Liberty University Lady Flames Women's Basketball 2012-13 Season Guide
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big south conference Since its founding in 1983, the Big South Conference has matured into a competitive leader in college athletics, actively pursuing excellence on the field of play and in the classroom. The league's growing presence as an NCAA Division I athletic conference is evident by athletic accomplishments on the national stage, innovative marketing and media partnerships, increased television packages, and quality athletic competition while intentionally fostering the academic, personal, social, athletic, and leadership development of each student-athlete. This has evolved into the Conference's mission of "Developing Leaders Through Athletics." The 2012-13 academic year features the Big South's largest membership (12) and sponsored sports (19) in its 29 years of existence. The Big South Conference was formed on August 21, 1983, when Charleston Southern (then Baptist College) Athletic Director Howard Bagwell and Augusta President George Christenberry began recruiting members into the Big South, receiving initial commitments from Augusta, Charleston Southern, Campbell, Coastal Carolina, and Winthrop. One month later, Dr. Edward M. Singleton was selected as the league's first commissioner and continued to solicit new members. His efforts led to the additions of Armstrong State, Radford, and UNC Asheville, giving the Big South more than the required six members to constitute an official conference. The Big South's first year of competition was in the fall of 1984, and in September 1986, the Big South Conference was granted full-fledged NCAA Division I status. During its infancy and prior to securing automatic bids to NCAA Championships, the Big South made early strides in earning at-large berths in several national postseason events, including volleyball, women's basketball, and women's golf. In 1989, George F. "Buddy" Sasser replaced the retiring Dr. Singleton as commissioner, and in 1990, the league received its first automatic bid – receiving an automatic qualifier to the NCAA Baseball Championship. Under Sasser's seven years of leadership, the conference implemented its public relations and compliance programs, and introduced its first-ever men's basketball television package, featuring the Big South competing among some of the finest teams in the nation. TR AINING CHAMPIONS FOR CHRIST SINCE 1971 In August 1996, Kyle B. Kallander replaced Sasser as the league's third commissioner and, in his 16 years at the helm of the Big South, Kallander has been instrumental in aggressively promoting the conference to new heights. The conference has enjoyed record levels in marketing revenue during his tenure, he has brought television coverage to Big South women's basketball, baseball, softball, and men's soccer for the first time in conference history, as well as increased national television exposure to the League as a whole through aggressive and unique television packages. 104 additions of men's and women's indoor track & field in 1997. The conference's 19th championship sport - women's lacrosse, begins play this season with eight members. At the same time, Kallander has solidified conference membership, as an all-time high 12 member institutions comprise the 29-year old League. Recent additions include High Point, Gardner-Webb, Presbyterian College, and Longwood, plus the return of charter member Campbell University. Kallander's long range vision has also included technological advancements, as the conference introduced its first live video streaming event in 2005 and has since expanded its video offerings to more than 700 events annually through a partnership with the member institutions, as well as the creation of several online and social media platforms. In the last 15 years alone, the Big South Conference has experienced monumental growth and success in nearly every sport. During this time, the conference has had an individual national champion six times, has had more than 280 All-Americans, has reached the "Sweet 16" in men's soccer, women's basketball, and baseball, has received national Top 25 rankings in football, men's soccer, men's basketball, women's basketball, baseball, men's outdoor track & field, and men's golf, had an individual selected to play in the NCAA Singles Championship seven times in addition to the first men's tennis doubles at-large selection, had the first women's golf program advance to the national finals, had the No. 1 ranked men's golfer in the country, had the nation's top scoring men's basketball team five consecutive years as well as the national men's basketball scoring leader twice, received an at-large playoff berth in the Football Championship Subdivision in 2006, has had six NFL Draft picks, and has had two institutions finish in the top 10 in the NCAA Men's Golf Championships -- including the conference's highest-ever team finish in an NCAA event (fifth in 2007). This past season, the Big South had a record 41 student-athletes earn All-America distinction, while another 10 were named Academic AllAmericans. The conference also won its first football playoff game (Stony Brook), had the national women's basketball Rookie Coach of the Year, had two men's soccer teams reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time in a decade (Coastal Carolina, Liberty), and had a record five individuals selected for the NCAA Men's Golf Regionals -- the most of any Division I conference in 2011-12. In addition, Liberty was the first men's golf team in conference history to win an NCAA Regional, and the Flames went on to finish 10th at the national event. Under Kallander's leadership, the Big South developed and initiated its first long-range strategic plan, reaffirming the league's vision as a distinctive athletic conference committed to the quality of institutional life through athletic competition. He also spearheaded the efforts to add football as a championship sport, which came to fruition in 2002, and oversaw the big south conference staff big south conference staff kyle B. Kallander Commissioner dawn turner Associate Commissioner Compliance mark simpson Assistant Commissioner – Public Relations chad cook Assistant Commissioner – Marketing mark bryant Director of Multimedia Development nic Bowman Assistant Director of Public Relations Charlene Curtis Coordinator of Women's Basketball Officials