Schreiner University Accepts Invitation to Join the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference in 2013

For SCAC Release, please click below story.

KERRVILLE, TX –– Schreiner University President Dr. Tim Summerlin announced today that the university has accepted an invitation to join the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference for the 2013-14 academic year. Currently, Schreiner is one of 16 members of the American Southwest Conference and will continue as a member until the move to the SCAC on July 1, 2013.

"This is an important step for Schreiner University," said Summerlin, "both academically and athletically. The SCAC is a highly respected conference, and for very good reasons. That these institutions have unanimously extended an invitation for Schreiner to join the SCAC means much to us. We believe that it signifies a recognition that Schreiner has made 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."

“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 SCAC is made up of some the most prestigious academic institutions in America. In the fall of 2012, there will be six members of the conference: Trinity University (San Antonio, TX), Southwestern University (Georgetown, TX), Austin College (Sherman, TX), University of Dallas (Irving, TX), Colorado College (Colorado Spring, CO) and Centenary College (Shreveport, LA). Like Schreiner, Centenary is currently a member of the ASC but will be moving to the SCAC this summer. Schreiner will become the seventh member the following summer.

“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, Director of Athletics at Schreiner University. "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."

Summerlin and Macosko both expressed their satisfaction with more than a decade of association with the ASC. "We are thankful for the opportunity to have been members of the ASC for the past 12 years and will be active members through the coming year," they said. "Whenever you make a decision like this, it also means that you will be leaving schools with which you have shared a strong competitive bond. But at this time, we feel that this is the best decision for our university and our student-athletes as we move forward."

Schreiner became a four year institution in the early 1980's and made the decision for its athletic programs to move from NAIA athletic scholarship status to NCAA Division III, where there are no athletic scholarships, in the late '90's when it joined the ASC.

Schreiner offers 13 sports programs currently; volleyball, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's basketball, baseball, softball, men's and women's tennis and men's and women's golf.  The SCAC sponsors competition and championships in all of those sports.

For more information about Schreiner University and its athletic programs, please visit www.schreiner.edu.