JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – University of Fort Lauderdale falls in a midweek matchup to Edward Waters, 78-73, on Tuesday evening inside the James Weldon Johnson Auxiliary Gym.

Kemari Brown paced the Eagles with 20 points, while Benez Woodard scored 16, Jongkor Unguec had 10 and Andre Anderson, Keysean Smith and Trandon Smith scored six points.

Smith grabbed a game-high eight rebounds, Riley grabbed six and Brown, T. Smith, Unguec pulled down five rebounds.

Andre Anderson would have a team-high six assists, with Carl Bigord, Riley and Unguec had one.

Smith blocked three Tiger shots. Delgado collected three steals and Anderson, Brown and Unguec stole one.

The game would start off back-and-forth as both teams were scoring at will early and often. Edward Waters would get ahead by as much as five over the first 10 minutes of play. UFTL would climb back and tie the game at 19-19 with 10:08 to play.

The teams would lockdown each other for the next five minutes, at the 5:31 mark, the teams were tied again at 26-26.

The Eagles would close the half on an 11-2 run, to take a 37-28 lead into the intermission.

EWU came out of the break on a 9-2 run to cut the deficit to 39-37 at the 16:24 mark.

Over the next 6:24, both teams scored 11 points, with the Maroon-and-Gold held a 52-48 lead as the game turn to the final 10 minutes.

The Tigers would take over with a 19-3 run to take a 67-58 lead with five minutes left to play.

UFTL would close out the game with an 12-11 scoring advantage, but fell short as the final buzzer sounded in favor of EWU, 78-83

The Eagles will travel to Temple Terrace, Fla. on Saturday, Feb. 19 to face Florida College at 4 p.m. inside the Conn Gymnasium.

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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – For the first time in its 155-year history, Edward Waters University (EWU) has become a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The exciting news chronicling EWU’s inclusion as a new member of America’s premiere collegiate athletic association at the Division II level was shared during a university press conference Monday afternoon.

Relatedly, EWU has also officially accepted an invitation to become a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) after an 86-year separation. Edward Waters was previously a member of the SIAC from 1930-1935. Notably, Monday’s historic announcement distinctively marks Edward Waters University as the only NCAA Division II Historically Black College or University (HBCU) in the State of Florida.

“This incredibly significant achievement is yet another important milestone in our continued ascendancy and transformation towards becoming one of America’s “best-in-class” higher educational institutions of choice,” said EWU President and CEO, Dr. A. Zachary Faison, Jr.

“Today’s announcement is demonstrable evidence of our progress in realizing our Eminence 2025 strategic vision and aim towards advancing our overall institutional brand and comprehensively raising our collective competitive profile through the platform of athletics,” Dr. Faison said. “This is a truly watershed moment for our entire university community, athletics program and our dynamic student-athletes.”

As a new NCAA Division II member, Edward Waters will begin the first year of a three-year provisional process in August. When all benchmarks are met, the University will be eligible for full membership in the NCAA in August of 2024. Nevertheless, the recent announcement and acceptance of EWU by the NCAA into the NCAA transitional process affords the university and its student-athletes the ability to compete at the NCAA Division II level in all sports effective immediately (i.e., Fall 2021).   

“Our diligent work in this process has brought us to this historic moment in the long and storied history of EWU Athletics,” remarked Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Dr. Paul A. Bryant. “We are overjoyed to be accepted as a provisional member of the NCAA Division II and even more so excited to be returning home to the SIAC.

“The opportunities for success for our athletic programs are endless and we look forward to working with and competing against such storied programs in the conference.”

The addition of Edward Waters will increase the SIAC’s membership to 15 institutions. The conference’s current membership includes Albany State University, Allen University, Benedict College, Central State University, Clark Atlanta University, Fort Valley State University, Kentucky State University, Lane College, LeMoyne-Owen College, Miles College, Morehouse College, Savannah State University, Spring Hill College, and Tuskegee University.

“We are pleased to welcome back Edward Waters University as a member institution of the SIAC and congratulate President Dr. A. Zachary Faison, Jr., Athletic Director Paul Bryant and the entire EWU community as they make their transition into NCAA membership.” remarked SIAC Commissioner Gregory Moore.

The SIAC sponsors 14 championship sports, including six women’s sports (Basketball, Cross Country, Softball, Tennis, Track & Field, and Volleyball) and eight men’s sports (Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Football, Golf, Tennis, Track & Field, and Volleyball).

As the second oldest historically black college and university athletic conference, the SIAC has one of the most storied histories in all of the NCAA. Many of the conference’s former athletes and coaches have transcended to larger-than-life characters that continue to be monumental in the world of sports. Furthermore, the chronicles of many SIAC programs have been vital to the foundation of American society.

The SIAC has a rich history on the gridiron, as some of the biggest names in college and professional sports began their careers in the conference. Headlining the list are Pro Football Hall of Famers “Bullet” Bob Hayes (Florida A&M), David “Deacon” Jones (South Carolina State), Larry Little (Bethune-Cookman), Shannon Sharpe (Savannah State), John Stallworth (Alabama A&M) and Rayfield Wright (Fort Valley State). Overall, the conference has produced more than 300 NFL players.

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The University of Texas at Tyler will become the newest member of Division II on Sept. 1.

The Division II Membership Committee made the decision earlier this week in a videoconference after the school successfully completed the three-year reclassification process from Division III to Division II. 

The Division II membership will total 300 colleges and universities in 2021-22.

Staten Island and Frostburg State, both transitioning from Division III to Division II, advanced to provisional year three of the membership process. In addition, D’Youville advanced to provisional year two of the membership process.

The committee agreed that Allen University must repeat provisional year one of the membership process.

Lastly, two schools that applied for Division II membership, Edward Waters College and Emory & Henry, were accepted into the Division II membership process and will begin provisional year one in the fall. Edward Waters College will transition from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, while Emory & Henry will transition from Division III. 

The Division II Management Council will review all membership decisions during its videoconference July 19-20. The changes will take effect Sept. 1.

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