HobbsDailyReport.com
ROCK HILL, S.C. – The South Atlantic Conference (SAC) Presidents Council announced on Friday the University of Virginia’s College at Wise will join the SAC effective July 1, 2019.
After a unanimous vote by the council to approve its application for membership, UVa-Wise will begin competition in the conference in the 2019-20 academic year.
The addition of UVa-Wise will increase the number of SAC members to 12. It marks the conference’s first expansion since 2013, when Coker College and Queens University joined the league.
UVa-Wise, located in Wise, Va., is a four-year public liberal arts college offering 31 majors, 36 minors and 17 teaching licensures.
“The South Atlantic Conference has a history of academic and athletic excellence, traits that make UVa-Wise a great fit to join our league,” Dr. Evans Whitaker, Chair of the SAC President’s Council said in a press release. “I join the SAC leadership team, the presidents and campus families of all of our member schools in extending a warm welcome to our newest member institution.
“We have full confidence UVa-Wise will add even more value to our conference and represent us well.”
UVa-Wise will compete in 13 of the SAC’s 20 championship sports, with the exception of men’s lacrosse, men’s and women’s soccer and men’s and women’s track and field.
Logistics of UVa-Wise’s integration into the SAC, including the possibility of divisional play, will be vetted by the conference’s leadership groups in May.
“We are excited to join the South Atlantic Conference,” UVa-Wise Chancellor Donna P. Henrys said in the press release. “Our college has a natural rivalry with schools in the SAC, and we look forward to renewing competition with familiar SAC schools and to building new rivalries with the rest.”
Henry expressed her thanks to the Mountain East Conference for the assistance UVa-Wise received when it was transitioning to NCAA Division II.
“Today marks an exciting moment for the future of UVa-Wise athletics, as we accept membership in the South Atlantic Conference,” UVa-Wise Director of Athletics Kendall Rainey said in the press release. “The geographic footprint of the SAC fits our regional profile, allowing for reduced travel and missed class time for our students while continuing to align us with institutions who have similar academic and athletic philosophies. We have a history of competition with SAC members, and expect to develop some strong local rivalries.”