| At 10-7, Schreiner is having
its best men's basketball season in years and is
2-1 against future conference foes. Schreiner athletics photo by Aaron Yates |
The Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference announced that Schreiner has accepted an invitation to join the conference.
A member of the American Southwest Conference since 1998, Schreiner will join the SCAC at the beginning of the 2013-14 academic year and become the seventh member of the conference. The league loses half of its membership after this season, with schools splitting off to form the Southern Athletic Association.
“We are pleased that Schreiner University has elected to
join the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference,” said
Austin College president Marjorie Hass, who currently serves as the
chair of the SCAC board of directors. “Schreiner represents
another fine institution that has worked hard to find balance for
its solid academic program and competitive NCAA Division III
athletics program. We are all impressed with the commitment
Schreiner has displayed in the review process and anticipate many
competitive games and matches in the years to come with our new
conference partner.”
The acceptance of membership by Schreiner ensures that the SCAC
will continue to be recognized as an active conference by the NCAA
when the league’s two-year grace period expires prior to the
2014-15 academic year. The NCAA requires that a conference have
seven core members who are active Division III institutions to be
considered a conference in good standing.
"This is an important step for Schreiner University, both
academically and athletically,” said Schreiner president Tim
Summerlin. “The SCAC is a highly respected conference, and
for very good reasons. That these institutions have unanimously
endorsed an invitation to join the SCAC means much to us. We
believe that it signifies a recognition that Schreiner is making
great progress in its goal of being a premier place of learning as
well as becoming increasingly competitive in its 13 intercollegiate
athletic programs. We are honored by the invitation."
Schreiner will be the seventh member of the SCAC in 2013-14 as it
joins Austin, Centenary (La.), Colorado College, University of
Dallas, Southwestern and Trinity (Texas).
“I am delighted with the presidents’ affirmative
response to the membership application of Schreiner
University,” said SCAC commissioner Dwayne Hanberry.
“In the ever-changing membership of Division III in general,
we recognize the importance of conference affiliation and
associating our institutions with schools of similar academic and
athletic philosophies. With Schreiner, we will gain an institution
that fits our conference concept.”
"We feel very pleased and fortunate to have been invited into the
SCAC," says Ron Macosko, Schreiner's athletic director. "In the
fall of 2013, we will align ourselves with some of the top teaching
institutions and athletic programs in the country. Although
Schreiner is young as a university, it has made great strides in
recent years, in terms of enrollment growth, facilities expansion
and academic quality. We are committed to broad-based programs and
recognize that academic success is the first priority for our
student-athletes. We are pleased that the SCAC leadership saw these
commitments when they made their decision to invite us."