johnson

Conference
Charlotte
Affiliation
Tennis
On March 2, 1975, the idea of what is now
the Atlantic 10 Conference was conceived. What
started as an eight-school, men’s basketball-only
affiliation has grown into a 16-university, 21-sport
league that is universally hailed as one of the
best conferences in the country.
In 2011-12, the Atlantic 10 was proactive in
navigating the sweeping conference realignment
issues, adding Butler University and Virginia
Commonwealth University, both of which began
full membership on July 1, 2012. The league
was declared the “winner” of
conference realignment by
several media outlets, arguably
strengthening the league to its
best-ever lineup with a record
16 members institutions. The
additions were part of a five-year Strategic Initiative
Plan that was adopted during the 2010-11
academic year.
The 16 member institutions of the A-10
are united and strengthened by their diversity.
Each is extraordinary in its educational mission,
whether of a Catholic faith, a private university
or a land grant institution. The varied pursuits of
each member prove that there are many threads
that weave the fabric for a great conference.
The Atlantic 10 Conference, with a total
population of over 82 million people within
its geographic footprint of nine states and the
District of Columbia, will crown champions in 21
sports this year, including the 16 sponsored by
Charlotte: baseball, men’s and women’s basketball,
men’s and women’s cross country, men’s golf,
men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor track &
fi eld, men’s and women’s soccer, softball, men’s
and women’s tennis, and women’s volleyball.
The presidents and chancellors of Atlantic 10
institutions, in conjunction with Atlantic 10 Commissioner
Bernadette V. McGlade, have made a
strong commitment to making the academic and
athletics equation a successful one. The Atlantic
10 Conference ranks fourth in number of teams
publically recognized by the NCAA and fifth in
overall Academic Progress Rate
(APR) average among all 32
Division I Conferences with a
981 average. In all, 56 institutions
were honored by the NCAA
for outstanding APR scores. The
Commissioner’s Honor Roll, honoring studentathletes
with a 3.5 grade point average or better,
listed 1,359 in the fall of 2011.
The league sponsors Academic All-Conference
teams in each of its sports and honors one
student-athlete per sport as the A-10 Student-
Athlete of the Year. Moreover, the Atlantic 10
provides four postgraduate scholarship grants
to qualifi ed student-athletes. Charlotte’s Macey
Ruble captured the 2012 A-10 Male Student-
Athlete of the Year award, becoming the eighth
49er (of a possible 14) to win either the Male
or Female award. The Niners swept the pair of
awards in 2010 and 2011. Ruble also won one
of the four league postgraduate scholarships.
CONFERENCE SHUFFLE
May 4, 2012 Chancellor Dr. Philip
Dubois announced that the university
has accepted an invitation to
join Conference USA, beginning in
the 2013-14 academic year.
C-USA is an FBS Conference
that will provide a home for all 17
of the 49ers sports, including football,
which will begin C-USA play in
2015, and each of the 49ers other
16 sports will begin play in 2013-14.
C-USA will have a 14-team membership
that includes East Carolina,
Florida International, Louisiana Tech,
Marshall, North Texas, Old Dominion,
Rice, Southern Mississippi, Tulane,
Tulsa, UAB, UTEP and UTSA.
Charlotte 49ers Division I
Conference Affiliation History
- Sun Belt (1976-77 to 1990-91)
- Metro (1991-92 to 1994-95)
- C-USA (1995-96 to 2004-05)
- Atlantic 10 (2005-06 to 2012-13)
CONFERENCE
- Fully 1,359 fall-semester
student-athletes were recognized
on the A-10 Commissioner’s
Honor Roll last year,
recording a grade point average
of 3.5 or higher.
- A total of 188 sports
teams from the league’s 21
sponsored sports met or
surpassed the national conference
average in the latest
NCAA Academic Progress
Rate (APR).
- The A-10 was third in single-year
Graduation Success
Rate, measured across in a
six-season span, among all 32
NCAA Division I leagues.
AFFLIATION