SUWANEE, Ga. – In an expected
announcement made today at the annual spring meeting of the
league’s Board of Directors, the Presidents of
Birmingham-Southern College, Centre College, Hendrix College,
Millsaps College, Oglethorpe University, Rhodes College and
Sewanee-The University of the South declared their intent to
withdraw from the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference effective
June 30, 2012.
The remaining five members of the SCAC, Austin College, Colorado
College, University of Dallas, Southwestern University and Trinity
University, have already been approached by potential new members,
and have established a long-range goal of creating an eight to 10
member conference. The SCAC name, its history as well as key NCAA
conference designations like automatic qualifications for its
champions, shall be retained by these institutions.
“The SCAC has been around for 50 years,” said
commissioner Dwayne Hanberry, who has elected to remain with the
conference. “The league has gone through numerous membership
changes and each transformation of the conference has ultimately
made it a stronger entity. I am confident, as are the five
presidents, that the SCAC will re-establish itself and continue to
function as one of the most academically and athletically desirable
destinations for Division III student-athletes in the
nation.”
“Every effort will be made to find like-minded institutions
interested in building upon the very positive feedback that was
received from the conference wide student-athlete survey done in
2009,” continued Hanberry. “The survey indicated a high
satisfaction rate among student-athletes with regard to providing a
competitive experience at the highest level; that the competitive
model still allowed student-athletes to focus on their academic
life, and that scheduling models were quite suitable to the
management of their overall collegiate experience.”
Mr. Hanberry will lead the effort to coordinate with new
institutions that wish to participate in a NCAA Division III
athletic conference whose institutional members holds a special
niche that balances a rigorous academic program with a competitive
athletic experience.
“We are very fortunate to have Dwayne’s leadership
during this exciting time for the SCAC,” said Austin College
President Marjorie Hass, chair of the SCAC Presidents Council.
“His background, which includes 16 years of experience with
the conference office, will be invaluable as we embark upon this
new era for the SCAC.”
The seven institutions leaving the conference will participate
fully as members of the SCAC in the 2011-12 academic year and will
honor all scheduling commitments made for that season.