@SCAC_Sports officially welcomes Schreiner University and Texas Lutheran University

Story courtesy of the SCAC Office:

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. - The Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) officially welcomed Schreiner University and Texas Lutheran University as conference members today. With these additions, the conference will have eight core members for the 2013-14 academic-year and beyond.

"Today is a great day for the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference," said SCAC commissioner Dwayne Hanberry. "Less than two years ago, we were down to five members and some within the Division III community thought the SCAC was finished. But against that backdrop, our core membership never wavered because we were confident we had an attractive product to offer potential new members. Bringing Centenary College of Louisiana aboard in 2012-13 was the important first step, and today, with the official additions of Schreiner University and Texas Lutheran University, the pieces are in place for the SCAC to continue to be a leader among NCAA Division III conferences."

Schreiner University, located in Kerrville, Texas and Texas Lutheran, located in Seguin, Texas, join Austin College of Sherman, Texas; Centenary College of Shreveport, La.; Colorado College of Colorado Springs, Colo.; the University of Dallas of Irving, Texas; Southwestern University of Georgetown, Texas; and Trinity University of San Antonio, Texas to round out the league's membership roll.

Schreiner officially accepted the league's offer of membership on Jan. 23, 2012.

"This is an important step for Schreiner University, both academically and athletically,” said Schreiner President Tim Summerlin. “The SCAC is a highly respected conference, and for very good reasons. That these institutions have unanimously endorsed an invitation to join the SCAC means much to us. We believe that it signifies a recognition that Schreiner is making great progress in its goal of being a premier place of learning as well as becoming increasingly competitive in its 13 intercollegiate athletic programs. We are honored by the invitation."

"We feel very pleased and fortunate to have been invited into the SCAC," says Ron Macosko, Director of Athletics at Schreiner University. "(Today), we align ourselves with some of the top teaching institutions and athletic programs in the country. Although Schreiner is young as a university, it has made great strides in recent years, in terms of enrollment growth, facilities expansion and academic quality. We are committed to broad-based programs and recognize that academic success is the first priority for our student-athletes. We are pleased that the SCAC leadership saw these commitments when they made their decision to invite us."

Schreiner University was founded in 1923 when a Hill Country rancher, merchant and former Texas Ranger, Captain Charles Schreiner, asked the Presbyterian Church to help him put bricks, mortar, and people around a dream he had nurtured for many years. He donated land along the Guadalupe River and together they established "facilities for high grade instruction and military training to boys and young men as preparation for college and university work."

By 1971 the military training was discontinued and the school became fully coeducational. In 1973 Schreiner phased out its high school and strengthened its college curricula. And in 1981 the college became a four-year institution, graduating its first baccalaureate class three years later. Only a decade after, Schreiner was listed as one of the top regional liberal arts colleges in the western United States by the prestigious U.S. News & World Report's America's Best Colleges Guide.

Schreiner, whose athletics teams are known as the Mountaineers and wear school colors of maroon and white, sponsors 13 intercollegiate varsity programs, all of which are sponsored by the SCAC including: baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s soccer, softball, men’s and women’s tennis and volleyball.

Texas Lutheran agreed to come aboard on Feb. 16, 2012 - three weeks after Schreiner accepted its offer. 

"We are excited about the opportunities being a member of the SCAC presents us," said Bill Miller, Director of Athletics at Texas Lutheran. "It will be a new, great chapter for TLU and for our intercollegiate athletics program."

“This is an exciting opportunity for TLU athletics,” said Texas Lutheran University President Stuart Dorsey. “We are honored to be invited to join a conference of institutions that have such an outstanding reputation for academics and athletics success. We believe that the SCAC is an excellent fit for TLU.” 

Dorsey cited several factors that led to the decision to join the SCAC, including TLU’s similarity with the conference schools in size, mission, curriculum, and athletics philosophy.

“TLU, like the other SCAC schools, provides an excellent educational experience for all of our students, including our student-athletes,” Dorsey said. “We’re proud that TLU has been recognized repeatedly through the years by US News & World Report and other national publications as one of the top liberal arts colleges in the region. Membership in the SCAC also will allow TLU to re-establish some historical rivalries.”

Dorsey stressed that TLU will continue to emphasize and support excellence in its athletics program.

“SCAC competition will be keen, and we intend to challenge for conference championships in all sports. Intercollegiate athletics is an important part of the fabric of TLU, and we have a long, rich history of team championships and outstanding individual performances that we wish to continue.”

Founded in 1891 in Brenham, Texas as an academy of the First German Evangelical Lutheran Synod in Texas, Texas Lutheran moved to Seguin in 1912. After merging with Trinity College of Round Rock, Texas and Clifton College, the school was renamed Texas Lutheran College in 1930. The institution was once again renamed to its present title of Texas Lutheran University in 1996.

Texas Lutheran is recognized as one of America’s best and most diverse liberal arts colleges by U.S. News & World Report, and has been named as one of the “Best Western Colleges” by The Princeton Review.

TLU sponsors 14 sports: basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, tennis, track and field, and volleyball for women; and baseball, basketball, football, golf, soccer and tennis for men. The Bulldogs have won 10 national championships: two in football, two in women's volleyball, three individual titles in golf, and three individual event titles in women's track and field. Approximately one-third of TLU’s 1,300 full-time students participate in intercollegiate athletics.