South Atlantic Conference Admits Lincoln Memorial University Beginning In 2006-07

ROCK HILL, SC - The South Atlantic Conference Council of Presidents has accepted an application for membership from Lincoln Memorial University, the league announced today. Lincoln Memorial will be a conference member beginning on July 1, 2006, and will be eligible for conference championships and awards in selected sports beginning in the 2006-07 season.

"We know Lincoln Memorial will be a fine addition to the South Atlantic Conference," said Commissioner Doug Echols. "They are an excellent academic institution with a strong history of competitive athletic teams. Our presidents see them as a perfect fit academically and athletically for the South Atlantic Conference. I join all of our presidents in welcoming Lincoln Memorial University as a member of the South Atlantic Conference."

"The conference is delighted to welcome Lincoln Memorial as a member," said Dr. Dolph Henry, president of Tusculum College and chair of the president's council. "The addition of Lincoln Memorial only enhances the conference."

Lincoln Memorial fields 13 sports sponsored by the South Atlantic Conference. The school's teams are known as the Railsplitters.

Dr. Nancy Moody, President of LMU stated, "On behalf of the LMU Board of Trustees, faculty, staff and, most particularly, our student-athletes, we eagerly look forward to renewal of old rivalries with member institutions of the South Atlantic Conference. The congruence in values and goals of these institutions and the SAC with those of LMU make this transition very appropriate."

Lincoln Memorial will be eligible next season for conference tournaments, championships and awards in those sports in which it meets South Atlantic Conference mandated limits. Lincoln Memorial will have all of its athletic teams in compliance with SAC requirements by the 2007-08 school year, and be eligible for championships in all sports.

The 1,000 acre LMU campus is located in Harrogate, Tenn., just 55 miles north of Knoxville. The university was chartered by the State of Tennessee on February 12, 1897, as a living memorial to 16th President Abraham Lincoln.

LMU has a current enrollment of approximately 2800 students and 175 full and part-time faculty members at the main campus and 10 extended-campus sites. The main campus is also home to the Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum, which houses one the largest Lincoln collections in the country. LMU is a private, liberal arts university offering approximately 60 undergraduate majors, minors and pre-professional programs leading to associate and bachelor's degrees, as well as a variety of graduate programs leading to master's degrees or the Ed.S. degree.

The LMU athletic facilities are some of the finest in the region, including the 5,000-seat Tex Turner Arena and Hennon Baseball Field. The Railsplitters won Gulf South Conference men's and women's soccer tournament titles this past fall.

"This is an exciting time for LMU athletics and alumni as well," said Jay Nidiffer, Lincoln Memorial University Director of Athletics. "It is our goal to be the best we can possibly be in this new conference. We plan to work hard to make the conference proud. Now we can develop a rivalry with people we were rivals with 100 years ago - Carson-Newman, Tusculum and Mars Hill."

Lincoln Memorial has been member of the Gulf South Conference since 1992, but will be leaving that conference at the end of this current school year.

The South Atlantic Conference is one of the premier NCAA Division II conferences in the country and strives for academic success and athletic achievement. Since becoming eligible for NCAA Division II postseason play in 1993, the league has sent representatives from all of its sponsored sports to NCAA postseason play.

The addition of Lincoln Memorial will bring the membership of the South Atlantic Conference to nine. Other member institutions are: Carson-Newman College, Jefferson City, Tenn.; Catawba College, Salisbury, N.C.; Lenoir-Rhyne College, Hickory, N.C.; Mars Hill College, Mars Hill, N.C.; Newberry College, Newberry, S.C.; Presbyterian College, Clinton, S.C.; Tusculum College, Greeneville, Tenn.; and Wingate University, Wingate, N.C.