North Greenville Football: Gulf South Conference
Michaela Gleed, Staff Writer
Photo courtesy of Michaela Gleed.
North Greenville University football is running the turf and will be hitting the road to compete across the Southeast in their new conference. North Greenville University (NGU) is a future affiliate member of the NCAA Division ll Gulf South Conference and will be active for the 2018-2019 season.
NGU football will travel for six of their 11 conference games. The season will begin with a trip to Tusculum College in Greenville, Tenn. on Sept. 1, 2018. Throughout the season, the team will also travel to Alabama, Georgia, Florida and Mississippi.
Gulf South Conference (GSC) has competed throughout the Southeast since 1970 when it first began, sponsoring six institutions and their football programs. As of the 2017-2018 season, GSC sponsors 17 sports, including football, from 14 different institutions. These 14 institutions are considered full member institutions, meaning that specific universities or colleges are sponsored by GSC in 16 sports or all 16 sports and football.
When the conference had dropped to eight members after the 2010-2011 season, part of the league’s five-year expansion plan was to allow affiliate members who would only compete in the conference with specific sports. Florida Tech, Spring Hill College and Young Harris are current affiliate schools in the GSC. In the 2018-2019 season, North Greenville University (NGU) will be the newest affiliate member in competition.
The Gulf South Conference history records 51 National Team Championships in 13 sports, one Individual Champion, and more than 150 regional titles. North Greenville University will compete for the Gulf South Conference Championship during the 2018-2019 season as it is awarded based on each team in season win to loss ratio.
North Greenville University’s football program is joining Gulf South Conference after being an independent program since it started in 1999. NGU football competed as part of the NCCAA. While competing with the NCCAA, North Greenville has hosted two NCCAA Victory Bowl games. North Greenville University director of sports information said, “It will be nice to have most of the season scheduled through Gulf South. It is harder to get a whole season scheduled independently.”
The Crusaders did not join the South Atlantic Conference as a member originally due to being declined by the conference. North Greenville has applied, been invited and accepted to be an affiliate member (only football) in the NCAA Division ll Gulf South Conference starting in the 2018-2019 season.
The Crusaders will be responsible to schedule preseason games to prepare themselves for conference play, as well as scheduling spring games. Currently, the Crusaders are in spring practices and weight-lifting and will continue their work through the spring season. The Crusaders will wrap up their spring season in playing a “Red and Black” scrimmage game in Younts Stadium on Thursday, April 5, 2018.
