What We Know:
Established in 1950, Bellarmine University is a private Catholic university located in Louisville, Kentucky where their mascot is the Knights. Bellarmine joins the A-SUN after spending its time since 1978 in the NCAA DII Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC). Bellarmine will be the second university to bump up from DII to DI after North Alabama did so for the 2018-19 school year, the fifth private university of religious background in the conference (Lipscomb, Stetson, Jacksonville and Liberty) and the first university of Roman Catholic background.
While they will be an official member of the A-SUN on their primary sports and the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA) for men's and women's swimming and diving, they will also remain as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon) for men's lacrosse and as an independent for field hockey and wrestling.
Sport Programs at Bellarmine:
The Knights will bring 17 sports with them to the A-SUN. Listed are the sports with their current head coaches or interim head coaches and previous seasons.
Baseball | Head Coach Larry Owens
The 2019 season marked the best for the Knights in terms of All-America recognition as four players combined for eight honors. Bellarmine has earned a berth into the NCAA D-II Midwest Regional in each of the last three seasons, including an automatic berth in 2019. All-time, the Knights' program has made nine trips to the NCAA Tournament, advancing as far as the Regional Championship in 2013.
Men's Basketball | Head Coach Scott Davenport
The men's hoops squad won its third consecutive conference Championship title in 2019 en route to advancing to the NCAA D-II Tournament Midwest Regional Final. The Knights have advanced to the NCAA D-II Tournament in each of the last 11 seasons including capturing the 2011 NCAA National Title. Head Coach Scott Davenport, the 2011 D-II National Coach of the Year, has been at the helm since 2005 collecting an all-time record of 344-101 (.773).
Women's Basketball | Head Coach Chancellor Dugan
The Women's Basketball team finished the 2018-19 season with a 17-12 record, falling to the nation's top-ranked team in the conference championship title game. Historically, the Knights' program has made 14 NCAA D-II Tournament appearances, advancing to the Elite 8 on four occasions. Head Coach Chancellor Dugan will begin her eighth season leading the Bellarmine program in 2019-20. She has a career record of 125-74 (.628).
Men's Cross Country | Head Coach Jim Vargo
Women's Cross Country | Head Coach Angela Hapner Musk
The Women's Cross Country squad has finished either first or second in six conference Cross Country Championships since 2009, including a first-place showing in 2010. The Men's Cross Country program advanced to the NCAA Championships in 2017, after coming in fifth at the NCAA Midwest Regionals. It was the program's first Championship appearance since 2011. The Knights' Women's Cross Country squad is led by Angela Hapner Musk. Hapner Musk was a three-time All-American at Bellarmine and has been the head of the XC program since 2016. In 2018, she helped Karly Gawecki become the program's fourth All-American.
Men's Golf | Head Coach Ernie Denham
Women's Golf | Head Coach Art Henry
The Bellarmine Men's Golf program has reached the NCAA Finals four times with the most recent trip coming in 2016. Prior to that, the team made appearances in 1993, 2010 and 2013.
From 2010 to 2018, the Women's Golf squad had 25 players named to the NGCA All-Academic Scholar team including a high of four in 2010, 2012 and 2018. Five former Men's Golfers have been named All-Americans with one honoree each in 1993, 1998, 1999, 2010 and 2017.
Men's Soccer | Head Coach Tim Chastonay
The Men's Soccer program has registered back-to-back double-digit win seasons, including tying the program record in 2018 with 12 wins. A pair of All-Americans and 12 All-Region players have come through the program since 2008, helping it finish in the top-five in the conference standings four times in that period. The Knights are guided by Head Coach Tim Chastonay, who has been at the helm of the program since 1998. The 1993 Bellarmine graduate has amassed the most wins in program history (201).
Women's Soccer | Head Coach Chris Tinius
The Knights have qualified for the NCAA Tournament in six of the past 10 seasons including garnering a win in five of the six. The upcoming 2019 campaign will be the sixth under Head Coach Chris Tinius. He won the conference Coach of the Year honor in 2015 after guiding the Knights to a program record 17 wins and an NCAA Tournament berth. The Knights have recorded double-digit win totals in 12 of the last 13 years, including the aforementioned program-best 17 in 2017.
Softball | Head Coach Renee Hicks
Bellarmine softball has made two appearances in the NCAA Tournament, doing so in 2012 and 2014 behind at-large berths. Head Coach Renee Hicks has led the Knights since 2004 and holds the program record for coaching wins at 402. Hicks has guided the Knights to four 30-win seasons while at the helm. The Bellarmine Softball squad has collected four 30-win seasons since 2012, including three in a row from 2014-16. The program record of 37 wins was set in 2014.
Men's Tennis | Head Coach Tyler Worley
Women's Tennis | Head Coach John Mican
The Knights' women's team has posted 11-straight double-digit win seasons including a program-best 21 in 2018. The BU women's team has also made two appearances in the NCAA Tournament, most recently in 2018. The 2018 Knights set the program record for single-season victories with 24.
In program history, the Bellarmine men's squad has totaled four double-digit win campaigns including a high of 13 on two different occasions.
Men's Indoor Track & Field | Head Coach Chase Broughton
Women's Indoor Track & Field | Head Coach Aaron McAndrew
Head Coach Jim Vargo has led the men's team since 2000. The Bellarmine Hall of Famer has guided the Knights to a top-five team finish at the conference Championship seven times, and BU has produced five indoor All-Americans during his tenure. The Knights' women's indoor squad has won three conference Championships and produced 19 All-Americans all-time, including 2019 High Jump National Champ Yashira Rhymer-Stuart. The men's indoor team has won a combined 13 conference event titles in program history.
Men's Outdoor Track & Field | Head Coach Chase Broughton
Women's Outdoor Track & Field | Head Coach Aaron McAndrew
Yashira Rhymer-Stuart placed second in the High Jump for Bellarmine at the NCAA D-II Outdoor Track & Field Championships collecting her sixth career All-America accolade. The Knights' women's team has produced a combined 18 All-Americans and 44 All-Region performers in outdoor program history. Combined the Bellarmine men's and women's squads have won six Outdoor Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards all-time.
Volleyball | Head Coach Jenni Grzebin
Bellarmine Volleyball has posted back-to-back 20-win seasons, including a 23-9 record and an NCAA Tournament at-large bid in 2017. Eight players have been named All-Conference in the past three seasons. In 2017, the Knights captured three individual postseason honors for Libero of the Year, Freshman of the Year and Coach of the Year. Head Coach Jenni Grzebin has been at the helm of the Volleyball program since 2013. Grzebin, a former Xavier standout, was named conference Coach of the Year in 2017 following its 23-9 campaign and NCAA Tournament appearance.
Total Members:
As of 2020-21, there will be 16 members in the A-SUN with eight being associate members:
1. FGCU
2. Kennesaw
3. Lipscomb
4. UNF
5. Jacksonville
6. Stetson
7. NJIT
8. North Alabama
9. Liberty
10. Bellarmine
*11. Mercer (Beach Volleyball)
*12. Howard (Women's Lacrosse)
*13. Morehead State (Beach Volleyball)
*14. Austin Peay (Beach Volleyball)
*15. Jacksonville State (Beach Volleyball)
*16. Coastal Carolina (Beach Volleyball/Women's Lacrosse)
*Associate member
On behalf of the A-SUN and all the fans to be expected, welcome to the A-SUN Bellarmine.
On behalf of the A-SUN and all the fans to be expected, welcome to the A-SUN Bellarmine.
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