FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE:             September 28, 2009
CONTACT: Kathy Dean, Director of Public Relations, University of Mobile,                       Mobile, Ala., (251) 442-2215, kathyd@umobile.edu
                       Or Joe Niland, Athletic Director, (251) 442-2288

 University of Mobile Joins
Southern States Athletic Conference

            MOBILE, Ala. – University of Mobile President Dr. Mark Foley announced today that the University of Mobile has joined the Southern States Athletic Conference and will begin conference play in fall 2010.

The university is one of five schools which made the move from the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference to the SSAC. The schools will compete in the GCAC through spring 2010.

“The University of Mobile will be competing in what will now be one of the strongest small college conferences in the nation,” Foley said. “The Southern States Athletic Conference offers our athletic program the best opportunity to continue our pursuit of national recognition.”

Dr. Paul Conn, chair of the SSAC Board of Presidents, announced today that in addition to UM, the conference has added Spring Hill College, Belhaven College, Loyola University New Orleans and William Carey University. The conference had recently added Truett-McConnell College, bringing total SSAC membership to 16 schools.

“It is a genuine pleasure to welcome these five fine institutions to our conference.  Each of them provides top-quality education to students, and each institution is committed to the student-athlete as a part of the total educational enterprise.  These are schools which understand the priority of academic life for student athletes.  They will be a great fit for our conference,” Conn said in a press release issued today by the SSAC.

UM Athletic Director Joe Niland said the UM Rams already have eight NAIA national championship titles and are looking for more.

“One strength of the Southern States conference is the increased opportunity to go to a national tournament, since there are enough teams competing in 13 sports that the conference can give out at least one automatic bid in a sport to the NAIA national tournament, and more bids in most team sports,” Niland said.

Niland said the move could increase the opportunity for more corporate sponsorships and open the door to more media exposure throughout the region.

It also may provide an opportunity to expand the athletic program, he added.

Kim Leousis, vice president for enrollment services and campus life, said the move “expands the reach of the University of Mobile not only in the athletic arena, but also in the area of recruiting students and student-athletes by increasing our name recognition in a larger, more populated region.”

Leousis said continuing the competition between UM and cross-town rival Spring Hill College was an important consideration in making the move to another conference.

“We have a strong rivalry that we are excited to bring to the SSAC,” she said.

The University of Mobile will play in the Western Division with Belhaven, Loyola, Spring Hill, William Carey, Auburn University-Montgomery and Faulkner University. The Eastern Division will include Truett-McConnell, Brenau University, Brewton-Parker College, Columbia College, Emmanuel College, Lee University, Shorter College, Southern PolyState University and Southern Wesleyan University.

Conn said each team will play their regular season conference games within their division with season-ending championships in each sport bringing together qualifying teams from both divisions.

More than 260 student-athletes compete in 13 sports at the University of Mobile. The intercollegiate program began in 1985 and currently fields 13 teams while competing in the GCAC and the NAIA. UM has won eight NAIA National Championships in the sports of men’s tennis (1993, 1997), women’s tennis (1994), men’s golf (1997), women’s soccer (1997), women’s golf (1998), men’s soccer (2002) and softball (2006). UM has won 75 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC) Championships and 18 Thomas Howell Cups, awarded annually to the top overall program in the GCAC.

For more information view the SSAC's release by Clicking Here.