ASHEVILLE, N.C. –Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) John Sullivan announced Friday the addition of five new affiliate members and the addition of men’s volleyball as a championship sport for 2022-23.

The addition of the affiliate members allows the AAC to make men’s volleyball a championship sport and adds more schools in the sport of men’s wrestling.

The new affiliates come to the AAC as full members of The Sun Conference and the Southern States Athletic Conference.

“The commissioners from The Sun Conference, the Southern States Athletic Conference, and myself have been working on this agreement over the past year,” said Sullivan. “By adding these affiliate members, we are able to sponsor men’s volleyball as a conference sport and increase the number of teams sponsoring men’s wrestling to the advantage of all three conferences by reducing travel and missed class time. It also makes us one of the largest wrestling conferences in the country and moves men’s volleyball forward on the path to national championship status.”

The schools joining the AAC are:

• Life University (Ga.) – men’s volleyball and men’s wrestling;
• Webber International University (Fla.)* – men’s volleyball;
• Warner University (Fla.) – men’s volleyball;
• Brewton-Parker College (Ga.) – men’s wrestling;
• St. Thomas University (Fla.) – men’s wrestling;
• Keiser University (Fla.)* – men’s wrestling;
• Southeastern University (Fla.) – men’s wrestling.

*-Webber and Keiser are already affiliate members of the AAC in the sport of men’s lacrosse.

These institutions will join Bluefield, Columbia International, Reinhardt, St. Andrews, and Truett McConnell in men’s volleyball, and Bluefield, Montreat, Reinhardt, St. Andrews, Truett McConnell, and WVU Tech.

With the addition of men’s volleyball, the AAC will offer a total of 24 championship sports in 2022-23.

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ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Council of Presidents on Monday announced that we intend to begin fall competition for the sports of men’s and women’s cross country, volleyball, and men’s and women’s soccer on Sept. 15, 2020.

It is the AAC’s intention to play conference-only games in the fall, and that the regularly scheduled conference championships will be completed as scheduled in the fall. Championship dates may change if needed to accommodate the conference-only schedules.

No outside competition in any sport will be permitted before Sept. 15 to include scrimmages and exhibition games. Inter-squad scrimmages are permitted. Member institutions may schedule non-conference games in the spring as desired up to the maximum allowable by the NAIA. Our member schools will provide non-conference competition in the Spring for those AAC teams selected for the NAIA national tournaments if needed.

As a result of the recent decision by the full NAIA Council of Presidents to allow conferences to determine their own testing protocols, the AAC will not require preparticipation COVID-19 testing for all student-athletes. Each member institution may establish its own testing requirements consistent with local and state guidelines and policies. However, should a student-athlete present with symptoms Conference and institution policies will be followed.

The AAC recognizes that as circumstances change, we will remain flexible to respond keeping the safety and well-being of our students and staff at the forefront of our decisions.

“We want to get our students on campus and settled into the ‘new routine’ before allowing athletic competition,” Commissioner John Sullivan said. “Delaying competition until Sept. 15 gives us that ‘breathing room’ to establish new habits to ensure that we do not have an outbreak of COVID-19. From that point on we can complete our conference-only schedule and still finish before Thanksgiving. Pushing soccer and volleyball to the Spring would over-tax our facilities with multiple sports competing for time on a single field or gymnasium. Additionally, our athletic training and sports information staffs would be overwhelmed with trying to accommodate double the normal load of student-athletes and contests. Finally, and most importantly, the academic disruption with games nearly every day is clearly undesirable.

“Since the NAIA has moved the national championships for soccer and volleyball to the spring, our national tournament qualifiers will be able to compete in non-conference contests in the spring, including conference opponents if needed, to prepare for the championships.

“We continue to monitor the federal, state, and local guidelines and policies and remain flexible to make changes as the situation develops. Our goal is to continue to provide a great student-athlete experience while maintaining the highest competitive and safety standards.”

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ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Commissioner John Sullivan announced Thursday the promotion of Jay Stancil to the role of Assistant Commissioner for Championships and Information.

“We are excited to announce that our long-serving Sports Information Director, Jay Stancil, has been promoted to the position of Assistant Commissioner for Championships and Information,” Sullivan said. “Jay has provided invaluable service to this conference in so countless ways for many years and has taken on many additional duties without complaint. We are now simply recognizing the breadth and scope of his work on behalf of the Conference as it has expanded over time. I look forward to continuing to work closely with Jay to best serve the needs of our student-athletes, coaches, athletic staffs, and our member institutions into the future.”

Stancil began serving the AAC as its sports information director in July of 2010. Since that time, the conference has grown from 10 full-time members to 16 and has added five affiliated members during that time. The AAC list of championship offerings has also grown from 13 to 22.

In this new role, Stancil will continue to oversee the league’s sports communications efforts as well as maintaining oversight of the conference’s awards. He will also work with the sports chairs and tournament committees to assist in managing the numerous championship events.

“It has been an absolute pleasure to work for the AAC, so much so that I can not believe 10 years have passed since I began working for the leagues,” Stancil said. “I thoroughly enjoy working with all the great athletic departments across the conference and seeing our teams and student-athletes excel, and look forward to many more years as I assume this new title and role.”

In addition to working with the AAC, Stancil serves as the Director of Strategic Sports Communications for Union, where he has overseen the sports communications efforts for the past 21 years. He is an active member of the NAIA-SIDA and CoSIDA, having served as NAIA-SIDA President from 2011-14 and on the CoSIDA Board of Directors from 2016-19.

Stancil is married, and he and his wife, Genople, have two children – a son, Jayson, and a daughter, Haylee. The Stancils are active members of Poplar Grove Baptist Church in Corbin, Ky.

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Located in Babson Park, Fla., Webber International was approved for affiliate membership by the AAC Council of Presidents at its spring meeting at the end of May.

“We are pleased to welcome Webber International’s new men’s lacrosse team to the AAC,” said AAC Commissioner John Sullivan. “We anticipate that as the Warriors build their new program, they will benefit from the high level of competition found here in the AAC. This is an exciting sport that continues to grow not only in our league but across the nation. We are proud to be competitive leaders in the sport not only on the men’s side but also the women’s.”

Webber International is the first institution from the state of Florida to be a part of the AAC.

With the addition of Webber International, the AAC will have eight teams competing in men’s lacrosse and 10 in women’s lacrosse. Participating in men’s lacrosse will be Cumberlands, Montreat, Point, Reinhardt, SCAD Savannah, St. Andrews, and Tennessee Wesleyan.

The 2020-21 season is the inaugural campaign for the Warriors.

“Joining the AAC for men’s lacrosse is the perfect fit for Webber as we kick off our first season next Spring,” said Webber International Athletic Director Darren Richie. “Thank you to AAC Commissioner John Sullivan for supporting our growth and making this a smooth transition.”

Currently, Webber International sponsors 23 intercollegiate athletic programs and competes primarily as a member of The Sun Conference.

The AAC now has 16 full members and five affiliate members. The conference membership is spread out over eight states with the full members being Allen (S.C.), Bluefield (Va.), Brenau (Ga.), Bryan (Tenn.), Columbia (S.C.), Columbia International (S.C.), Kentucky Christian, Milligan (Tenn.), Montreat (N.C.), Point (Ga.), Reinhardt (Ga.), SCAD Atlanta (Ga.), St. Andrews (N.C.), Tennessee Wesleyan, Truett McConnell (Ga.), and Union (Ky.). Webber joins Asbury (Ky.), Cumberlands (Ky.), SCAD Savannah (Ga.), and West Virginia Tech.

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