The Sun Conference is a college athletic conference affiliated with the NAIA

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics

The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics is an athletic association that organizes college and university-level athletic programs. Membership in the NAIA consists of smaller colleges and universities across the United States. The NAIA allows colleges and universities outside the USA...

. Member institutions are located in Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

, Georgia

Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

 and South Carolina

South Carolina

South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...

. The Sun Conference competes in the NAIA Division II for its basketball programs.

History

The conference was created in March 1990 as the Florida Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (FIAC), and renamed to the Florida Sun Conference in 1992. It adopted its current name in August 2008 to reflect its expansion to institutions outside of Florida. The conference expanded again in 2008–09 to bring its membership up to 11 members.

Members

There are currently 11 full members. Thomas University

Thomas University

Thomas University is a four-year coeducational private university located in Thomasville, Georgia, United States. Thomas University offers students associate, bachelor, and master’s degrees. Thomas University provides education to traditional and non-traditional students...

 will join the conference in 2012.

Current members

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Joined	Nickname
Ave Maria University Ave Maria University Ave Maria University or AMU is a private Catholic university in southwest Florida, United States, founded in 2003. The university moved to its permanent campus, situated in the planned town of Ave Maria, east of Naples, Florida, in August 2007...	Ave Maria, FL Ave Maria, Florida Ave Maria, Florida, United States is a planned college town currently under development in Collier County, near Immokalee and Naples. It is an unincorporated community, founded in 2005 by a partnership consisting of the Barron Collier Cos., a large diversified private company, and the Ave Maria...	2003	Catholic	1,200	2009	Gyrenes
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University	Daytona Beach, FL Daytona Beach, Florida Daytona Beach is a city in Volusia County, Florida, USA. According to 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the city has a population of 64,211. Daytona Beach is a principal city of the Deltona – Daytona Beach – Ormond Beach, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, which the census bureau estimated had...	1926	Private	4,978	1990	Eagles
Florida Memorial University Florida Memorial University Florida Memorial University is a private coeducational four-year university in Miami Gardens, Florida. One of the 39 member institutions of the United Negro College Fund, and a historically Black, Baptist-related institution which is ranked second in Florida and ninth in the United States for...	Miami Gardens, FL Miami Gardens, Florida Miami Gardens is a Miami suburban city located in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city name comes from one of the major roadways through the area, Miami Gardens Drive. According to the 2010 U.S...	1879	Baptist	1,784	1990	Lions
Johnson and Wales University	North Miami, FL North Miami, Florida North Miami is a suburban city located in northeast Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States, about north of Miami. The city lies on Biscayne Bay and hosts the Biscayne Bay Campus of Florida International University, and the North Miami campus of Johnson & Wales University...	1992	Private	16,041	2009	Wildcats
Northwood University	West Palm Beach, FL West Palm Beach, Florida West Palm Beach, is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and is the most populous city in and county seat of Palm Beach County, the third most populous county in Florida with a 2010 population of 1,320,134. The city is also the oldest incorporated municipality in South Florida...	1984	Private	4,487	1994	Seahawks
Saint Thomas University St. Thomas University (Florida) St. Thomas University is a private Roman Catholic university in the Miami, Florida, United States suburb of Miami Gardens.-History:The University traces its roots to the Universidad Católica de Santo Tomás de Villanueva, founded in 1946 in Havana, Cuba, named after Saint Thomas of Villanova, by...	Miami Gardens, FL Miami Gardens, Florida Miami Gardens is a Miami suburban city located in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city name comes from one of the major roadways through the area, Miami Gardens Drive. According to the 2010 U.S...	1961	Catholic	1,750	1990	Bobcats
Savannah College of Art and Design Savannah College of Art and Design SCAD, the Savannah College of Art and Design, is a private, accredited and degree-granting university with locations in Savannah and Atlanta, Georgia, Hong Kong, and Lacoste, France.-History:...	Savannah, GA Savannah, Georgia Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...	1978	Private	11,897	2004	Bees
Southeastern University	Lakeland, FL Lakeland, Florida Lakeland is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States, located approximately midway between Tampa and Orlando along Interstate 4. According to the 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimate, the city had a population of 94,406...	1935	Private	2,901	2009	Fire
University of South Carolina at Beaufort University of South Carolina Beaufort Located in the heart of the Carolina Sea Islands, the University of South Carolina Beaufort is a senior institution of the University of South Carolina system serving the southeast coast of Georgia and South Carolina...	Beaufort, SC Beaufort, South Carolina Beaufort is a city in and the county seat of Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1711, it is the second-oldest city in South Carolina, behind Charleston. The city's population was 12,361 in the 2010 census. It is located in the Hilton Head Island-Beaufort Micropolitan...	1959	Public	1,386	2007	Sand Sharks
Warner University	Lake Wales, FL Lake Wales, Florida Lake Wales is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. The population was 10,194 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 11,802 . It is part of the Lakeland–Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area...	1968	Church of God	1,037	1990	Royals
Webber International University Webber International University -External links:* -- Official web site* -- Official athletics web site* at -References:...	Babson Park, FL Babson Park, Florida Babson Park is a census-designated place in Polk County, Florida, United States. The population was 1,182 at the 2000 census. It is also the home of Webber International University....	1927	Private	616	1990	Warriors

Future members

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname
Thomas University Thomas University Thomas University is a four-year coeducational private university located in Thomasville, Georgia, United States. Thomas University offers students associate, bachelor, and master’s degrees. Thomas University provides education to traditional and non-traditional students...	Thomasville, Georgia Thomasville, Georgia Thomasville is the county seat of Thomas County, Georgia, United States. The city is the second largest in Southwest Georgia after Albany.The city deems itself the City of Roses and holds an annual Rose Festival. The town features plantations open to the public, a historic downtown, a large...	1950	Private	1,100	Night Hawks

Former members

• Edward Waters College
  Edward Waters College
  -External links:* -- Official web site** at * Florida's Office of Cultural and Historical Programs** **...
  
   (2004–2010)
• Flagler College
  Flagler College
  Flagler College, is a private four-year liberal arts college in St. Augustine, Florida, USA and celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2008.The college has been named in recent years by US News & World Report as one of the southeast region's best comprehensive liberal arts colleges, and is included on...
  
   (1990–2006)
• Nova Southeastern University
  Nova Southeastern University
  Nova Southeastern University, commonly referred to as NSU or Nova, is a private, coeducational, nonsectarian, research university located in Broward County, Florida, with its main campus in the town of Davie...
  
   (1990–2002)
• Palm Beach Atlantic University
  Palm Beach Atlantic University
  Palm Beach Atlantic University is a comprehensive nondenominational faith-based university with a core emphasis on character formation by integrating a Christian worldview with the liberal arts and selected professional studies...
  
   (1990–2003)

Men's and women's

Basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

Cheerleading

Cheerleading

Cheerleading is a physical activity, sometimes a competitive sport, based on organized routines, usually ranging from one to three minutes, which contain the components of tumbling, dance, jumps, cheers, and stunting to direct spectators of events to cheer on sports teams at games or to participate...

Cross Country

Cross country running

Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...

Golf

Golf

Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....

Soccer

Tennis

Tennis

Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...

Track and Field

Track and field

Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...

External links