Southland Conference To Make Summer Visit To ACU
By: ACU Athletics
Updated: May 24, 2012
ABILENE - After
more than two years of a thorough evaluation of its athletic program
and the impact of conference alignment across the intercollegiate
landscape, ACU administrators were informed that the Southland
Conference will be on campus this summer for an official site visit.
Southland
Conference presidents met Wednesday and voted to make campus visits to
ACU, Incarnate Word in San Antonio and the University of New Orleans as
they seek to replace three
schools which recently left the league. The
SLC has already added Oral Roberts and Houston Baptist, but it's
unknown how many - if any - of the three visited campuses will be
extended
invitations to join the league.
"I
received a phone call late Wednesday afternoon from Southland
Conference commissioner Tom Burnett, informing me of the league
presidents' desire to make a campus visit to three
universities, including ACU," ACU president Dr. Phil Schubert said. "This
is the next step in our process of exploring options in terms of NCAA
affiliation and in determining what
is best for Abilene Christian. We have not received an invitation to
join the Southland Conference and haven't been told one is forthcoming.
We look forward to showing our campus to the search committee, and to
the discussions that will take place when committee
members are in Abilene."
ACU
began this process in April 2010 and school officials have had several
on-campus forums for faculty and staff to discuss findings from its
research, and have met face-to-face
with several key donors across the country in regards to a possible
change in affiliation.
Last
January, Schubert, ACU vice president of advancement Phil Boone and
director of athletics Jared Mosley met with Southland Conference
officials in Frisco for discussions regarding
ACU's status and readiness to make a move to NCAA Division I status.
At
that time, ACU officials were told a decision by presidents could be
made in early March at the league's post-season basketball tournament in
Katy.
However, no decision on campus
visits or expansion was made at the tournament, and the discussion about
adding new members was tabled until May 23.
"The
Board of Directors has spent a considerable amount of time since last
summer reviewing all possible membership options available to the
conference," league commissioner Tom
Burnett said. "It's been a deliberate, thoughtful exercise that has
allowed the board to consider what's best for the long-term viability of
the association, not just a quick fix. The presidents were very clear
in expressing their interest in learning more
about these institutions, and they look forward to these visits."
A move
to the Southland Conference would be almost like a move "home" for ACU,
which was a founding member of the league in 1963. ACU
remained
in the league until after the conclusion of the 1972-73 athletic year
before re-classifying to NAIA Division I status and joining the Lone
Star Conference.
"We
are pleased to take the next step in our NCAA affiliation discussion.
I'm looking forward in the next few weeks to the Southland Conference
search committee getting a close-up
look at our great university," Mosley said. "While we are excited about
this news, we also look forward to the upcoming 2012-13 season in the
Lone Star Conference and NCAA Division II."
The
Southland Conference is losing three members on July 1, 2012, with the
University of Texas-Arlington, the University of Texas-San Antonio and
Texas State heading to the Western
Athletics Conference. In July 2013, UTA and Texas State will join the Sun Belt Conference and UTSA will join Conference USA.
