Sunshine State Conference

Sunshine State Conference
Established	1975
Association	NCAA
Division	Division II
Members	11
Sports fielded	18 men's: 8 women's: 10
Region	Florida
Headquarters	Melbourne, Florida
Commissioner	Ed Pasque (since 2014)
Website	sunshinestateconference.com
Locations

The Sunshine State Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that participates in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II. Its member institutions are located in the state of Florida, which is popularly known as the Sunshine State.

The conference was originally formed in 1975 as a men's basketball conference. It has since expanded to sponsor championships in 18 sports, including men's and women's basketball, baseball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's golf, men's and women's lacrosse, women's rowing, men's and women's soccer, softball, men's and women's swimming, men's and women's tennis, women's volleyball.

SSC institutions have won a total of 111 NCAA national team championships, including a conference record seven in the 2014-15 and 2018-19 academic years.^[1] The conference has also claimed a total of 90 national runner-up trophies.^[2]

History[]

The conference was preceded by the Florida Intercollegiate Conference,^[3] which was disbanded in the mid-1960s. The Sunshine State Conference was founded in 1975 by Saint Leo University (then Saint Leo College) basketball coach & athletic director Norm Kaye. Kaye served as Commissioner the first year until Dick Pace was named Commissioner in 1976. Kaye continued as Executive Director of the Conference for an additional 12 years. Pace was inducted into the Florida Sports Hall of Fame in 1985.

The six charter Conference members were: Biscayne College (now St. Thomas University), Florida Technological University (now University of Central Florida), Eckerd College, Florida Southern College, Rollins College, and Saint Leo College.

The Conference has seen dozens of athletes go on to have successful professional careers. Some examples include: Current PGA Tour players Lee Janzen and Rocco Mediate went to Florida Southern. Janzen won golf's U.S. Open in 1993 & 1998; on the baseball side are Tino Martinez (Tampa), Tim Wakefield (Florida Tech), Ryan Hanigan (Rollins), Bob Tewksbury (Saint Leo), and J. D. Martinez (Nova Southeastern). Wakefield tied a career high of 17 wins pitching for the 2007 World Series Champion Boston Red Sox and Tewksbury was third in balloting for the National League Cy Young Award while going 16–5 for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1992.

Membership[]

Current members[]

Institution	Location (Florida)	Founded	Type	Enrollment	Nickname	Colors	Joined
Barry University	Miami Shores	1940	Private (Catholic)	9,030	Buccaneers		1988
Eckerd College	St. Petersburg	1958	Private (Presbyterian)	1,850	Tritons		1975
Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University	Daytona Beach	1926	Private (Nonsectarian)	6,794	Eagles		2015
Florida Southern College	Lakeland	1883	Private (United Methodist)	2,185	Moccasins		1975
Florida Institute of Technology	Melbourne	1958	Private (Nonsectarian)	6,451	Panthers		1981
Lynn University	Boca Raton	1962	Private (Nonsectarian)	2,297	Fighting Knights		1997
Nova Southeastern University	Davie	1964	Private (Nonsectarian)	24,148	Sharks		2002
Palm Beach Atlantic University	West Palm Beach	1968	Private (Christian)	3,764	Sailfish		2015
Rollins College	Winter Park	1885	Private (Nonsectarian)	2,946	Tars		1975
Saint Leo University	St. Leo	1889	Private (Catholic)	2,235	Lions		1975
University of Tampa	Tampa	1931	Private (Nonsectarian)	7,600	Spartans		1981

Former members[]

Institution	Location	Founded	Type	Nickname	Joined	Left	Current conference
University of Central Florida	Orlando	1963	Public	Knights	1975	1984	The American (NCAA D-I)
University of North Florida	Jacksonville	1969	Public	Ospreys	1992	1997	ASUN (NCAA D-I)
St. Thomas University	Miami Gardens	1961	Private (Catholic)	Bobcats	1975	1987	Sun (NAIA)

Membership timeline[]

 Full member (all sports)   Full member (non-football)   Associate member (football-only)   Associate member (sport) 

Chronological timeline[]

• March 2, 1975 – Basketball conference exploration meeting is held at Florida Southern College in Lakeland. Main purpose of meeting is to discuss formation of an NCAA Division II mid-Florida basketball conference.^[4]
• March 16, 1975 – Second exploration meeting is held at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg. The name "Sunshine State Conference" is suggested by Dr. Calvin C. Miller and is adopted for league use. Norm Kaye of Saint Leo is named Interim Commissioner. Dr. Thomas B. Southard, president of Saint Leo College, is named as first conference president.
• June 1975 – Conference constitution adopted.
• October 8, 1975 – First meeting of the SSC is held in Orlando. Basketball regulations and league bylaws are revised and approved.
• December 3, 1975 – Florida Southern defeats Eckerd, 96–84, in first SSC basketball game played in Saint Petersburg.
• April 8, 1976 – Dick Pace is named league commissioner. NCAA approves automatic bid for SSC basketball champion. Golf and Tennis are added to league for 1976–77, baseball and soccer are added for 1977–78.
• May 18, 1977 – First Sunshine State Conference Men's Basketball Tournament held
• February 1, 1981 – Norm Kaye of Saint Leo is appointed as executive of SSC. Executive Committee is formed, consisting of league athletic directors.
• July 1, 1981 – Florida Institute of Technology joins the Sunshine State Conference.
• September 2, 1981 – The University of Tampa joins the Sunshine State Conference.
• April 15, 1982 – League adopts women's competition in basketball, cross country, slow-pitch softball, tennis, and volleyball.
• May 1, 1984 – University of Central Florida (formerly Florida Technological University) withdraws from the conference. Women's fast-pitch softball is adopted for league play in 1985.
• February 2, 1986 – Bob Vanatta, athletic director at Louisiana Tech University, is named as league's first full-time commissioner.
• June 13, 1988 – Barry University joins the conference.
• November 1990 – Conference signs a two-year contract with the Sunshine Network for seven events.
• February 11, 1991 – University of North Florida joins the conference, effective July 1, 1992.
• July 1, 1994 – Don Landry is named conference commissioner and conference relocates to Orlando.
• November 22, 1994 – Conference announces three-year deal to have postseason basketball tournament at The Lakeland Center. The SSC will serve as host in 1996 and 1997.
• December 1, 1994 – Sunshine Network announces nine-event television package for school year.
• June 9, 1995 – Inaugural SSC Awards Luncheon held in Orlando.
• February 29, 1996 – Inaugural SSC Hall of Fame/Honors banquet held in Lakeland.
• September 30, 1996 – University of North Florida withdraws from the Sunshine State Conference, effective June 30, 1997.
• October 15, 1996 – Women's crew added to Sunshine State Conference sponsored sports.
• December 18, 1996 – Lynn University joins the Sunshine State Conference, effective July 1, 1997.
• July 15, 1998 – League adds women's soccer and women's golf as sponsored sports.
• August 24, 1999 – Saint Leo College becomes Saint Leo University and adopts new nickname ("Lions") and logo.
• July 1, 2000 – 25th Anniversary of the Sunshine State Conference.
• August 26, 2002 – Nova Southeastern University joins the Sunshine State Conference as a provisional member.
• May 26, 2004 – Don Landry announced retirement as SSC Commissioner, effective August 1, 2004. Landry remained acting commissioner through September 6, 2004.
• July 26, 2004 – Michael J. Marcil named SSC commissioner, effective September 7, 2004.
• September 14, 2009 – Jay Jones officially begins duties as the SSC commissioner, replacing Mike Marcil, who left the post June 30, 2009.
• April 7, 2010 – League adds men's and women's swimming as sponsored sport.
• July 1, 2013 – League adds men's lacrosse as sponsored sport.
• February 3, 2014 – Ed Pasque officially begins duties as the SSC commissioner, replacing Jay Jones, who left the post December 31, 2013.
• July 1, 2014 – League adds women's lacrosse as sponsored sport. – Palm Beach Atlantic University and Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University join Sunshine State Conference as provisional members; effective July 1, 2015.

Conference facilities[]

Institution	Arena	Capacity
Barry	Health and Sports Center	1,938
Embry–Riddle	ICI Center	1,968
Eckerd	McArthur Center	1,000
Florida Southern	Jenkins Field House	2,500
Florida Tech	Clemente Center	1,500
Lynn	de Hoernle Center	1,000
Nova Southeastern	Rick Case Arena at the Don Taft University Center	5,500
Palm Beach Atlantic	Rubin Arena	2,000
Rollins	Warden Arena	2,500
Saint Leo	Marion Bowman Activities Center	2,000
Tampa	Bob Martinez Sports Center	3,432

National Championships[]

Sunshine State Conference schools have won 114 NCAA Division II National Championships.

Championships by year[]

Year	Titles	Team
2009–10	3	Florida Southern golf (M) • Nova Southeastern golf (W) • Barry tennis (M)
2010–11	2	Nova Southeastern golf (W) • Barry tennis (W)
2011–12	2	Nova Southeastern golf (M) • Nova Southeastern golf (W)
2012–13	6	Tampa baseball • Barry golf (M) • Lynn golf (W) • Nova Southeastern rowing • Lynn soccer (M) • Barry tennis (M)
2013–14	3	Barry golf (M) • Lynn golf (W) • Barry tennis (W)
2014–15	7	Tampa baseball • Florida Southern basketball (M) • Nova Southeastern golf (M) • Barry rowing • Lynn soccer (M) • Barry tennis (M) • Tampa volleyball
2015–16	5	Nova Southeastern baseball • Saint Leo golf (M) • Rollins golf (W) • Florida Southern lacrosse (W) • Barry rowing
2016–17	3	Barry tennis (W)[5] • Barry golf (W) • Florida Southern golf (M)
2017–18	2	Barry tennis (W)[6] • Lynn golf (M)[7]
2018–19	7	Barry soccer (M)[8] • Tampa volleyball[9] • Florida Tech golf (W)[10] • Lynn golf (M)[11] • Barry tennis (M)[12] • Barry tennis (W)[13] • Tampa baseball[14]

Championships by school[]

School	NCAA Titles	Most Recent
Florida Southern	30	2017 — Men's Golf
Barry	24	2021 — Women's Tennis/Men's Tennis
Tampa	18	2021 — Volleyball
Rollins	15	2016 — Women's Golf
Lynn	14*	2019 — Men's Golf
Nova Southeastern	8	2016 — Baseball
Florida Tech	3	2019 — Women's Golf
Saint Leo	1	2016 — Men's Golf
North Florida	1	1994 — Women's Tennis

Controversy[]

On July 17, 2007, NCAA vacated Lynn's 2005 Women's Division II Softball Championship due to extra benefits given to two players. The NCAA found that former coach Thomas Macera gave two Lynn softball players cash payments totaling more than $3,000. Lynn was also placed on probation for two years.^[15] As of 2019-20 Lynn University has won 15 national championships at the Division II level, but now the NCAA recognizes only 14 of them because of the unsanctioned actions.

Mayors' Cup Champions[]

The Mayors' Cup was originally presented following the 1986-1987 academic year to recognize the annual SSC all-sports champion. The men's division recognizes competition in eight sports: soccer, cross country, basketball, swimming, golf, tennis, lacrosse and baseball. The Women's Mayors' Cup recognizes competition in nine sports: volleyball, soccer, cross country, basketball, swimming, golf, tennis, softball and rowing.^[16]

Sports[]

Conference sports

Sport	Men's	Women's
Baseball	Y
Basketball	Y	Y
Cross country	Y	Y
Golf	Y	Y
Lacrosse	Y	Y
Rowing		Y
Soccer	Y	Y
Softball		Y
Swimming & Diving	Y	Y
Tennis	Y	Y
Volleyball		Y

Men's sponsored sports by school[]

School	Baseball	Basketball	Cross country	Golf	Lacrosse	Soccer	Swimming & diving	Tennis	Total SSC sports
Barry	Y	Y		Y		Y		Y	5
Eckerd	Y	Y		Y		Y		Y	5
Embry–Riddle	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y		Y	7
Florida Southern	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	8
Florida Tech	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y		7
Lynn	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	8
Nova Southeastern	Y	Y	Y	Y		Y	Y		6
Palm Beach Atlantic	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y		Y	7
Rollins	Y	Y		Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	7
Saint Leo	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	8
Tampa	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y		7
Totals	11	11	8	11	8	11	7	8	75

Women's sponsored sports by school[]

School	Basketball	Cross country	Golf	Lacrosse	Rowing	Soccer	Softball	Swimming & diving	Tennis	Volleyball	Total SSC sports
Barry	Y		Y		Y	Y	Y		Y	Y	7
Eckerd	Y		Y			Y	Y		Y	Y	6
Embry–Riddle	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y		Y	Y	9
Florida Southern	Y	Y	Y	Y		Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
Florida Tech	Y	Y		Y	Y	Y	Y	Y		Y	8
Lynn	Y	Y	Y	Y		Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
Nova Southeastern	Y	Y	Y			Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	8
Palm Beach Atlantic	Y	Y	Y	Y		Y	Y		Y	Y	8
Rollins	Y		Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
Saint Leo	Y	Y	Y	Y		Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
Tampa	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	10
Totals	11	8	10	8	5	11	11	7	10	11	92

Other sponsored sports by school[]

School		Men			Women
		Track & field indoor	Track & field outdoor		Beach volleyball ‡	Track & field indoor	Track & field outdoor
Eckerd					IND
Embry–Riddle		IND	PBC			IND	PBC
Florida Southern			IND		IND		IND
Florida Tech			PBC				PBC
Lynn			IND				IND
Nova Southeastern			PBC				PBC
Palm Beach Atlantic			IND		IND		IND
Saint Leo			IND		IND		IND
Tampa			IND		IND		IND

• ^‡ — D-I sport

References[]

External links[]

• Official website