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The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision. Member institutions are located in the states of Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.
The ASUN Conference, formerly the Atlantic Sun Conference, is a collegiate athletic conference operating mostly in the Southeastern United States. The league participates at the NCAA Division I level, and began sponsoring football at the Division I FCS level in 2022. Originally established as the Trans America Athletic Conference (TAAC) in 1978, it was renamed as the Atlantic Sun Conference in 2001, and then rebranded as the ASUN Conference in 2016. The conference headquarters are located in Atlanta.
The Jacksonville Dolphins are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent Jacksonville University, located in Jacksonville, Florida. The Dolphins participate in NCAA Division I athletics, and are primarily members of the ASUN Conference. Some teams in sports that are not sponsored by the ASUN play in other conferences; specifically, the men's and women's rowing teams are in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. The men's lacrosse team had played in the Southern Conference (SoCon) from 2015 to 2022, but that sport will return to the ASUN for the 2023 season.
The ASUN women's basketball tournament is a postseason tournament that determines which team receives the ASUN Conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament.
The ASUN Conference men's basketball tournament is the conference championship tournament in basketball for the ASUN Conference, formerly known as the Trans America Athletic Conference (TAAC) and Atlantic Sun Conference. The tournament has been held every year since 1979, except for 1992–93.
The Florida Gulf Coast Eagles refer to the fifteen intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Florida Gulf Coast University, located in Fort Myers, Florida in intercollegiate athletics, including men and women's basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, and tennis; women's-only: softball, swimming and diving, indoor volleyball, and beach volleyball; and men's-only: baseball. The Eagles compete in the NCAA Division I and are members of the ASUN Conference (ASUN). FGCU is also notable as the youngest institution competing in NCAA Division I, having been officially founded in 1991 and started classes in 1997. Their mascot is Azul the Eagle.
The Northern Kentucky Norse men's basketball team represents Northern Kentucky University in Highland Heights, Kentucky, United States. The school's athletic program began a transition to NCAA Division I in the 2012–13 school year. For the first three seasons of the transition, it was a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference. In the final season of the transition in 2015–16, the Norse joined the Horizon League. The Norse were coached by John Brannen until April 14, 2019 when he left to take a job with the University of Cincinnati Bearcats. Before him the Norse program's coach was Dave Bezold, who had an overall record of 138 wins and 72 losses. On April 23, 2019 Darrin Horn was hired as head coach by Northern Kentucky.
Karl Wade Smesko is the current head coach of the Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) women's basketball team.
The 2016 ASUN women's basketball tournament was the 30th edition of the ASUN Conference championship. It took place March 4, 2016, through March 13, 2016, in several arenas. All games took place at the higher of the two teams competing with the addition of NJIT. The winner received an automatic trip to the NCAA women's tournament.
The 2017 ASUN men's basketball tournament was the conference postseason tournament for the ASUN Conference. The tournament marked the 38th year the league conducted a postseason tournament. The tournament was held February 27, March 2 and 5, 2017 at campus sites as top seeds host each round. Florida Gulf Coast defeated North Florida, 77–61, in the championship game to receive the conference's automatic trip to the NCAA tournament.
The 2016–17 ASUN Conference men's basketball season began with practices in October 2016, followed by the start of the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. Conference play began on January 24, 2017 and concluded on February 23, 2017. The season marked the 39th season of ASUN Conference basketball, and also the first under the conference's current branding with the ASUN name.
The 2017 ASUN Conference Baseball Tournament was held at Melching Field at Conrad Park on the campus of Stetson University in DeLand, Florida from May 24 through 27. Third seeded Florida Gulf Coast won their first championship and claimed the ASUN Conference's automatic bid to the 2017 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament.
The 2017–18 Florida Gulf Coast Eagles men's basketball team represented Florida Gulf Coast University in the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Eagles were led by fifth-year head coach Joe Dooley and played their home games at Alico Arena in Fort Myers, Florida as members of the Atlantic Sun Conference. They finished the season 23–12, 12–2 in ASUN play to win the ASUN regular season championship. In the ASUN Tournament, they defeated USC Upstate and North Florida to advance to the championship game where they lost to Lipscomb. As a regular season conference champion who failed to win their conference tournament, they received an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament where they lost in the First Round to Oklahoma State.
The 2017 ASUN women's soccer tournament was the postseason women's soccer tournament for the ASUN Conference held from October 28 through November 5, 2017. The first round of the tournament was held at campus sites, with the higher seed hosting. The semifinals and final took place at Lipscomb Soccer Complex in Nashville, Tennessee, home of the Lipscomb Bisons, the regular season co-champions and tournament #1 seed. The six-team single-elimination tournament consisted of three rounds based on seeding from regular season conference play. The Florida Gulf Coast Eagles were the defending tournament champions and successfully defended their title, defeating the Lipscomb Bisons in double overtime in the final. The conference tournament title was the sixth for the Florida Gulf Coast women's soccer program, all of which came under the direction of head coach Jim Blankenship.
The 2018 ASUN men's basketball tournament was the conference postseason tournament for the ASUN Conference. The tournament was the 39th year the league has conducted a postseason tournament. The tournament was held February 26, March 1, and 4, 2018 at campus sites of the higher seeds. Lipscomb defeated regular season champion Florida Gulf Coast in the tournament championship to receive the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, the school's first trip to the NCAA Tournament.
The 2018 ASUN women's basketball tournament was the 32nd edition of the ASUN Conference championship. It took place March 2, 7 and 11, 2018 in several arenas at campus sites.
The 2019 ASUN men's basketball tournament was the conference postseason tournament for the ASUN Conference. The tournament was the 40th year the league has conducted a postseason tournament. The tournament was held March 4, 7, and 10, 2019 at campus sites of the higher seeds. Liberty upset top-seeded Lipscomb 74–68 in the championship game to win the tournament, and the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
The 2019 ASUN women's basketball tournament was the 33re edition of the ASUN Conference championship. It took place March 8, 13, and 17 in several arenas at campus sites. Florida Gulf Coast won the conference tournament championship game over Liberty, 72–49.
The 2020 ASUN women's basketball tournament was the 34th edition of the ASUN Conference championship. It took place March 7, 11, and 15 in several arenas at campus sites. The winner would have received the league's automatic bid to the 2020 NCAA tournament.
The 2021 ASUN women's basketball tournament was the 35th edition of the ASUN Conference championship. It took place March 10–14, 2021, in the KSU Convocation Center in Kennesaw, Georgia. Florida Gulf Coast won the tournament, its seventh title, receiving the league's automatic bid to the 2021 NCAA tournament.
References
- ↑ "Championship Format". Atlantic Sun. Presto Sports. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
- ↑ "2017 Atlantic Sun Tournament Bracket" (PDF). Atlantic Sun. Retrieved 3 November 2016.