSC (3rd in conference, BSC Conference Tournament Runner-up)- head coach Scott Jackson (third season, second as head coach)
Men's Basketball: 18-13, 9-9 BSC, (5th in conference, BSC Conference Tournament Runner-up, CIT semifinalist)- head coach Ritchie McKay (6th season)
Women's Basketball: 24-10, 16-2 BSC (5th in conference, BSC Conference Tournament Champions, NCAA National Tournament Participant)- head coach Carey Green (19th season).
MXC: best finish: 1st (Liberty Big South Preview), 2nd in the BSC Championship, seventh in the NCAA Southeast Regional- head coach Tim Sykes (2nd season, 1st as head coach)
WXC: best finish: 1st (Hokie Open), 3rd in BSC Championship, 26th in the NCAA Southeast Regional- head coach Tim Sykes (2nd season, 1st as head coach)
Field Hockey: 8-11, 5-2 Big East (2nd in conference, Big East Tournament Runner-Up)- head coach Nikki Parsley-Blocker (2nd season)
Football: 6-5, 2-3 BSC (last place)- head coach Turner Gill (8th season)
Men's Golf: best finish (first place twice: Duck Invitational, Mason Rudolph Championship), BSC Tournament champions, T18 in NCAA Men's Golf Regionals- head coach Jeff Thomas (15th season)
Women's Lacrosse: 13-5, 6-1 BSC (2nd in conference, BSC Tournament semifinalist)- head coach Kelly Nangle (6th season)
Men's Soccer: 10-6-1, 5-3-0 BSC (4th in conference, BSC Tournament semifinalist)- head coach Jeff Alder (18th season)
Women's Soccer: 10-7-3, 7-1-1 BSC (2nd in conference, BSC Tournament semifinalist)- head coach Lang Wedemeyer (2nd season)
Softball: 49-14, 18-3 BSC (1st in conference, BSC Regular Season Champion, BSC Tournament Champion, NCAA Tournament: Columbia Regional Participant)
Swimming and Diving: 11-2, 5-0 CCSA (CCSA Championship Runner-up, NCAA National Tournament individual appearances)- head coach Jake Shellenberger (10th season)
Men's Tennis: 12-12, 4-3 BSC (4th in conference, BSC Conference Tournament Quarterfinalist)- head coach Derek Schwandt (2nd season)
Women's Tennis: 18-9, 7-1 BSC (2nd in conference, BSC Conference Tournament Runner-Up)- head coach Jeff Maren (7th season)
Men's Track: best finish (1st BSC Outdoor Championship, BSC Indoor Championship), BSC Champions (outdoor and indoor), T-42nd in National Indoor Track Championship- head coach Brant Tolsma (33rd season)
Women's Track: best finish (1st BSC Outdoor Championship, BSC Indoor Championship)- head coach Brant Tolsma (33rd season)
Volleyball: 11-18, 8-8 BSC (5th in conference, BSC Tournament semifinalist)- head coach Trevor Johnson (1st season)
From Seven to Nine:
Liberty and UNA will be the eighth and ninth teams joining the A-SUN. USC Upstate, who was an original member, left the A-SUN and are now joining the Big South Conference.
You could probably put into play that we traded Upstate for Liberty, but realistically, Upstate could not afford to travel to FGCU and the other members of the A-SUN. So as it stands, the A-SUN has all the following schools:
- FGCU
- UNF
- Jacksonville
- Kennesaw
- NJIT
- Stetson
- Lipscomb
- UNA
- Liberty
When August 2018 hits, the new season begins for all the sports.
For the fall, volleyball, men's and women's soccer, football, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's golf, men's and women's cross country, swimming and diving and men's and women's basketball will commence. Men's and women's tennis will have fall matches that will not will count for the season. Softball and baseball will also have scrimmages with community colleges.
For the spring, men's and women's tennis, baseball, softball and beach volleyball will have their official seasons go underway in the spring.
Men's and women's basketball, men's and women's golf, swimming and diving will participate fall 2018 going into spring 2019.
All-in-all, this upcoming season is gonna be a good one for the A-SUN.
So on behalf of all fans from all the conference's schools, welcome to the A-SUN Liberty and North Alabama.
Links on Liberty and UNA athletics:
UNA (http://roarlions.com)
Liberty (http://www.liberty.edu/flames/)
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