HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – The Southern Conference wrapped up its 2015 Spring Meetings on Friday (May 29). The four-day meetings were attended by the institutional presidents and chancellors, athletic directors, senior woman administrators and faculty athletic representatives. The league’s football and men’s and women’s basketball coaches also held meetings.
The conference finalized sites for select championships from 2016-18. Sites for men’s soccer, women’s soccer and volleyball were selected through 2018. ETSU, Samford and Mercer were chosen as host sites for women’s soccer, while UNCG, Mercer and ETSU were selected on the men’s side. Western Carolina and UNCG were tabbed to host the volleyball tournament in future years.
Dr. Nayef Samhat of Wofford was elected chairman of the Council of Presidents for 2015-16 while Dr. Brian Noland of ETSU was chosen to serve as the vice chairman. Western Carolina’s Dr. A.J. Grube was named president of the Southern Conference, while Wofford’s Dr. Jameica Hill was selected as the vice president.
Wednesday night’s annual Southern Conference Honors Dinner recognized the league’s award-winners from the 2014-15 season. Among those recognized were Chattanooga’s Davis Tull (Bob Waters Male Athlete of the Year) and Samford’s Michaela Reesor (Female Athlete of the Year).
Chattanooga was recognized for winning the Commissioner’s Cup, presented to the top overall men’s athletics program. It was UTC’s second Cup as the Mocs claimed the award in 2005. Samford University claimed the Germann Cup, which is awarded to the conference’s top women’s athletics program.
For just the third time in league history, one school swept all three institutional awards. Wofford College claimed the league’s Barrett-Bonner Award, D.S. McAlister Award, and the Graduation Rate Award. The Barrett-Bonner Award recognizes the school with the highest percentage of student-athletes on the league’s Honor Roll. Wofford placed 65 percent of its student-athletes on the SoCon Honor Roll. The Terriers graduated 82 percent of their student-athletes over the last five years to claim the Graduation Rate Award which is presented to the athletic department with the highest graduation rate over a five-year cohort. Lastly, the McAlister award is presented annually to the school judged by the league’s administrators and head coaches to have exhibited the highest degree of sportsmanship. The award is named after Colonel D.S. McAllister of The Citadel, who served as the conference’s secretary treasurer for 38 years.
Southern Conference Championships – Future Sites
Women’s Soccer
Johnson City, Tenn. – 2016
Birmingham, Ala. – 2017
Macon, Ga. – 2018
Men’s Soccer
Greensboro, N.C. – 2016
Macon, Ga. – 2017
Johnson City, Tenn. – 2018
Volleyball
Cullowhee, N.C.– 2017
Greensboro, N.C. – 2018