APPALACHIAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCEThe Appalachian Athletic Conference(AAC) is an ten-member conferencesanctioned by the National Association <strong>of</strong>Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The leaguehas members in Georgia, Kentucky, NorthCarolina, Tennessee and Virginia.The AAC participates in Division II in men’sand women’s basketball and sponsors sixmen’s sports and six women’s sports. Formen, the conference <strong>of</strong>fers championships in:baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, soccerand tennis. For women, championships areawarded in: basketball, cross country, soccer,s<strong>of</strong>tball, tennis and volleyball.In May <strong>of</strong> 2003, the AAC selected JohnSullivan as its fi rst-ever Commissioner. Prior totaking the post, Sullivan served as MontreatCollege’s athletic director for six years andwas named AAC and NAIA Region XII AthleticDirector <strong>of</strong> the Year in 2000.Member SchoolsBluefield College .................... Bluefield, Va.Bryan College ......................... Dayton, Tenn.Covenant College ............ Lookout Mtn., Ga.King College ........................... Bristol, Tenn.Milligan College ................... Milligan, Tenn.Montreat College .................. Montreat, N.C.Tennessee Wesleyan College ..... Athens, Tenn.Union College ................... Barbourville, Ky.University <strong>of</strong> Virginia at Wise ............. Wise, Va.Virginia Intermont College .......... Bristol, Va.King picked to win AACchampionship in 2007-08The Appalachian Athletic Conference released the 2007-08 Men’sBasketball Coaches’ preseason poll, and the coaches have predicted asixth-place fi nish for the Union College Bulldogs.Union is coming <strong>of</strong> a 6-12 conference record last year, which gave theBulldogs a sixth place fi nish within the conference. Union compiled anoverall record <strong>of</strong> 12-19.King (Tenn.) College received six fi rst-place votes and a total <strong>of</strong> 92points to take the preseason nod as the favorite barely edging Bluefield (Va.) College’s 91 points and four fi rst-place votes. Montreat (N.C.)College was third with 70 points, followed by Tennessee WesleyanCollege with 69 points and Milligan (Tenn.) College with 67 points.Behind the Bulldogs and their 51 points are Bryan (Tenn.) College,UVa-Wise, Covenant (Ga.) College and Virginia Intermont College fromseventh to tenth, respectively.Last season, Tennessee Wesleyan, Bluefi eld and Montreat all tied at14-4 in the conference while King took home the tournament championship.20 www.ucbulldogs.com
The NAIA: A Proud Past, A Dynamic FutureIn searching for the NAIA’s placein the history <strong>of</strong> sports and highereducation, several consistencies arerevealed. Among them is the dedicationto academic achievement aboveathletic excellence. Also apparent isthe organization’s role as a trailblazerin providing equal opportunities forall student-athletes. Above all, thereis an expectation <strong>of</strong> ethical behaviorand a commitment to scholarship,sportsmanship and leadership.It is paradoxical that such a lasting,dynamic contribution to collegiatesports began with a mundane notein the fi rst recorded history <strong>of</strong> theAssociation: “The fi rst general session<strong>of</strong> the ‘Organizing Convention’ <strong>of</strong> theNational Association <strong>of</strong> IntercollegiateBasketball (NAIB) was held in thePhillips Hotel, Kansas City, Missouri, at10 a.m., Sunday, March 10, 1940.”But the seed from which the NAIBsprouted was planted two blocksaway at Municipal Auditorium. It was there in1937 that a men’s basketball tournament tipped<strong>of</strong>f which has become the longest continuousnational collegiate tournament in any sport.Further, out <strong>of</strong> that small-college basketballtournament, and the NAIB, grew an Associationthat now includes more than 360 colleges anduniversi ties and conducts two dozen nationalchampionship events.The tournament was the brainchild <strong>of</strong> EmilS. Liston, Dr. James Naismith, Frank Cramer, anda group <strong>of</strong> Kansas City business leaders whowanted to provide Kansas City-area fans withexciting amateur competition and to provide aframework for small colleges and universities todetermine a national basketball champion.The original eight-team tournament expandedto 32 teams in 1938 and suspended play onlyfor World War II in 1944 before 16 teamswere invited the following year and the fi eldgot back to full strength by 1946. Qualifyingtournaments became mandatory at the districtlevel in 1951.In 1948, the NAIB affi rmed its commitmentto equality by becoming the fi rst national organizationto <strong>of</strong>fer intercollegiate postseasonopportunities to black student-athletes. Unprecedentedaction was taken in 1953 whenhistorically black institutions were voted intomembership.THE NAIAOne year previous to the inclusion <strong>of</strong> historicallyblack institutions, another form <strong>of</strong> expansionoccurred. In 1952, as a result <strong>of</strong> the expresseddesires <strong>of</strong> the member institutions, appropriatesteps were taken by which the NAIB wastransformed into the National Association <strong>of</strong>Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), and the fi rstall-encompassing set <strong>of</strong> rules and standards wasadopted.With the Association’s new name came the addition<strong>of</strong> national championships in golf, tennis andoutdoor track and fi eld. Football, cross country,baseball and swimming and diving were addedto the championships calendar in 1956. Wrestling(1958), soccer (1959), bowling (1962-78), gymnastics(1964-84), indoor track and fi eld (1966) andmen’s volleyball (1969-80) were added later.Another significant step occurred in 1957when the Association’s headquarters movedfrom the campus <strong>of</strong> George Pepperdine Collegein Los Angeles to Kansas City to better serve themembership from a centralized location.Two major changes were made during the1970s. An extensive study was completed in1970 which paved the way for two divisions<strong>of</strong> football. In 1997, football was consolidatedto one division again as the Football CoachesAssociation cited a narrowing gap betweenenrollment size and philosophy <strong>of</strong> the two divisions.In 1976, the men’s basketball tournamentwas moved from the confi nes <strong>of</strong> the MunicipalAuditorium to Crosby Kemper Arena,also in Kansas City, marking the fi rst timesince 1937 that the tournament hadbeen held in a different arena.The NAIA revolutionized nationalcollegiate athletics with the establishment<strong>of</strong> athletics programs for womenon August 1, 1980. Offi cial notice onthat date followed a mail vote by themembership on May 1 that supportedbecoming the fi rst organization to <strong>of</strong>fercollegiate athletics to both men andwomen. Championships for womenbegan that year with basketball, crosscountry, gymnastics, indoor and outdoortrack and fi eld, s<strong>of</strong>tball, tennis andvolleyball. Soccer was added in 1984,and golf was included in 1995.Another important chapter in thehistory <strong>of</strong> the NAIA unfolded in 1992when the Association voted to moveits headquarters from Kansas City toTulsa. On August 1, 1993, the NAIAopened its doors in Tulsa and began anew era. Moving with the national <strong>of</strong>fi ce was theDivision I Men’s Basketball National Championshipwhich had been held in Kansas City for 56 years.During the 1993 NAIA National Convention inAtlanta, the waves <strong>of</strong> change once again washedover the Association. The membership votedto institute affi liated conference and regionalgroupings and discontinue the use <strong>of</strong> districtplay as a means <strong>of</strong> qualification for nationalchampionships.Since 1937, the NAIA has administered programsand championships in proper balance withthe overall educational experience. In 2000, theNAIA reaffirmed its purpose to enhance thecharacter-building aspects <strong>of</strong> sport. ThroughChampions <strong>of</strong> Character, the NAIA seeks tocreate an environment in which every studentathlete,coach, <strong>of</strong>fi cial and spectator is committedto the true spirit <strong>of</strong> competition through fi vetenets: respect, integrity, responsibility, servantleadership and sportsmanship.Everything has come full circle. The NAIArelocated its National Offi ce in July <strong>of</strong> 2001 toOlathe, Kansas, just miles from Gardner where theidea for the small-college basketball tournamentgave rise to the NAIA. Now, nearly 65 years afterthat initial tournament, the NAIA Division I Men’sBasketball National Championship returned toMunicipal Auditorium, the arena that was hometo so many memories from 1937-74.www.ucbulldogs.com21
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