Sunshine State Conference

Sunshine State Conference
Established 1975
Association NCAA
Division Division II
Members 11
Sports fielded 18 (20 in 2017) (men's: 8 (9 in 2017); women's: 10 (11 in 2017))
Region Florida
Headquarters Melbourne, Florida
Commissioner Ed Pasque (since 2014)
Website sunshinestateconference.com
Locations

The Sunshine State Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that was originally formed in 1975 as a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II men's basketball conference. It has since expanded to sponsor championships in 18 sports, including men's and women's basketball, baseball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's golf, men's and women's lacrosse, women's rowing, men's and women's soccer, softball, men's and women's swimming, men's and women's tennis, women's volleyball. SSC institutions have won a total of 94 NCAA national team championships, including seven in the 2014-15 academic year. The conference has also claimed a total of 78 national runner-up trophies, including four in 2014-15.

The conference was preceded by the Florida Intercollegiate Conference,[1] which was disbanded in the mid-1960s. The Sunshine State Conference was founded in 1975 by Saint Leo University (then a college) Basketball Coach & Athletic Director Norm Kaye. Kaye served as Commissioner the first year until Dick Pace was named Commissioner in 1976. Kaye continued as Executive Director of the Conference for an additional 12 years. Pace was inducted into the Florida Sports Hall of Fame in 1985.

The six charter Conference members were: Biscayne College (now called St. Thomas University), Florida Technological University (now University of Central Florida), Eckerd College, Florida Southern College, Rollins College, and Saint Leo College.

The Conference has had dozens of athletes go on to have successful professional careers. Some examples include: Current PGA Tour players Lee Janzen and Rocco Mediate went to Florida Southern. Janzen won golf's U.S. Open in 1993 & 1998; on the baseball side are Tim Wakefield (Florida Tech), Ryan Hanigan (Rollins), Bob Tewksbury (Saint Leo), and J.D. Martinez (Nova Southeastern). Wakefield tied a career high of 17 wins pitching for the 2007 World Series Champion Boston Red Sox and Tewksbury was third in balloting for the National League Cy Young Award while going 16-5 for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1992.

Membership

Current members

Institution Location
(Florida)
Founded Enrollment Nickname Colors Joined
Barry University Miami Shores 1940 9,300 Buccaneers           1988
Eckerd College St. Petersburg 1958 3,584 Tritons           1975
Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University Daytona Beach 1926 6,794 Eagles           2015
Florida Southern College Lakeland 1883 2,319 Moccasins           1975
Florida Institute of Technology Melbourne 1958 8,985 Panthers           1981
Lynn University Boca Raton 1962 4,660 Fighting Knights           1997
Nova Southeastern University Davie 1964 33,135 Sharks           2002
Palm Beach Atlantic University West Palm Beach 1968 3,764 Sailfish           2015
Rollins College Winter Park 1885 3,153 Tars           1975
Saint Leo University St. Leo 1889 16,275 Lions           1975
University of Tampa Tampa 1931 10,515 Spartans           1981

Former members

Institution Location Founded Nickname Joined Left Current
Conference
University of Central Florida Orlando 1963 Knights 1975 1984 The American
(NCAA D-I)
University of North Florida Jacksonville 1969 Ospreys 1992 1997 Atlantic Sun
(NCAA D-I)
St. Thomas University Miami Gardens 1961 Bobcats 1975 1987 The Sun
(NAIA D-II)

Membership timeline

 Full member (all sports)   Full member (non-football)   Associate member (football-only)   Associate member (sport) 

Conference facilities

Map indicating locations of member schools
Institution Arena Capacity
Barry Health and Sports Center 1,938
Embry–Riddle Aeronautical ICI Center 1,968
Eckerd College McArthur Center 1,000
Florida Southern College Jenkins Field House 2,500
Florida Tech Clemente Center 1,500
Lynn de Hoernle Center 1,000
Nova Southeastern Don Taft University Center Arena 5,500
Palm Beach Atlantic Rubin Arena 2,000
Rollins College Warden Arena 2,500
Saint Leo Marion Bowman Center 2,000
Tampa Bob Martinez Sports Center 3,432

National Championships

Sunshine State Conference schools have won 94 NCAA Division II National Championships.

Championships by season

Season Titles Team
2009-10 3 Florida Southern golf (M) • Nova Southeastern golf (W) • Barry tennis (M)
2010-11 2 Nova Southeastern golf (W) • Barry tennis (W)
2011-12 2 Nova Southeastern golf (M) • Nova Southeastern golf (W)
2012-13 6 Tampa baseball • Barry golf (M) • Lynn golf (W) • Nova Southeastern rowing • Lynn soccer (M) • Barry tennis (M)
2013-14 3 Barry golf (M) • Lynn golf (W) • Barry tennis (W)
2014-15 7 Tampa baseball • Florida Southern basketball (M) • Nova Southeastern golf (M) • Barry rowing • Lynn soccer (M) • Barry tennis (M) • Tampa volleyball

Championships by school

School NCAA
Titles
Most Recent
Florida Southern 28 2015-Men's Basketball
Rollins 14 2008-Women's Golf
Tampa 15 2015-Baseball
Barry 15 2015-Women's Rowing
Lynn 12* 2014-Men's Soccer
Nova Southeastern 7 2015-Men's Golf
Florida Tech 2 1991-Men's Soccer

Controversy

On July 17, 2007, NCAA vacated Lynn's 2005 Women's Division II Softball Championship due to extra benefits given to two players. The NCAA found that former coach Thomas Macera gave two Lynn softball players cash payments totaling more than $3,000. Lynn was also placed on probation for two years.[2] Lynn University originally won 12 National Championships at the Division II level, but now the NCAA only recognizes 11 of them because of the unsanctioned actions.

Mayors' Cup Champions

The Mayors' Cup was originally presented following the 1986–87 academic year to recognize the annual SSC all-sports champion. The men's division recognizes competition in eight sports: cross country, soccer, basketball, swimming, baseball, golf, lacrosse, and tennis. The women's division recognizes competition in nine sports: cross country, soccer, volleyball, basketball, swimming, golf, rowing, softball, and tennis.

Year Men's Division Women's Division
1987 Tampa Florida Southern
1988 Florida Southern Florida Southern
1989 Florida Southern Florida Southern
1990 Tampa Florida Southern
1991 Tampa Barry
1992 Florida Tech Tampa
1993 Tampa Tampa
1994 North Florida North Florida
1995 North Florida Florida Southern
1996 Florida Southern North Florida

Year Men's Division Women's Division
1997 Florida Southern Barry
1998 Florida Southern Florida Southern
1999 Florida Southern Florida Southern
2000 Florida Southern Barry
2001 Florida Southern Florida Southern
2002 Florida Southern Barry
2003 Rollins Rollins
2004 Rollins Rollins
2005 Lynn Florida Southern
2006 Lynn Barry

Year Men's Division Women's Division
2007 Barry Florida Southern
2008 Florida Southern Nova Southeastern
2009 Barry Rollins
2010 Rollins Rollins
2011 Barry Florida Southern
2012 Florida Tech Rollins
2013 Saint Leo &
Florida Southern
Tampa
2014 Saint Leo Tampa
2015 Lynn Rollins

Sports

Conference sports
Sport Men's Women's
Baseball Green tick
Basketball Green tick Green tick
Cross Country Green tick Green tick
Golf Green tick Green tick
Lacrosse Green tick Green tick
Rowing Green tick
Soccer Green tick Green tick
Softball Green tick
Swimming & diving Green tick Green tick
Tennis Green tick Green tick
Volleyball Green tick

Men's sponsored sports by school

School Baseball Basketball Cross
Country
Golf Lacrosse Soccer Swimming
& Diving
Tennis Total
SSC
Sports
Barry Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick 5
Eckerd College Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick 5
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick 6
Florida Southern College Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick 8
Florida Tech Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick 8
Lynn Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick 6
Nova Southeastern Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick 6
Palm Beach Atlantic Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick 5
Rollins College Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick 8
Saint Leo Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick 8
Tampa Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick 7
Totals 11 11 7 11 6 11 6 9 72

Women's sponsored sports by school

School Basketball Cross
Country
Golf Lacrosse Rowing Soccer Softball Swimming
& Diving
Tennis Volleyball Total
SSC
Sports
Barry Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick 7
Eckerd College Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick 6
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick 7
Florida Southern College Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick 9
Florida Tech Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick 10
Lynn Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick 8
Nova Southeastern Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick 9
Palm Beach Atlantic Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick 7
Rollins College Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick 10
Saint Leo Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick 9
Tampa Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick Green tick 10
Totals 11 9 11 5 5 11 11 7 11 11 92

Other sponsored sports by school

School Men Women
Football Track
& Field
Indoor
Track
& Field
Outdoor
Beach
Volleyball
Track
& Field
Indoor
Track
& Field
Outdoor
Eckerd College IND
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical IND IND IND IND
Florida Southern College IND IND
Florida Tech GSC PBC PBC
Nova Southeastern PBC PBC
Tampa IND IND

References

  1. Florida Southern Mocs
  2. "NCAA vacates Lynn's 2005 softball title", Palm Beach Post Staff, Palm Beach Post, July 17, 2007
  3. "Embry-Riddle Approved for NCAA II Membership". Embry-Riddle University. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  4. "Palm Beach Atlantic Agrees to Provisional Membership with Sunshine State Conference". Sunshine State Conference. Retrieved April 6, 2014.
  5. "Message from the Athletic Director". Palm Beach Atlantic University. Retrieved April 7, 2015.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Wednesday, May 04, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.