JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Georgia Southern University and Old Dominion University are joining the Atlantic Sun Conference as affiliate members in Women's Swimming and Diving beginning with the 2025-26 season, announced Tuesday by the conference office.
“We are excited to welcome the Women’s Swimming and Diving student-athletes and staff at Georgia Southern University and Old Dominion University to the Atlantic Sun Conference," ASUN Commissioner Jeff Bacon said. "This partnership will enhance the experience of all involved and represents the finishing touch on what is an incredibly competitive conference. Thanks to Chris Davis and Wood Selig for their support and we look forward to the 2025-26 season.”
Georgia Southern finished the 2023-24 season third in the Sun Belt Championships and saw 10 student-athletes earn All-Sun Belt Conference honors with another 17 named to the SBC Commissioner's List. This season marks the start of a new era for the Eagles with first-year head coach Morgan McCafferty, a former standout swimmer at Nebraska, leading the way.
“We are excited to be joining Delaware and Old Dominion as we move into our new home for Eagle Swimming & Diving,” said Georgia Southern Director of Athletics Chris Davis. “The ASUN has a rich history and we are thankful to Commisioner Jeff Bacon and his staff for welcoming us to this conference. The ASUN will feature nine strong swimming & diving programs next season, many of whom we competed against in our time in the CCSA and we’re looking forward to watching Coach Morgan McCaffrey and her student-athletes compete.”
Old Dominion had four student-athletes earn all-conference honors last season, including the Sun Belt's Co-Newcomer of the Year in Tetiana Yevminova. ODU Women's Swimming and Diving will join the Monarchs' Men's Swimming and Diving team, which currently competes in the ASUN.
“Our men’s and women’s teams train with each other and feel like they are one team,” ODU Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director Carolyn Crutchfield said. “We’re so pleased that they will now be able to compete together in the same league. The postseason conference swim meet is very important to the student-athlete experience, and we’re pleased that the ASUN will offer our student-athletes a chance to compete in a larger tournament. We’re so grateful to the Sun Belt and Atlantic Sun conferences for working with us to make this happen.”
The University of Delaware is also joining the ASUN as an affiliate member in Women's Swimming and Diving, as previously announced by the conference, bringing the league to nine teams starting in 2025-26.
Men's and Women's Swimming and Diving became sponsored by the Atlantic Sun Conference last year with the ASUN absorbing the championship records and history of the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA). The first championship held under the ASUN banner took place in February of 2024 with SMU winning the Men's crown and Liberty claiming the Women's title. This season's championship event returns to the Allan Jones Aquatic Center in Knoxville, Tenn., on the campus of the University of Tennessee.
About the Atlantic Sun Conference
The Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN), founded in 1978, is an NCAA Division I conference sponsoring twenty-two (22) sports and championships. Composed of twelve (12) destination-based institutions spread throughout the southeastern United States, ASUN members include Austin Peay State University (Clarksville, Tenn.), Bellarmine University (Louisville, Ky.), the University of Central Arkansas (Conway, Ark.), Eastern Kentucky University (Richmond, Ky.), Florida Gulf Coast University (Fort Myers, Fla.), Jacksonville University (Fla.), Lipscomb University (Nashville, Tenn.), the University of North Alabama (Florence, Ala.), the University of North Florida (Jacksonville, Fla.), Queens University of Charlotte (Charlotte, N.C.), Stetson University (DeLand, Fla.), and the University of West Georgia (Carrollton, Ga.).