GSC Adds Florida Tech To Its Football Membership
Birmingham, AL—The Gulf South Conference continued to increase its membership today by announcing the addition of the Florida Institute of Technology (Florida Tech) as a football-only member.
The GSC Board of Directors unanimously approved the recommendations of the Executive and Expansion Committees, following an early August visit to the FIT campus.
“We could not be more excited about the addition of yet another football team,” said GSC Commissioner Nate Salant. “Coupled with last night’s announcement that West Florida will start football, the previous addition of Shorter University and the University of New Orleans’ commitment to begin playing football by 2015, we’ve taken giant strides in a very short period of time.”
Located in Melbourne, Florida, FIT’s addition marks the league’s first-ever football-only member and boosts the Conference’s football membership to six for 2013. Shorter University will begin playing a full GSC schedule in 2012, but will not become an active (full) member until the Fall of 2014. All told, barring any other additions or changes, the GSC will have nine football-playing schools by 2015. Yesterday current GSC member, the University of West Florida, announced its plans to add football with the hopes to start playing by 2015.
Florida Tech announced the development of its football program in April, 2010, and has since been on a fast track to begin NCAA Division II competition in 2013. The Panthers will remain members of the Sunshine State Conference in all 16 of its other sponsored sports.
“Joining the Gulf South Conference at this time was an important stage in the development of our program,” Director of Football Operations John Thomas said. “As a staff, we can now begin focusing on our schedule, which will include a full slate of conference and non-conference games.”
The Gulf South Conference is currently comprised of eight total institutions and will move to nine in 2012-13 with the addition of the University of New Orleans. Five of the GSC’s current members sponsor Division II football: Delta State University, University of North Alabama, Valdosta State University, the University of West Alabama and the University of West Georgia.
“FIT brings us a terrific academic institution and gives us a marketing stronghold in central Florida,” Salant continued. “There is tremendous enthusiasm for this move in their community, and our TV network should also grow as a result because we believe the local cable companies will want to join our GSC-TV LIVE platform. For the current GSC schools, a trip to Florida every other year, with Disney on one side and Cape Canaveral on the other, is a great recruiting tool, while for FIT, stepping into a nationally prestigious league with a TV network of more than 10,500,000 households is invaluable.”
“It is with tremendous enthusiasm that I welcome Florida Institute of Technology to affiliate membership for football in the Gulf South Conference,” said GSC Board Chair Dr. William Cale, President of the University of North Alabama. “It is without doubt that they are building a quality football program with the intention of competing successfully in the GSC. We in the Gulf South Conference look forward to new friendships and great rivalries in the very near future.”
“We are ecstatic to join the Gulf South Conference as a football-only member,” President Anthony J. Catanese said. “Our university is excited about bringing NCAA Division II football to the Melbourne community. I’d like to thank GSC Commissioner Nathan Salant, the expansion committee and executive committee for this opportunity.”
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