LIfe's athletic programs moving to SSAC

Life University will be leaving the Mid-South Conference, announcing that it would leave the Mid-South Conference for the Southern States Athletic Conference.

The move will go into effect beginning with the 2022-23 academic year.

The announcement, in conjunction with a recently announced partnership between the SSAC and the Sun Conference, will give Life an option to play in a conference that is more competitive and comes with significantly reduced travel.

Based out of Montgomery, Alabama, the SSAC’s current membership includes fellow Georgia colleges Brewton-Parker, Dalton State and Middle Georgia. The league’s footprint also extends to Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi with Blue Mountain, Faulkner, Florida College, Loyola New Orleans, Stillman, Mobile and William Carey.

“We are excited to be joining the Southern States Athletic Conference as it will benefit Life University Athletics with a great home for years to come,” Life athletic director Jayme Pendergast said in a release. “This move allows us to keep a majority of our travel within our southern footprint and affords us more opportunities to establish strong rivalries and traditions within our region. The SSAC offers an equally competitive experience across the board with countless NAIA national champions.”

Aside from Life, the Mid-South’s membership is solely within Tennessee and Kentucky, along with Ohio’s Shawnee State.

Life’s women’s wrestling program will continue to compete in the Mid-South.

“We will be dedicated to being a valuable member of the Mid-South Conference until the start of the 2022 academic year,” Pendergast said. “We are grateful for our opportunity for membership and for the competitive relationships with our Mid-South colleagues.”

The SSAC’s partnership with the Sun Conference is a three-year agreement to provide additional championship opportunities for their member schools, beginning with the 2022-23 academic year. The agreement includes all varsity NAIA sports in which the conferences do not have the required number of institutions to sponsor the sport independently.

The championships Life will be able to compete for with the agreement is men’s and women’s swimming, women’s lacrosse, men’s and women’s indoor track and competitive cheer.