The Sun Conference, formerly the Florida Sun Conference, is heading into its 22nd season of competition and continues to be one of the most successful intercollegiate athletic conferences in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.
The league unveiled its new name, “The Sun Conference” on August 18, 2008 to be inclusive of member schools from Georgia and South Carolina.
The institutions in the conference believe in strong educational commitment combined with balanced athletic competition. Originally formed in March 1990 as the Florida Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (FIAC), The Sun Conference was established as a conference for small independent institutions within the NAIA. The name “Florida Sun Conference” was adopted in 1992.
The league 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 field and women’s volleyball.
The Sun Conference has proven to be one of the top leagues in the NAIA with its teams consistently being recognized among the nation’s best. In 2009-10, the conference placed two teams in the top 25 in the Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup Race with Embry-Riddle placing sixth and SCAD Savannah finishing in 25th place. In 2010-11, Embry-Riddle recorded the league’s highest-ever finish in the Directors’ Cup race, placing second overall, while SCAD was 48th and Florida Memorial was 56th.
Embry-Riddle placed in 13 national championships with runner-up finishes in men’s tennis and women’s golf, and top 10 finishes in women’s tennis (3rd), baseball (5th) and women’s outdoor track & field (8th).
The Eagles also finished first in The Sun Conference Commissioner’s Cup standings. Since the league’s inception in 1990, only five teams have captured the Commissioner’s Cup, formerly known as the All-Sports Trophy. Embry-Riddle won its 12th straight cup in 2010-11, continuing to set the mark for cups won. Former member (now NCAA II) Nova Southeastern is second with five honors (1992-93, 1994-95, 1995-96, 1996-97 & 1998-99), St. Thomas is third claiming the cup twice in the 1993-94 and 1998-99 seasons, while Webber International (1990-91) and Flagler (1991-92) each earned the award during the first two years of the conference when the league was known as the FIAC.
The cup is awarded annually to the strongest athletic program in the league. Points are awarded in descending order to the 11 schools in the 15 conference sports based on regular season standings in each sport; 11 for first place, 10 for second place, and so on. In addition, one bonus point is awarded to the tournament champions in each sport with a regular season schedule and a conference tournament.
During its 22-year existence, the conference has quickly established postseason tradition, consistently winning region championships and representing the Southeast at the NAIA national tournaments. In fact, last year 15 league teams were ranked among the nation’s Top 10 of their respective NAIA national polls.
Individually speaking, student-athletes from The Sun Conference have proven themselves worthy of national recognition year after year. In 2010-11 alone, 72 student-athletes from the league were named NAIA All-Americans, while 96 TSC athletes were also named Daktronics-NAIA Scholar Athletes. Embry-Riddle’s Crystal Bardge won national titles in the 60m hurdles and the 100m hurdles at the NAIA Indoor and Outdoor National Championships, respectively. Florida Memorial’s Dredame Carter claimed the national title in 400m dash, joining Embry-Riddle’s Yi Ching Chen and Josefine Strom who claimed the national doubles crown in tennis. The conference also boasts two NAIA National Players of the Year. In baseball, Embry-Riddle’s Frank Thompson claimed the highest honor in 1996, while Warner‘s Josh Hall was pegged as the Association’s top basketball player following the 1998-99 season. Additionally, Northwood’s Rollie Massimino was tabbed as the NAIA men’s basketball National Coach of the Year, while Embry-Riddle’s Dave Paschal earned national Coach of the Year honors for women’s tennis.
The roots of The Sun Conference date back to 1990 when the league was originally formed as the Florida Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Original membership consisted of Embry-Riddle, Flagler, Florida Memorial, Nova (now Nova Southeastern), Palm Beach Atlantic, St. Thomas, Webber International and Warner Southern.
The league grew to nine members with the addition of Northwood in 1994. Between 2002 and 2006, Nova Southeastern, Palm Beach Atlantic and Flagler moved to NCAA II, but the league was able to recruit new members as Savannah College of Art and Design joined in 2004 followed by Edward Waters in 2006. With the addition of the University of South Carolina at Beaufort, Johnson and Wales, Southeastern, Ave Maria and Thomas (Ga.) within the last four years, along with Edward Waters’ move to the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference, the league membership now stands at 12 schools.
