The ASUN conference just got a whole lot bigger as the conference announced the addition of three new schools and the sponsorship of FCS football. The news was announced in a press release on ASUNSports.org.

The new schools added to the ASUN are the University of Central Arkansas, Eastern Kentucky University and Jacksonville State University (Ala.). With the three new teams, the ASUN will now have 12 members and will expand their geographical coverage into two new states.

FCS scholarship football will now be sponsored by the ASUN, becoming the 20th sport in ASUN’s historied catalog. While UNF does not have a football program, the ASUN has now become a football conference.

Here is what ASUN commissioner Ted Gumbart said about the addition of UCA, EKU and JSU:

“When a conference embarks on a mission to strengthen itself through expansion, it has to present a case for why membership with one conference would be more beneficial to the institution than membership in its current conference,” ASUN Commissioner Ted Gumbart said. “The ASUN spent two years examining and defining its advantages and then presenting interested candidates with the option to join. Every institution will select the best option for conference affiliation from the available options. Each institution owes it to the student body, the athletic department and the university community as a whole to do what is best for the university. The ASUN works extremely hard to build options. To know that these three institutions have evaluated their options, and knowing each had multiple choices for conference affiliation and that they chose the ASUN is a great achievement. The ASUN Presidents’ Council set this process in place years ago when the Council members challenged the conference to be a great destination, and that would attract new member interest. The plan has worked and we are thankful for the visionary leadership of our Council to prioritize the student-athlete experience and the institutional value of being a member of the ASUN.”

All three teams will become ASUN members in the 2021-2022 season.

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