Mercer Bears men's soccer | |||
---|---|---|---|
2022 Mercer Bears men's soccer team | |||
Founded | 1970 | ||
University | Mercer University | ||
Head coach | Brad Ruzzo (12th season) | ||
Conference | SoCon | ||
Location | Macon, Georgia | ||
Stadium | Betts Stadium (Capacity: 300) | ||
Nickname | Bears | ||
Colors | Black and orange [1] | ||
| |||
NCAA Tournament appearances | |||
2001, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021 | |||
Conference Tournament championships | |||
1999, 2001, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023 | |||
Conference Regular Season championships | |||
1992, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2014, 2018 |
The Mercer Bears men's soccer team represents Mercer University in all NCAA Division I men's college soccer competitions. The Bears play in the Southern Conference.
As of March 17, 2019.
Name | Position coached | Consecutive season at Mercer University in current position | |
---|---|---|---|
Brad Ruzzo | Head coach | 12th | |
Jarred Brookins | Assistant coach | 2nd | |
Alex Gott | Assistant coach | 2nd | |
Reference: [2] |
Mercer has won six regular season championships. [3]
Year | Coach | Overall Record | Conference Record |
---|---|---|---|
1992 | Dana Robinson | 9–6–2 | 5–0–0 |
2000 | Tom Melville | 9–8–2 | 3–1–2 |
2001 | Tom Melville | 13–8–0 | 5–2–0 |
2002 | Tom Melville | 10–7–1 | 6–1–1 |
2014 | Brad Ruzzo | 14–7–0 | 8–2–0 |
2018 | Brad Ruzzo | 12–4–2 | 5–1–0 |
Conference regular season championships | 6 |
Mercer has won five conference tournaments. Two Atlantic Sun Men's Soccer Tournaments [4] and three Southern Conference Men's Soccer Tournaments. [5]
Year | Conference | Coach | Opponent | Score | Site | Overall Record | Conf. Record |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1999 | Atlantic Sun | Tom Melville | Florida Atlantic | 2–0 | Jacksonville, FL | 12–7–2 | 4–2–0 |
2001 | Atlantic Sun | Tom Melville | Jacksonville | 2–1 | Macon, GA | 13–8–0 | 5–2–0 |
2016 | Southern | Brad Ruzzo | East Tennessee State | 0–0 [lower-alpha 1] | Greensboro, NC | 13–7–1 | 7–3–0 |
2017 | Southern | Brad Ruzzo | UNCG | 1–1 [lower-alpha 2] | Greenville, SC | 7–9–6 | 4–4–2 |
2019 | Southern | Brad Ruzzo | UNCG | 1–0 | Greensboro, NC | 14–7–0 | 3–3–0 |
Conference tournament championships | 5 |
Mercer has appeared in four NCAA Tournaments. Their combined record is 0–4–0. [6]
Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2001 | First round | Kentucky | L 0–1 |
2016 | First round | South Carolina | L 0–1 |
2017 | First round | Coastal Carolina | L 0–1 |
2019 | First round | Charlotte | L 1–3 |
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 Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN) 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 briefly rebranded as the ASUN Conference from 2016 to 2023. The conference still uses "ASUN" as an official abbreviation. The conference headquarters are located in Atlanta.
The Furman Paladins are the varsity athletic teams representing Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina, in intercollegiate athletics.
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 Mercer Bears are the athletic teams of Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, United States. Mercer is the only private university in Georgia with an NCAA Division I athletic program and fields teams in eight men's and nine women's sports. The university competes in the Southern Conference for most sports. In 2013, the football team competed in the Pioneer Football League.
The North Florida Ospreys are the athletic teams of the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Florida. The Ospreys compete in the ASUN Conference in NCAA Division I. UNF became a full-fledged member of Division I in 2009; previously, the Ospreys were members of the Sunshine State Conference and Peach Belt Conference in NCAA Division II. UNF fields teams in seven men's sports and ten women's sports.
The Mercer Bears men's basketball team represents Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, United States. The school's team competes in the Southern Conference. They are led by head coach Greg Gary and play their home games at Hawkins Arena.
The Florida Gulf Coast Eagles refer to the fifteen intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Florida Gulf Coast University, located in unincorporated Lee County, Florida near Fort Myers, 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 VCU Rams men's soccer team is an intercollegiate varsity sports team of Virginia Commonwealth University, an NCAA Division I member school located in the state's capital of Richmond. The team is a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference.
The Bellarmine Knights are the athletic teams that represent Bellarmine University, located in Louisville, Kentucky, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the NCAA Division I ranks, primarily competing in the ASUN Conference for most sports in the 2020–21 academic year. The Knights previously competed in the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) of the NCAA Division II ranks from 1978–79 to 2019–20.
The Jacksonville University Men's Soccer Team is a varsity intercollegiate athletic team of Jacksonville University in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. The team is a member of the ASUN Conference, which is part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. Jacksonville's first men's soccer team was fielded in 1957. The team plays its home games at Southern Oak Stadium. The Dolphins are coached by Ali Simmons, who enters his first season in 2023.
The Georgia Southern Eagles men's soccer program represents Georgia Southern University in all NCAA Division I men's college soccer competitions. Founded in 1980, the Eagles currently compete in the Sun Belt Conference (SBC). They played briefly as members of the Mid-American Conference. However, following a major conference realignment in 2021 brought several new men's soccer schools to the SBC including the Southeastern Conference and Big 12 Conference playing members, the league announced it would reinstate men's soccer no later than 2023. The reinstatement of SBC men's soccer was ultimately pushed forward to 2022.
The 2015 Atlantic Sun Conference men's soccer tournament, the 37th edition of the tournament, determined the Atlantic Sun Conference's automatic berth into the 2015 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship.
The 2016 ASUN men's soccer tournament, the 38th edition of the tournament, determined the ASUN Conference's automatic berth into the 2016 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship.
The 2016 Southern Conference men's soccer tournament, was the 11th edition of the tournament. It determined the Southern Conference's automatic berth into the 2016 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship.
The ASUN Men's Soccer Tournament is the conference championship tournament in soccer for the ASUN Conference. The tournament has been held every year since 1978 except in 2020, when the ASUN moved its soccer season from fall 2020 to spring 2021 due to COVID-19 issues. It is a single-elimination tournament and seeding is based on regular season records. The winner, declared conference champion, receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Men's Division I Soccer Championship.
The 2017 ASUN Conference men's soccer season was the 40th season of men's varsity soccer in the conference. The regular season began on August 25, 2017 and ended on October 28, 2017. The regular season culminated with the 2017 ASUN Men's Soccer Tournament, which was held from November 3–11, 2017. The tournament determined the conference's tournament champion, and automatic berth into the 2017 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament.
The 2020 NCAA Division I men's soccer season was the 62nd season of NCAA championship men's college soccer. The season was originally slated to begin on August 28, 2020, and conclude on November 15, 2020. The season was to culminate with the 2020 NCAA Division I men's soccer tournament, which was to be held from November 18 to December 13, 2020, with the four-team College Cup at Meredith Field at Harder Stadium in Santa Barbara, California.
The 2021 Spring ASUN men's soccer tournament was the 42nd edition of the ASUN Men's Soccer Tournament. It determined the ASUN Conference's automatic berth for the 2020 NCAA Division I men's soccer tournament. The tournament began on April 10, 2021, and concluded on April 18. The final had originally been scheduled for April 17, but the intended final site of Southern Oak Stadium on the Jacksonville University campus in Jacksonville, Florida was rendered unplayable due to severe weather. The match was delayed by a day and moved to the Stetson University campus in DeLand, Florida.