2013 Golf Media Guide

Charlotte Golf 2013 On March 2, 1975, the idea of what is now men's and women's cross country, men's golf, the Atlantic 10 Conference was conceived.What started as an eight-school, men's basketball-only affiliation has grown into a 16-university, 21-sport league that is universally hailed as one of the best conferences in the country. In 2011-12, the Atlantic 10 was proactive in navigating the sweeping conference realignment issues, adding Butler University and Virginia Commonwealth University, both of which began full membership on July 1, 2012. The league was declared the "winner" of conference realignment by several media outlets, arguably strengthening the league to its best-ever lineup with a record 16 members institutions. The additions were part of a five-year Strategic Initiative Plan that was adopted during the 2010-11 academic year. The 16 member institutions of the A-10 are united and strengthened by their diversity. Each is extraordinary in its educational mission, whether of a Catholic faith, a private university or a land grant institution. The varied pursuits of each member prove that there are many threads that weave the fabric for a great conference. The Atlantic 10 Conference, with a total population of over 82 million people within its geographic footprint of nine states and the District of Columbia, will crown champions in 21 sports this year, including the 16 sponsored by Charlotte: baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's indoor and outdoor track & field, men's and women's soccer, softball, men's and women's tennis, and women's volleyball. The presidents and chancellors of Atlantic 10 institutions, in conjunction with Atlantic 10 Commissioner Bernadette V. McGlade, have made a strong commitment to making the academic and athletics equation a successful one. The Atlantic 10 Conference ranks fourth in number of teams publically recognized by the NCAA and fifth in overall Academic Progress Rate (APR) average among all 32 Division I Conferences with a 981 average. In all, 56 institutions were honored by the NCAA for outstanding APR scores. The Commissioner's Honor Roll, honoring student-athletes with a 3.5 grade point average or better, listed 1,359 in the fall of 2011. The league sponsors Academic All-Conference teams in each of its sports and honors one student-athlete per sport as the A-10 StudentAthlete of the Year. Moreover, the Atlantic 10 provides four postgraduate scholarship grants to qualified student-athletes. Charlotte's Macey Ruble captured the 2012 A-10 Male StudentAthlete of the Year award, becoming the eighth 49er (of a possible 14) to win either the Male or Female award. The Niners swept the pair of awards in 2010 and 2011. Ruble also won one of the four league postgraduate scholarships. CONFERENCE SHUFFLE May 4, 2012 Chancellor Dr. Philip Dubois announced that the university has accepted an invitation to join Conference USA, beginning in the 2013-14 academic year. C-USA is an FBS Conference that will provide a home for all 17 of the 49ers sports, including football, which will begin C-USA play in 2015, and each of the 49ers other 16 sports will begin play in 2013-14. C-USA will have a 14-team membership that includes East Carolina, Florida International, Louisiana Tech, Marshall, North Texas, Old Dominion, Rice, Southern Mississippi, Tulane, Tulsa, UAB, UTEP and UTSA. Charlotte 49ers Division I Conference Affiliation History - Sun Belt (1976-77 to 1990-91) - Metro (1991-92 to 1994-95) - C-USA (1995-96 to 2004-05) - Atlantic 10 (2005-06 to 2012-13) - Fully 1,359 fall-semester student-athletes were recognized on the A-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll last year, recording a grade point average of 3.5 or higher. - A total of 188 sports teams from the league's 21 sponsored sports met or surpassed the national conference average in the latest NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR). - The A-10 was third in single-year Graduation Success Rate, measured across in a six-season span, among all 32 NCAA Division I leagues. CONFERENCE A F F I L I AT I O N

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