Sunshine State Conference
| Sunshine State Conference | |
|---|---|
| Sunshine State Conference logo | |
| Established | 1975 |
| Association | NCAA |
| Division | Division II |
| Members | 11 |
| Sports fielded | 18 (men's: 8; women's: 10) |
| Region | Florida |
| Headquarters | Melbourne, Florida |
| Commissioner | Ed Pasque (since 2014) |
| Website | sunshinestateconference.com |
| Locations | |
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The Sunshine State Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that was originally formed in 1975 as a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II men's basketball conference. It has since expanded to sponsor championships in 18 sports, including men's and women's basketball, baseball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's golf, men's and women's lacrosse, women's rowing, men's and women's soccer, softball, men's and women's swimming, men's and women's tennis, women's volleyball. SSC institutions have won a total of 94 NCAA national team championships, including seven in the 2014-15 academic year. The conference has also claimed a total of 78 national runner-up trophies, including four in 2014-15.
The conference was preceded by the Florida Intercollegiate Conference,[1] which was disbanded in the mid-1960s. The Sunshine State Conference was founded in 1975 by Saint Leo University (then a college) Basketball Coach & Athletic Director Norm Kaye. Kaye served as Commissioner the first year until Dick Pace was named Commissioner in 1976. Kaye continued as Executive Director of the Conference for an additional 12 years. Pace was inducted into the Florida Sports Hall of Fame in 1985.
The six charter Conference members were: Biscayne College (now called St. Thomas University), Florida Technological University (now University of Central Florida), Eckerd College, Florida Southern College, Rollins College, and Saint Leo College.
The Conference has had dozens of athletes go on to have successful professional careers. Some examples include: Current PGA Tour players Lee Janzen and Rocco Mediate went to Florida Southern. Janzen won golf's U.S. Open in 1993 & 1998; on the baseball side are Tim Wakefield (Florida Tech), Ryan Hanigan (Rollins), Bob Tewksbury (Saint Leo), and J.D. Martinez (Nova Southeastern). Wakefield tied a career high of 17 wins pitching for the 2007 World Series Champion Boston Red Sox and Tewksbury was third in balloting for the National League Cy Young Award while going 16-5 for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1992.
Contents
Membership
Current members
| Institution | Location (Florida) |
Founded | Enrollment | Nickname | Colors | Joined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barry University | Miami Shores | 1940 | 9,300 | Buccaneers | 1988 | |
| Eckerd College | St. Petersburg | 1958 | 3,584 | Tritons | 1975 | |
| Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University | Daytona Beach | 1926 | 6,794 | Eagles | 2015 | |
| Florida Southern College | Lakeland | 1883 | 2,319 | Moccasins | 1975 | |
| Florida Institute of Technology | Melbourne | 1958 | 8,985 | Panthers | 1981 | |
| Lynn University | Boca Raton | 1962 | 4,660 | Fighting Knights | 1997 | |
| Nova Southeastern University | Davie | 1964 | 33,135 | Sharks | 2002 | |
| Palm Beach Atlantic University | West Palm Beach | 1968 | 3,260 | Sailfish | 2015 | |
| Rollins College | Winter Park | 1885 | 3,153 | Tars | 1975 | |
| Saint Leo University | St. Leo | 1889 | 16,275 | Lions | 1975 | |
| University of Tampa | Tampa | 1931 | 10,515 | Spartans | 1981 |
- Provisional member in green.
- Reclassifying member in yellow.
Former members
| Institution | Location | Founded | Nickname | Joined | Left | Current Conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Central Florida | Orlando | 1963 | Knights | 1975 | 1984 | The American (NCAA D-I) |
| University of North Florida | Jacksonville | 1969 | Ospreys | 1992 | 1997 | Atlantic Sun (NCAA D-I) |
| St. Thomas University | Miami Gardens | 1961 | Bobcats | 1975 | 1987 | The Sun (NAIA D-II) |
Membership timeline
Full member (all sports) Full member (non-football) Associate member (football-only) Associate member (sport)
Conference facilities
| Institution | Arena | Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Barry | Health and Sports Center | 1,938 |
| Embry–Riddle Aeronautical | ICI Center | 1,968 |
| Eckerd College | McArthur Center | 1,000 |
| Florida Southern College | Jenkins Field House | 2,500 |
| Florida Tech | Clemente Center | 1,500 |
| Lynn | de Hoernle Center | 1,000 |
| Nova Southeastern | Don Taft University Center Arena | 5,500 |
| Palm Beach Atlantic | Rubin Arena | 2,000 |
| Rollins College | Warden Arena | 2,500 |
| Saint Leo | Marion Bowman Center | 2,000 |
| Tampa | Bob Martinez Sports Center | 3,432 |
National Championships
Sunshine State Conference schools have won 94 NCAA Division II National Championships.
Championships by season
| Season | Titles | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 2009-10 | 3 | Florida Southern golf (M) • Nova Southeastern golf (W) • Barry tennis (M) |
| 2010-11 | 2 | Nova Southeastern golf (W) • Barry tennis (W) |
| 2011-12 | 2 | Nova Southeastern golf (M) • Nova Southeastern golf (W) |
| 2012-13 | 6 | Tampa baseball • Barry golf (M) • Lynn golf (W) • Nova Southeastern rowing • Lynn soccer (M) • Barry tennis (M) |
| 2013-14 | 3 | Barry golf (M) • Lynn golf (W) • Barry tennis (W) |
| 2014-15 | 7 | Tampa baseball • Florida Southern basketball (M) • Nova Southeastern golf (M) • Barry rowing • Lynn soccer (M) • Barry tennis (M) • Tampa volleyball |
Championships by school
| School | NCAA Titles |
Most Recent |
|---|---|---|
| Florida Southern | 28 | 2015-Men's Basketball |
| Rollins | 14 | 2008-Women's Golf |
| Tampa | 15 | 2015-Baseball |
| Barry | 15 | 2015-Women's Rowing |
| Lynn | 12* | 2014-Men's Soccer |
| Nova Southeastern | 7 | 2015-Men's Golf |
| Florida Tech | 2 | 1991-Men's Soccer |
Controversy
On July 17, 2007, NCAA vacated Lynn's 2005 Women's Division II Softball Championship due to extra benefits given to two players. The NCAA found that former coach Thomas Macera gave two Lynn softball players cash payments totaling more than $3,000. Lynn was also placed on probation for two years.[2] Lynn University originally won 12 National Championships at the Division II level, but now the NCAA only recognizes 11 of them because of the unsanctioned actions.
Mayors' Cup Champions
The Mayors' Cup was originally presented following the 1986–87 academic year to recognize the annual SSC all-sports champion. The men's division recognizes competition in eight sports: cross country, soccer, basketball, swimming, baseball, golf, lacrosse, and tennis. The women's division recognizes competition in nine sports: cross country, soccer, volleyball, basketball, swimming, golf, rowing, softball, and tennis.
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Sports
| Sport | Men's | Women's |
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| Baseball |  |
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| Cross Country | |
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| Golf | |
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| Lacrosse | |
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| Rowing | |
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| Soccer | |
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| Softball | |
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| Swimming & diving | |
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| Tennis | |
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| Volleyball | |
Men's sponsored sports by school
| School | Baseball | Basketball | Cross Country |
Golf | Lacrosse | Soccer | Swimming & Diving |
Tennis | Total SSC Sports |
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| Barry | |
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5 | |||
| Eckerd College | |
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| Embry-Riddle Aeronautical | |
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| Florida Southern College | |
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8 |
| Florida Tech | |
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| Lynn | |
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6 | ||
| Nova Southeastern | |
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| Palm Beach Atlantic | |
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| Rollins College | |
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8 |
| Saint Leo | |
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| Tampa | |
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7 | |
| Totals | 11 | 11 | 7 | 11 | 6 | 11 | 6 | 9 | 72 |
- Embry-Riddle Aeronautical — Lacrosse (M) begins play by 2017.[3]
- Palm Beach Atlantic — Cross Country (M) and Lacrosse (M) begin play by 2017.[4]
Women's sponsored sports by school
| School | Basketball | Cross Country |
Golf | Lacrosse | Rowing | Soccer | Softball | Swimming & Diving |
Tennis | Volleyball | Total SSC Sports |
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| Barry | |
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| Eckerd College | |
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| Embry-Riddle Aeronautical | |
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| Florida Southern College | |
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| Florida Tech | |
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| Lynn | |
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| Nova Southeastern | |
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| Palm Beach Atlantic | |
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| Rollins College | |
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| Saint Leo | |
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| Totals | 11 | 9 | 11 | 5 | 5 | 11 | 11 | 7 | 11 | 11 | 92 |
- Embry-Riddle Aeronautical — Lacrosse (W) and Rowing begin play by 2017.
- Palm Beach Atlantic — Lacrosse (W) begins play by 2017.
Other sponsored sports by school
| School | Men | Women | ||||||
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| Football | Track & Field Indoor |
Track & Field Outdoor |
Beach Volleyball ‡ |
Track & Field Indoor |
Track & Field Outdoor |
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| Embry-Riddle Aeronautical | IND | IND | IND | IND | ||||
| Eckerd College | IND | |||||||
| Florida Southern College | IND | IND | ||||||
| Florida Tech | GSC | PBC | PBC | |||||
| Nova Southeastern | PBC | PBC | ||||||
| Tampa | IND | IND | ||||||
References
- ↑ Florida Southern Mocs
- ↑ "NCAA vacates Lynn's 2005 softball title", Palm Beach Post Staff, Palm Beach Post, July 17, 2007
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External links
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| Central | ||
| East | ||
| Midwest | ||
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| South Central | ||
| Southeast | ||
| West | ||
| Division II | ||
| NCAA |
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