MILWAUKEE — Mount Mary University and the Great South Athletic Conference announced Thursday June 11th that Blue Angels basketball, soccer, softball and volleyball will be joining the GSAC as Championship members for the 2015-16 season.
The Great South Athletic Conference was founded in 1999 and represents women’s collegiate athletics from all over the country in the sports of basketball, cross country, soccer, softball, tennis and volleyball. With the most recent additions of Mount Mary University and University of California Santa Cruz the Conference now spans over six different states.
“With their dedication to maintaining high academic standards while fostering top-notch athletic competition, they [Mount Mary University and UC Santa Cruz] were natural fits to join our conference for the upcoming 2015-16 campaign,” said GSAC commissioner Joeleen Akin.
As Championship members of the GSAC the Blue Angels will be able to participate in the post-season conference tournament in the sports of basketball, soccer, softball and volleyball. Winning the GSAC conference tournament also earns the victorious team an automatic qualifying bid to the NCAA National Championship in each respective sport.
“We are very excited about the opportunity our teams now have through this partnership with the GSAC.” Mount Mary University Athletic Director Marc Heidorf continues, “…we are hopeful that this experience can serve as a springboard to a full-time conference membership in the near future.”
The GSAC now consists of institutions from California (Mills College and UC Santa Cruz), Georgia (Agnes Scott College and Wesleyan College), North Carolina (Salem College), Massachusetts (Pine Manor College), Michigan (Finlandia University) and Wisconsin (Mount Mary University).
As the MMU athletics continues to grow, the level of competition and expectations continues to rise as well. Six of the now seven sports at Mount Mary now have the opportunity to compete for post-season recognition along with a better chance at participating in NCAA National Tournaments.
Keep up to date with all GSAC information at www.greatsouth.org .
