SAC Championship Feature: New SAC Schools Riding Similar Basketball Upswings

By Eric Wieberg, SAC Assistant Commissioner

Basketball has never been bigger at the South Atlantic Conference's two new member institutions.

For schools at any level of college athletics, a change in conference affiliation and upgraded facilities carry the potential to alter the entire trajectory of a basketball program. They attract new attention. They open new doors.

Such program advances – typically decades in the making – happen to be transpiring at Coker College and Queens University of Charlotte simultaneously.

And the resulting impact on their campuses figures to be immeasurable.

First came the change in conference membership. Coker and Queens – each longtime affiliates of rival southeast region league Conference Carolinas – were officially welcomed as the 11th and 12th members of the SAC in July 2013. As private, faith-based institutions, SAC members saw the schools as clear fits with the conference's existing fabric, and valuable assets to its future.

Queens, decision makers within the SAC observed, offered an expansion of the conference's footprint in the key Charlotte market, while Coker provided an opportunity for the league to further develop into the eastern regions of South Carolina.

The move was celebrated by administrators at Coker and Queens as a significant step in the advancement of their athletic programs.

"Looking ahead, the transition into the SAC presents an opportunity to develop our student-athletes on a new level," Coker athletics director Dr. Lynn Griffin said at the time.

"We are excited to give our student-athletes opportunities to compete at the highest level and look forward to an exciting future as a SAC member," added Queens president Dr. Pamela Davies.

Basketball coaches at both schools agreed, and are beginning to reap the results. Recruiting barriers have been broken. Budgets have been increased. Natural geographic rivalries are blossoming.

"It was a very strategic and positive move for Queens," said Royals women's coach Susan Yow. "It speaks volumes to the commitment Queens is making to its athletic department."

"Recruits are smart," said Coker women's coach Jenny Finora. "They hear about the conference change, research it, and then get much more excited to learn about what we have to offer."

The new league, says longtime Coker men's coach Dan Schmotzer, brings with it a new caliber of competition.

"The talent level is ridiculous," he said. "These players are men."

Schmotzer also admits the move represented a significant personal milestone.

"If you would've told me as a young coach that I would be a head coach in one of the top conferences in Division II," he said, "I never thought I would have had a chance."

Across both campuses, the cachet of the SAC Basketball Championship was another force driving interest in the conference. Unlike many Division II leagues, the SAC holds its semifinals and finals at a neutral-court setting, giving the event a true tournament atmosphere. The championship has proved a motivator already in year one.

"When you can get into a conference tournament at a neutral site, that's what you play for," said Schmotzer.

"That's the real deal," adds Finora. "We're working hard every day so we can have that experience."

Still, the waves made on Coker and Queens' campuses by joining the SAC, coaches admit, lean towards the intangible. Those that accompany the schools' impressive new facilities, however, will be anything but.

Both venues are among the most ambitious athletic capital projects ever undertaken on either campus. Queens' Levine Center for Wellness and Recreation, which officially opened in August, encompasses three stories and 145,000 square feet. Coker's Harris E. and Louise H. DeLoach Center, slated to open in advance of the 2014-15 academic year, will span 71,000 square feet.

The facilities will be a boon for the schools far beyond basketball – and far beyond athletics.

The Levine Center includes 16 locker rooms, a student-athlete performance center, classrooms, meeting spaces and various wellness resources accessible to the entire campus population.

The DeLoach Center will have similar ancillary features that benefit the greater college community.

But the arenas' primary bearing on basketball is undeniable. Queens can sit 3,000 for home games and Coker will accommodate up to 1,832 spectators – both significant upgrades from previous home courts. Opportunities to showcase the programs – think raucous Midnight Madness events – have never been greater.

"It's going to be a selling point on a lot of things" said Schmotzer of the DeLoach Center.

"When we have kids on campus, it's one of the first things they see," Finora adds. "It's going to help us with practice. It's going to help us recruiting. It's going to help us with our fans."

Bart Lundy's affiliation with Queens men's basketball now spans multiple eras. He led the Royals to three NCAA Tournament appearances from 1998 to 2003, and after six years at the Division I level, returned to Queens for the 2013-14 season.

The Levine Center, he believes, can go a long way in returning the program to its status as one of the nation's elite.

"Queens has a rich basketball tradition, but being displaced took its toll," he said. "Now it feels like we're back on the track we were before."

"The conference affiliation, long term, will be big for Queens' future," added Yow. "But immediately, I think the Levine Center has had the greatest impact."

Coaches on both campuses point out a heightened enthusiasm surrounding basketball – from fans, students and alumni – in the wake of the conference and facility changes.

"I feel like we have much more of a commitment to our programs, said Finora. "The excitement is just buzzing all over campus."

Lundy especially noticed the fervor at a recent ceremony recognizing the 25-year anniversary of Queens' first men's team. Every member of the team returned to campus – many from across the country.

"Queens is a family," he said, "and this is really helping us connect with all those former players and fans."

Likewise, coaches agree the moves position their programs to be more competitive, both on the regional and national levels.

"When you say South Atlantic Conference, when you say new arena, we're on the same playing field now," said Schmotzer.

"It's completely turned everything around," adds Finora. "The advantages of the new facility and being in the SAC – they go hand-in-hand."

For the coaches, the fundamental message is simple: best start paying attention to Coker and Queens basketball. Perhaps Schmotzer, now in his 26th year at Coker, sums the sentiment up best.

"I've never seen us shine brighter."

This story appears in the 2014 Food Lion SAC Basketball Championship program. More information on the event can be found here.