The ASUN Conference, formerly the Atlantic Sun Conference, is a collegiate athletic conference operating mostly in the Southeastern United States.
The league participates at the NCAA Division I level, and will begin sponsoring football at the Division I FCS level in 2022.
Originally established as the Trans America Athletic Conference (TAAC) in 1978, it was renamed as the Atlantic Sun Conference in 2001, and then rebranded as the ASUN Conference in 2016.
The conference headquarters are located in Atlanta.
The conference has undergone significant growth in membership in recent years.
In 2018, the University of North Alabama arrived from the Division II Gulf South Conference, and Liberty University left the Big South for the ASUN.
Most recently, in 2020–21 with the arrival of Bellarmine University from the Division II Great Lakes Valley Conference and the departure of NJIT to the America East Conference.
The ASUN officially announced the addition of the University of Central Arkansas, Eastern Kentucky University and Jacksonville State University, as incoming members on January 29, 2021, also announcing the addition of football in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).
The ASUN statement, however, did not specify when conference competition in football would begin.
On September 17, 2021, the ASUN announced Austin Peay State University as a new member for the 2022–23 season.
Membership history
Current members
Future members
Associate members
Former members
;Notes:
School names and nicknames listed here reflect those used during the schools' time in the TAAC/ASUN.
One school has changed both its name and nickname, and three others have changed only their nicknames: Former associate members
Membership timeline
DateFormat  = yyyy
ImageSize   = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:20
Period      = from:1978 till:2028
TimeAxis    = orientation:horizontal
PlotArea    = right:20 left:0 bottom:50 top:5 #> to display a count on left side of graph,  use "left:20" to suppress the count, use "left:20"<#
Colors =  id:barcolor value:rgb(0.99,0.7,0.7)
id:line     value:black
id:bg       value:white           id:Full value:rgb(0.742,0.727,0.852) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports           id:FullxF value:rgb(0.551,0.824,0.777) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports except for football           id:AssocF value:rgb(0.98,0.5,0.445) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for football only           id:AssocOS value:rgb(0.5,0.691,0.824) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in some sports, but not all (consider identifying in legend or a footnote)           id:OtherC1 value:rgb(0.996,0.996,0.699) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to another conference           id:OtherC2 value:rgb(0.988,0.703,0.383) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to another conference where OtherC1 has already been used, to distinguish the two PlotData=
width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s
bar:1 color:FullxF from:1978 till:1979 text:[[Oklahoma City University|Oklahoma City]]  (1978–79)    bar:1 shift:(120) color:OtherC1 from:1979 till:1985 text:[[Horizon League|Horizon]]    bar:1 shift:(50) color:OtherC2 from:1985 till:end text:[[Sooner Athletic Conference|SAC]]
bar:2 color:FullxF from:1978 till:1980 text:[[University of Texas–Pan American|Pan American]] (1978–80)    bar:2 shift:(110) color:OtherC1 from:1979 till:1987 text:Independent    bar:2 shift:(20) color:OtherC2 from:1987 till:1991 text:[[American South Conference|ASC]]    bar:2 color:OtherC1 from:1991 till:1998 text:[[Sun Belt Conference|Sun Belt]]    bar:2 color:OtherC2 from:1998 till:2008 text:Independent    bar:2 color:OtherC1 from:2008 till:2013 text:[[Great West Conference|GWC]], then merged
bar:3 color:FullxF from:1978 till:1982 text:[[University of Louisiana at Monroe|Northeast Louisiana]] (1978–82)    bar:3 shift:(80) color:OtherC1 from:1982 till:2006 text:[[Southland Conference|Southland]]    bar:3 color:OtherC2 from:2006 till:end text:[[Sun Belt Conference|Sun Belt]]
bar:4 color:FullxF from:1978 till:1989 text:[[Houston Baptist University|Houston Baptist]] (1978–89)    bar:4 color:OtherC1 from:1989 till:1995 text:NAIA Indep.
bar:4 shift:(-10) color:OtherC2 from:1995 till:1996 text:BSC    bar:4 color:OtherC1 from:1996 till:1998 text:NAIA Indep.
bar:4 shift:(30) color:OtherC2 from:1998 till:2007 text:[[Red River Athletic Conference|RRAC]]    bar:4 shift:(-50) color:OtherC1 from:2007 till:2008 text:NCAA Indep.
bar:4 color:OtherC2 from:2008 till:2013 text:[[Great West Conference|GWC]]    bar:4 color:OtherC1 from:2013 till:end text:[[Southland Conference|Southland]]
bar:5 color:FullxF from:1978 till:1990 text:[[Hardin–Simmons University|Hardin–Simmons]] (1978–90)    bar:5 color:OtherC1 from:1990 till:1996 text:[[Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association|TIAA]]    bar:5 color:OtherC2 from:1996 till:end text:[[American Southwest Conference|ASC]]
bar:6 color:FullxF from:1978 till:1999 text:[[Centenary College of Louisiana|Centenary]] (1978–99)    bar:6 color:OtherC1 from:1999 till:2012 text:[[Summit League|Summit]]    bar:6 color:OtherC2 from:2012 till:end text:[[Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference|SCAC]]
bar:7 color:FullxF from:1978 till:2003 text:[[Samford University|Samford]] (1978–2003)    bar:7 color:OtherC1 from:2003 till:2008 text:[[Ohio Valley Conference|OVC]]    bar:7 color:OtherC2 from:2008 till:end text:[[Southern Conference|SoCon]]
bar:8 color:FullxF from:1978 till:2014 text:[[Mercer University|Mercer]] (1978–2014)    bar:8 color:AssocOS from:2014 till:end text:(201417; w. lacrosse, 2014-Present; Beach Volleyball)
bar:9 color:FullxF from:1979 till:1984 text:[[Northwestern State University|Northwestern State]] (1979–84)    bar:9 shift:(50) color:OtherC1 from:1984 till:1987 text:[[Gulf Star Conference|GSC]]    bar:9 shift:(20) color:OtherC2 from:1987 till:end text:[[Southland Conference|Southland]]
bar:10 color:FullxF from:1979 till:1991 text:[[University of Arkansas at Little Rock|Arkansas–Little Rock]] (1979–91)    bar:10 color:OtherC1 from:1991 till:end text:[[Sun Belt Conference|Sun Belt]]
bar:11 color:FullxF from:1980 till:1992 text:[[Georgia Southern University|Georgia Southern]] (1980–92)    bar:11 color:OtherC1 from:1992 till:2014 text:[[Southern Conference|SoCon]]    bar:11 color:OtherC2 from:2014 till:end text:[[Sun Belt Conference|Sun Belt]]
bar:12 color:AssocOS from:1982 till:1984 text:[[Nicholls State University|Nicholls State]] (1982–84; provisional)
bar:13 color:FullxF from:1983 till:2005 text:[[Georgia State University|Georgia State]] (1983–2005)    bar:13 color:OtherC1 from:2005 till:2013 text:[[Colonial Athletic Association|CAA]]    bar:13 color:OtherC2 from:2013 till:end text:[[Sun Belt Conference|Sun Belt]]
bar:14 color:FullxF from:1985 till:end text:[[Stetson University|Stetson]] (1985–present)
bar:15 color:FullxF from:1986 till:1991 text:[[University of Texas at San Antonio|UTSA]] (1986–91)    bar:15 color:OtherC1 from:1991 till:2012 text:[[Southland Conference|Southland]]    bar:15 shift:(-10) color:OtherC2 from:2012 till:2013 text:[[Western Athletic Conference|WAC]]    bar:15 color:OtherC1 from:2013 till:end text:[[Conference USA|C-USA]]
bar:16 color:FullxF from:1990 till:1998 text:[[Florida International University|FIU]] (1990–98)    bar:16 color:OtherC1 from:1998 till:2013 text:[[Sun Belt Conference|Sun Belt]]    bar:16 color:OtherC2 from:2013 till:end text:[[Conference USA|C-USA]]
bar:17 color:FullxF from:1991 till:1997 text:[[Southeastern Louisiana University|Southeastern Louisiana]] (1991–97)    bar:17 shift:(50) color:OtherC1 from:1997 till:end text:[[Southland Conference|Southland]]
bar:18 color:FullxF from:1991 till:1998 text:[[College of Charleston]] (1991–98)    bar:18 shift:(20) color:OtherC1 from:1998 till:2013 text:[[Southern Conference|SoCon]]    bar:18 color:OtherC2 from:2013 till:end text:[[Colonial Athletic Association|CAA]]
bar:19 color:FullxF from:1992 till:2005 text:[[University of Central Florida|UCF]] (1992–2005)    bar:19 color:OtherC1 from:2005 till:2013 text:[[Conference USA|C-USA]]    bar:19 color:OtherC2 from:2013 till:2023 text:[[American Athletic Conference|AAC]]    bar:19 color:OtherC1 from:2023 till:end text:[[Big 12 Conference|Big 12]]
bar:20 color:FullxF from:1993 till:2006 text:[[Florida Atlantic University|Florida Atlantic]] (1993–2006)    bar:20 color:OtherC1 from:2006 till:2013 text:[[Sun Belt Conference|Sun Belt]]    bar:20 color:OtherC2 from:2013 till:2023 text:[[Conference USA|C-USA]]    bar:20 color:OtherC1 from:2023 till:end text:[[American Athletic Conference|American]]
bar:21 color:FullxF from:1994 till:2011 text:[[Campbell University|Campbell]] (1994–2011)    bar:21 color:OtherC1 from:2011 till:end text:[[Big South Conference|Big South]]
bar:22 color:FullxF from:1995 till:2003 text:[[Jacksonville State University|Jacksonville State]] (1995–2003)    bar:22 color:OtherC1 from:2003 till:2021 text:[[Ohio Valley Conference|OVC]]    bar:22 color:FullxF from:2021 till:2022 text:(2021–23)    bar:22 color:Full from:2022 till:2023    bar:22 shift:(30, -5) color:OtherC1 from:2023 till:end text:[[Conference USA|C-USA]]
bar:23 color:FullxF from:1997 till:2005 text:[[Troy University|Troy]] (1997–2005)    bar:23 color:OtherC1 from:2005 till:end text:[[Sun Belt Conference|Sun Belt]]
bar:24 color:FullxF from:1998 till:end text:[[Jacksonville University|Jacksonville]] (1998–present)
bar:25 color:FullxF from:2001 till:2012 text:[[Belmont University|Belmont]] (2001–12)    bar:25 color:OtherC1 from:2012 till:2022 text:[[Ohio Valley Conference|OVC]]    bar:25 color:OtherC2 from:2022 till:end text:[[Missouri Valley Conference|MVC]]
bar:26 color:FullxF from:2002 till:2008 text:[[Gardner-Webb University|Gardner–Webb]] (2002–08)    bar:26 color:OtherC1 from:2008 till:end text:[[Big South Conference|Big South]]
bar:27 color:FullxF from:2003 till:end text:[[Lipscomb University|Lipscomb]] (2003–present)
bar:28 color:FullxF from:2005 till:2014 text:[[East Tennessee State University|East Tennessee State]] (2005–14)    bar:28 color:OtherC1 from:2014 till:end text:[[Southern Conference|SoCon]]
bar:29 color:FullxF from:2005 till:2022 text:[[Kennesaw State University|Kennesaw State]] (2005–present)    bar:29 color:Full from:2022 till:end
bar:30 color:FullxF from:2005 till:end text:[[University of North Florida|North Florida]] (2005–present)
bar:31 color:FullxF from:2007 till:end text:[[Florida Gulf Coast University|FGCU]] (2007–present)
bar:32 color:FullxF from:2007 till:2018 text:[[University of South Carolina Upstate|USC Upstate]] (2007–18)    bar:32 color:OtherC1 from:2018 till:end text:[[Big South Conference|Big South]]
bar:33 color:FullxF from:2012 till:2015 text:[[Northern Kentucky University|Northern Kentucky]] (2012–15)    bar:33 shift:(100,-5) color:OtherC1 from:2015 till:end text:[[Horizon League|Horizon]]
bar:34 color:AssocOS from:2012 till:2017 text:[[University of Detroit Mercy|Detroit Mercy]] (2012–17; w. lacrosse, 2021–present; m. lacrosse)    bar:34 color:AssocOS from:2021 till:end
bar:35 color:AssocOS from:2012 till:2021 text:[[Howard University|Howard]] (2012–21; w. lacrosse)
bar:36 color:AssocOS from:2013 till:2014 text:[[Elon University|Elon]] (2013–14; w. lacrosse)
bar:37 color:AssocOS from:2014 till:2018 text:[[Old Dominion University|Old Dominion]] (2014–18; w. lacrosse)
bar:38 color:FullxF from:2015 till:2020 text:[[New Jersey Institute of Technology|NJIT]] (2015–20)    bar:38 color:OtherC1 from:2020 till:end text:[[America East Conference|AmEast]]
bar:39 color:AssocOS from:2015 till:end text:[[Coastal Carolina University|Coastal Carolina]] (2015–present; Beach Volleyball, 2016–20, 2021–present, w. lacrosse)
bar:40 color:AssocOS from:2015 till:2017 text:[[Central Michigan University|Central Michigan]] (2015–17; w. lacrosse)
bar:41 color:AssocOS from:2016 till:2017 text:[[Delaware State University|Delaware State]] (2016–17, 2021–present; w. lacrosse)    bar:41 color:AssocOS from:2021 till:end
bar:42 color:FullxF from:2018 till:2023 text:[[Liberty University|Liberty]] (2018–23)    bar:42 color:OtherC1 from:2023 till:end text:[[Conference USA|C-USA]]
bar:43 color:FullxF from:2018 till:2022 text:[[University of North Alabama|North Alabama]] (2018–present)    bar:43 color:Full from:2022 till:end
bar:44 color:AssocOS from:2018 till:2020 text:[[Kent State University|Kent State]] (2018–20; w. lacrosse)
bar:45 color:AssocOS from:2019 till:2020 text:[[Akron University|Akron]] (2019–20; w. lacrosse)
bar:46 color:FullxF from:2020 till:end text:[[Bellarmine University|Bellarmine]] (2020–present)
bar:47 color:FullxF from:2021 till:2022 text:[[University of Central Arkansas|Central Arkansas]] (2021–present)    bar:47 color:Full from:2022 till:end
bar:48 color:FullxF from:2021 till:2022 text:[[Eastern Kentucky University|Eastern Kentucky]] (2021–present)    bar:48 color:Full from:2022 till:end
bar:49 color:AssocOS from:2021 till:end text:[[United States Air Force Academy|Air Force]] (2021–present; m. lacrosse)
bar:50 color:AssocOS from:2021 till:end text:[[College of Charleston|Charleston]] (2021–present; beach volleyball)
bar:51 color:AssocOS from:2021 till:end text:[[Cleveland State University|Cleveland State]] (2021–present; m. lacrosse)
bar:52 color:AssocOS from:2021 till:end text:[[Robert Morris University|Robert Morris]] (2021–present; m. lacrosse)
bar:53 color:AssocOS from:2021 till:end text:[[University of North Carolina Wilmington|UNCW]] (2021–present; beach volleyball)
bar:54 color:AssocOS from:2021 till:end text:[[University of Utah|Utah]] (2021–present; m. lacrosse)
bar:55 color:Full from:2022 till:end text:[[Austin Peay State University|Austin Peay]] (2022–future)
bar:N color:yellow from:1978 till:2001 text:Trans America Athletic Conference (TAAC)  bar:N color:yelloworange from:2001 till:2016 text:Atlantic Sun Conference  bar:N color:yellow from:2016 till:end text:ASUN
ScaleMajor  = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:2 start:1980
TextData =     fontsize:L     textcolor:black     pos:(0,30) tabs:(400-center)     text:^"ASUN Conference membership history"
#> If the chart uses more than one bar color, add a legend by selecting the appropriate fields from the following six options (use only the colors that are used in the graphic.)
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{{Font color||{{RGB|190|186|218}}|Full members}} {{Font color||{{RGB|141|211|199}}|Full members (non-football)}} {{Font  color||{{RGB|251|128|114}}|Assoc. members (football only)}} {{Font color||{{RGB|128|177|211}}|Assoc. member (list sports)}} {{Font color||{{RGB|255|255|179}}|Other  Conference}} {{Font color||{{RGB|253|180|98}}|Other  Conference}} <#
Northeast Louisiana became the University of Louisiana at Monroe (Louisiana–Monroe) in 1999.
Pan American, later known as Texas–Pan American or UTPA, merged with the University of Texas at Brownsville in 2015 to create the new University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV).
The new school inherited UTPA's athletic program.
Sports sponsored
As of the 2021–22 school year, the ASUN sponsors championship competition in nine men's and eleven women's NCAA sanctioned sports.
In 2008, the ASUN, in an agreement with the Southern Conference (SoCon), Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC), and Big South Conference, formed the Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association (CCSA) for schools sponsoring men's and women's swimming and diving within the associated conferences.
For the past several years, the ASUN's Commissioner has served as the president of what was initially a swimming & diving-only conference.
In 2014 the CCSA expanded to include several other schools from other conferences, and the following year the conference added beach volleyball (women-only at the NCAA level) as a sponsored sport, changing its name to the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association.
Currently the conference has 17 member schools, with five men's swimming and diving teams, nine women's swimming & diving teams, and six beach volleyball teams.
The CCSA had
A more recent change to the roster of ASUN sports took place after the 2013–14 school year.
Under a cooperative agreement between the ASUN and SoCon, the two leagues agreed to split lacrosse sponsorship.
The SoCon took over the ASUN men's lacrosse league, while women's lacrosse sponsorship remained with the ASUN.
The full alliance in women's lacrosse amicably ended after the 2017 season, with the SoCon sponsoring that sport from the 2018 season forward, but the two leagues continued in a cross-scheduling agreement until the SoCon dropped women's lacrosse after the 2021 season.
Still more recently, on September 13, 2016, the ASUN and Big South announced a football partnership that allows any ASUN members with scholarship football programs to become Big South football members, provided they are located within the general geographic footprint of the two conferences.
At the time of announcement, the only ASUN member with a scholarship football program, Kennesaw State, was already a Big South football member.
Should any ASUN member add scholarship football, or any non-scholarship football program of an ASUN school (at the time of announcement, Jacksonville and Stetson) upgrade to scholarship football, that team will automatically join Big South football.
North Alabama joined Big South football under the terms of this agreement; although the school's home state of Alabama had no schools in either conference at the time it was announced as a future ASUN member, three of its neighboring states were home to six of the ASUN's eight members at that time.
When the ASUN announced the July 2021 entry of Central Arkansas, Eastern Kentucky, and Jacksonville State, it also stated that it would launch a scholarship FCS football league, but did not specify when football competition will begin.
No current member is required to add football or change its current football standing.
At a press conference on February 23, 2021, the ASUN announced that it had entered into a separate football partnership with the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), which had previously announced the relaunch of its football league at the FCS level in fall 2021 with the arrival of four new FCS member schools.
The three incoming ASUN members joined the four incoming WAC members in a round-robin schedule branded as the "ASUN–WAC Challenge".
Both conferences proposed an amendment to NCAA bylaws that would allow the alliance to receive an automatic bid to the FCS playoffs.
The alliance had seven members, one more than the six normally required for an automatic bid, but were not in the same league for an adequate period to meet the current NCAA "continuity" requirement.
The two leagues' proposal was successful, resulting in an automatic qualifier from the seven-team Challenge, colloquially dubbed "AQ7".
With the 2022 arrival of Austin Peay providing the ASUN its sixth scholarship FCS program, the ASUN is now all but certain to start its football league in the 2022 season.
Shortly after the addition of football was announced, the ASUN announced that it would reinstate men's lacrosse in the 2022 season, with the lacrosse partnership with the SoCon retained for the time being.
The two full ASUN members with men's lacrosse programs, Bellarmine and Jacksonville, separated for that sport, with Bellarmine joining the new ASUN lacrosse league and Jacksonville remaining in SoCon men's lacrosse.
Air Force moved from SoCon men's lacrosse; men's lacrosse independent Utah joined; and all three Horizon League members with men's lacrosse programs also joined, with Detroit Mercy moving from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and Cleveland State and Robert Morris moving from independent status.
The SoCon maintained its automatic NCAA tournament berth by adding another lacrosse independent, Hampton.
The ASUN men's lacrosse league was initially to be administered through the CCSA while operating under the ASUN name as part of the ASUN's intended plan to split into two conferences.
This arrangement was scrapped along with the planned conference split once NJIT left for the America East; the men's lacrosse league is now directly administered by the ASUN.
The ASUN added two new beach volleyball members, Charleston and UNCW, in July 2021.
At the same time, Coastal Carolina left ASUN beach volleyball for the newly formed Conference USA beach volleyball league.
With the demise of SoCon women's lacrosse after the 2021 season, Coastal Carolina and Delaware State returned to the ASUN in that sport after respectively spending one and four seasons in the SoCon.
'''ASUN Conference teams'''
Men's sports
Men's sponsored sports by school
Men's varsity sports not sponsored by the league which are played by ASUN schools:
Women's sports
Women's sponsored sports by school
Women's varsity sports not sponsored by the league which are played by ASUN schools:
Facilities
Future members in gray.
Departing members in red.
All Sports Championships
The Jesse C. Fletcher and Sherman Day Trophies are awarded each year to the top men's and women's program in the conference.
The Bill Bibb Trophy, combining the men's and women's results for the best overall program, was first awarded in 2006–07.
East Tennessee State won this overall trophy seven of the nine years it has been awarded; Florida Gulf Coast won in 2012–13, 2014–15 and 2015-16.
Men's All Sports: Jesse C. Fletcher Trophy
</div> Women's All Sports: Sherman Day Trophy
</div> Combined All Sports: Bill Bibb Trophy
</div> Championships
Men's basketball
This is a partial list of the last 10 champions.
For the full history, see ASUN Men's Basketball Tournament.
Women's basketball
This is a partial list of the last 10 champions.
For the full history, see ASUN Women's Basketball Tournament.
Baseball
ASUN Conference Baseball Tournament
Notes and references
External links
