Life University Athletics

MARIETTA, Ga. ---- The Life University Athletic Department announces that they will transition to become a member of the Southern States Athletic Conference in the 2022-23 academic year.
 
The announcement, in conjunction with a recently announced partnership between the SSAC and The Sun Conference, will give Life University robust championship experiences but will significantly reduce travel requirements and will keep championships closer to the southeast region.  The first championships the partnership creates is men's and women's swimming, women's lacrosse, men's and women's indoor track, and competitive cheer.   Women's Wrestling still intends on competing in the Mid-South Conference.
 
Based out of Montgomery, Ala. the SSAC current members include Blue Mountain, Brewton-Parker, Dalton State, Faulkner, Florida College, Loyola New Orleans, Middle Georgia, Stillman, Mobile and William Carey. The conference has totaled 35 NAIA Team National Champions.
 
Director of Athletics Jayme Pendergast stated, "We are excited to be joining the Southern States Athletic Conference as it will benefit Life University Athletics with a great home for years to come. This move allows us to keep a majority of our travel within our southern footprint and affords us more opportunities to establish strong rivalries and traditions within our region. The SSAC offers an equally competitive experience across the board with countless NAIA National Champions. Additionally, our student-athletes will benefit from increased travel conveniences and closer conference championships. Scheduling for many of our sports will now require less hours on the road, less nights in hotels and more reasonable arrival times back to campus – all a huge benefit to their rest, recovery and their responsibilities as a student."
 
She went on to add, "We will be dedicated to being a valuable member of the Mid-South Conference until the start of the 2022 academic year. We are grateful for our opportunity for membership and for the competitive relationships with our Mid-South colleagues."
 
Life University President Dr. Rob Scott also expressed his excitement saying, "Life University is excited about joining the Southern States Athletic Conference. We believe that the SSAC is a home that better supports our student-athlete experience from a travel and championship perspective, and we are looking forward to establishing stronger relationships and more competitive opportunities with institutions in our footprint. I'd like to thank Commissioner Hall of the SSAC for his leadership in getting us to this point. Additionally, I'd like to thank Commissioner Ward and the entire Mid-South Conference for providing us with a great home for the last several years. We appreciate and value all of the relationships we have developed with fellow Mid-South institutions."
 
More information will be released as far as competition schedules at a later date. Make sure to check LifeRunningEagles.com for all information or follow us on social media with Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.