The Southland Conference http://southland.collegesports.com/ Board of Directors has extended an invitation of full membership to Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, effective July 1, 2006. A&M-Corpus Christi President Flavius Killebrew accepted the invitation on behalf of the university.
“On behalf of the Board of Directors, we are extremely pleased and happy to invite Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi to join the Southland Conference,” said Dr. Randy Moffett, Chairman of the Southland Conference Board. “This is an outstanding university with great leadership, and we welcome them as a competitive addition to the Southland Conference.”
The addition of A&M-Corpus Christi marks the first expansion of the Southland Conference since 1998. Formed in March 1963, the Conference consists of 11 member institutions in Texas and Louisiana.
Texas institutions in the conference include Lamar University in Beaumont, Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas State University at San Marcos, the University of Texas at Arlington and the University of Texas at San Antonio. Louisiana institutions include McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, and the University of Louisiana at Monroe, which will conclude its membership June 30, 2006.
“We are elated at the news that we have been accepted into the Southland Conference,” said Flavius Killebrew, president of A&M-Corpus Christi. “Over the years, this university has made great strides in academic achievement, and our athletic program has also made great strides since its inception. Our athletics department staff has worked hard to help us achieve this conference affiliation, and we are proud of their work. Membership in this well-regarded conference will elevate the athletic program and the university to the next level of accomplishment and success.”
“We are certainly very excited to announce the addition of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi to the Southland Conference,” Southland Conference Commissioner Tom Burnett said. “The addition of the institution and its athletic programs serves to enhance the league and its member institutions. The master planning and direction from the university’s administration has been phenomenal, and the growth and success of its athletic programs in a very short time has proved outstanding. The university enjoys terrific support among civic, business and community leaders, and we look forward to a long and prosperous relationship with everyone involved with A&M-Corpus Christi.”
The Southland Conference sponsors 17 championship sports at the NCAA Division I level. The conference earns automatic qualification to NCAA championships in football, men's and women's basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball, men's golf, men's and women's track and field, men's and women's tennis, and women's soccer. A&M-Corpus Christi sponsors 12 varsity sports as a Division I independent program, including men’s and women’s basketball, volleyball, softball, baseball, men’s and women’s tennis, women’s golf, men’s and women’s cross country, and men’s and women indoor/outdoor track and field.
“It’s been a long time coming; as an athletics department and as a university we are certainly excited to be accepted into the Southland Conference,” said A&M-Corpus Christi Athletic Director Dan Viola. “The future is very bright for Islander athletics.”
The Islanders athletic program began its NCAA Division I status in 1997, fielded its first teams in 1998, and became a full-fledged member of Division I in July, 2002.
All sports sponsored by the institution are offered by the Southland Conference. The University’s men’s tennis program a member of the Conference since 2004, has won the last two Southland championships while competing as an affiliate member.
A&M-Corpus Christi was named a finalist for membership in June, and members of the Southland Conference Board of Regents and Southland commissioner Tom Burnett made a site visit in July.