Sunshine State Conference Explained

Sunshine State Conference
Color:	0032A0;
Font Color:	FFFFFF
Founded:	1975
Association:	NCAA
Division:	Division II
Teams:	11
Sports:	18
Mens:	8
Womens:	10
Region:	Florida
Headquarters:	Melbourne, Florida
Commissioner:	Ed Pasque
Since:	2014
Map:	Sunshineconferencestates.png
Map Size:	250

The Sunshine State Conference is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. All of its member institutions are located in the state of Florida, which is popularly known as the Sunshine State.

The conference was originally formed in 1975 as a men's basketball conference. It has since expanded to sponsor championships in 18 sports, including men's and women's basketball, baseball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's golf, men's and women's lacrosse, women's rowing, men's and women's soccer, softball, men's and women's swimming, men's and women's tennis, women's volleyball.

SSC institutions have won a total of 111 NCAA national team championships, including a conference record seven in the 2014–15 and 2018–19 academic years.^[1] The conference has also claimed a total of 90 national runner-up trophies.^[2]

History

See also: Sunshine State Conference men's basketball tournament.

The conference was preceded by the Florida Intercollegiate Conference, which was disbanded in the mid-1960s. The Sunshine State Conference was founded in 1975 by Saint Leo University (then Saint Leo College) basketball coach & athletic director Norm Kaye. Kaye served as Commissioner the first year until Dick Pace was named Commissioner in 1976. Kaye continued as Executive Director of the Conference for an additional 12 years. Pace was inducted into the Florida Sports Hall of Fame in 1985.

The six charter Conference members were: Biscayne College (now St. Thomas University), Florida Technological University (now University of Central Florida), Eckerd College, Florida Southern College, Rollins College, and Saint Leo College.

The Conference has seen dozens of athletes go on to have successful professional careers. Some examples include: Current PGA Tour players Lee Janzen and Rocco Mediate went to Florida Southern. Janzen won golf's U.S. Open in 1993 & 1998; on the baseball side are Tino Martinez (Tampa), Tim Wakefield (Florida Tech), Ryan Hanigan (Rollins), Bob Tewksbury (Saint Leo), and J. D. Martinez (Nova Southeastern). Wakefield tied a career high of 17 wins pitching for the 2007 World Series Champion Boston Red Sox and Tewksbury was third in balloting for the National League Cy Young Award while going 16–5 for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1992.

Chronological timeline

• March 2, 1975 – Basketball conference exploration meeting is held at Florida Southern College in Lakeland. Main purpose of meeting is to discuss formation of an NCAA Division II mid-Florida basketball conference.^[3]
• March 16, 1975 – Second exploration meeting is held at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg. The name "Sunshine State Conference" is suggested by Dr. Calvin C. Miller and is adopted for league use. Norm Kaye of Saint Leo is named Interim Commissioner. Dr. Thomas B. Southard, president of Saint Leo College, is named as first conference president.
• June 1975 – Conference constitution adopted.
• October 8, 1975 – First meeting of the SSC is held in Orlando. Basketball regulations and league bylaws are revised and approved.
• December 3, 1975 – Florida Southern defeats Eckerd, 96–84, in first SSC basketball game played in Saint Petersburg.
• April 8, 1976 – Dick Pace is named league commissioner. NCAA approves automatic bid for SSC basketball champion. Golf and Tennis are added to league for 1976–77, baseball and soccer are added for 1977–78.
• May 18, 1977 – First Sunshine State Conference men's basketball tournament held
• February 1, 1981 – Norm Kaye of Saint Leo is appointed as executive of SSC. Executive Committee is formed, consisting of league athletic directors.
• July 1, 1981 – Florida Institute of Technology joins the Sunshine State Conference.
• September 2, 1981 – The University of Tampa joins the Sunshine State Conference.
• April 15, 1982 – League adopts women's competition in basketball, cross country, slow-pitch softball, tennis, and volleyball.
• May 1, 1984 – University of Central Florida (formerly Florida Technological University) withdraws from the conference. Women's fast-pitch softball is adopted for league play in 1985.
• February 2, 1986 – Bob Vanatta, athletic director at Louisiana Tech University, is named as league's first full-time commissioner.
• June 13, 1988 – Barry University joins the conference.
• November 1990 – Conference signs a two-year contract with the Sunshine Network for seven events.
• February 11, 1991 – University of North Florida joins the conference, effective July 1, 1992.
• July 1, 1994 – Don Landry is named conference commissioner and conference relocates to Orlando.
• November 22, 1994 – Conference announces three-year deal to have postseason basketball tournament at The Lakeland Center. The SSC will serve as host in 1996 and 1997.
• December 1, 1994 – Sunshine Network announces nine-event television package for school year.
• June 9, 1995 – Inaugural SSC Awards Luncheon held in Orlando.
• February 29, 1996 – Inaugural SSC Hall of Fame/Honors banquet held in Lakeland.
• September 30, 1996 – University of North Florida withdraws from the Sunshine State Conference, effective June 30, 1997.
• October 15, 1996 – Women's crew added to Sunshine State Conference sponsored sports.
• December 18, 1996 – Lynn University joins the Sunshine State Conference, effective July 1, 1997.
• July 15, 1998 – League adds women's soccer and women's golf as sponsored sports.
• August 24, 1999 – Saint Leo College becomes Saint Leo University and adopts new nickname ("Lions") and logo.
• July 1, 2000 – 25th Anniversary of the Sunshine State Conference.
• August 26, 2002 – Nova Southeastern University joins the Sunshine State Conference as a provisional member.
• May 26, 2004 – Don Landry announced retirement as SSC Commissioner, effective August 1, 2004. Landry remained acting commissioner through September 6, 2004.
• July 26, 2004 – Michael J. Marcil named SSC commissioner, effective September 7, 2004.
• September 14, 2009 – Jay Jones officially begins duties as the SSC commissioner, replacing Mike Marcil, who left the post June 30, 2009.
• April 7, 2010 – League adds men's and women's swimming as sponsored sport.
• July 1, 2013 – League adds men's lacrosse as sponsored sport.
• February 3, 2014 – Ed Pasque officially begins duties as the SSC commissioner, replacing Jay Jones, who left the post December 31, 2013.
• July 1, 2014 – League adds women's lacrosse as sponsored sport. – Palm Beach Atlantic University and Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University join Sunshine State Conference as provisional members; effective July 1, 2015.
• December 13, 2023 – The SSC announced the addition of three sports in 2024–25—beach volleyball, plus men's and women's outdoor track & field. The SSC will become the first conference outside NCAA Division I to officially sponsor beach volleyball.^[4]

Member schools

Current members

The SSC currently has 11 full members, all are private schools:

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined	Colors
Barry University	Miami Shores	1940	Catholic	6,958	Buccaneers	1988
Eckerd College		1958	Presbyterian	1,993	Tritons	1975
Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University	Daytona Beach	1926	Nonsectarian	8,370	Eagles	2015
Florida Southern College	Lakeland	1883	United Methodist	3,283	Moccasins	1975
	Melbourne	1958	Nonsectarian	8,358	Panthers	1981
Lynn University	Boca Raton	1962	Nonsectarian	3,520	Fighting Knights	1997
Nova Southeastern University	Davie	1964	Nonsectarian	20,948	Sharks	2002
Palm Beach Atlantic University	West Palm Beach	1968	Christian	3,829	Sailfish	2015
Rollins College	Winter Park	1885	Nonsectarian	2,709	Tars	1975
Saint Leo University		1889	Catholic	2,788	Lions	1975
	Tampa	1931	Nonsectarian	10,566	Spartans	1981

Notes:

Former members

The SSC had three former full members, all but one were public schools:

Institution	Location	Founded	Affiliation	Enrollment	Nickname	Joined	Left	Current conference
	Orlando	1963	Public	68,571	Knights	1975	1984	Big 12
	Jacksonville	1969	Public	16,309	Ospreys	1992	1997	ASUN
	Miami Gardens	1961	Catholic	1,750	Bobcats	1975	1987	The Sun

Notes:

Membership timeline

DateFormat = yyyyImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:20Period = from:1975 till:2030TimeAxis = orientation:horizontalPlotArea = right:5 left:5 bottom:20 top:5

Colors = id:line value:black id:Full value:rgb(0.63,0.88,0.755) # all sports id:FullxF value:rgb(0.88,0.755,0.63) # non-football id:AssocF value:rgb(0.88,0.63,0.63) # football-only id:AssocOS value:rgb(0.755,0.755,0.63) # associate

PlotData = width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s

bar:1 color:FullxF from:1975 till:end text:Eckerd (1975–present)

bar:2 color:FullxF from:1975 till:end text:Florida Southern (1975–present)

bar:3 color:FullxF from:1975 till:end text:Rollins (1975–present)

bar:4 color:FullxF from:1975 till:end text:Saint Leo (1975–present)

bar:5 color:FullxF from:1975 till:1984 text:Central Florida (1975–1984)

bar:6 color:FullxF from:1975 till:1987 text:St. Thomas (1975–1987)

bar:7 color:FullxF from:1981 till:end text:Florida Tech (1981–present)

bar:8 color:FullxF from:1981 till:end text:Tampa (1981–present)

bar:9 color:FullxF from:1988 till:end text:Barry (1988–present)

bar:10 color:AssocOS from:1992 till:1993 text:North Florida (1992–1997) bar:10 color:FullxF from:1993 till:1997 text:

bar:11 color:AssocOS from:1997 till:1998 text:Lynn (1997–present) bar:11 color:FullxF from:1998 till:end text:

bar:12 color:AssocOS from:2002 till:2004 text:Nova Southeastern (2004–present) bar:12 color:FullxF from:2004 till:end text:

bar:13 color:AssocOS from:2015 till:2017 text:Embry–Riddle (2015–present) bar:13 color:FullxF from:2017 till:end text:

bar:14 color:AssocOS from:2015 till:2016 text:Palm Beach Atlantic (2015–present) bar:14 color:FullxF from:2016 till:end text:

ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:5 start:1975

Conference facilities

Institution	Arena	Capacity
Barry	Health and Sports Center	1,938
Embry–Riddle	ICI Center	1,968
Eckerd	McArthur Center	1,000
Florida Southern	Jenkins Field House	2,500
Florida Tech	Clemente Center	1,500
Lynn	de Hoernle Center	1,000
Nova Southeastern	Rick Case Arena at the Don Taft University Center	5,500
Palm Beach Atlantic	Rubin Arena	2,000
Rollins	Warden Arena	2,500
Saint Leo	Marion Bowman Activities Center	2,000
Tampa	Bob Martinez Sports Center	3,432

National Championships

Sunshine State Conference schools have won 118 NCAA Division II National Championships.

Championships by year

width=50	Year	Titles	Team
1965-66	1	Rollins tennis (M)
1966-67
1967-68
1968-69
1969-70	1	Rollins golf (M)
1970-71	1	Florida Southern Baseball
1971–72	1	Florida Southern Baseball • Rollins tennis (M)
1972-73
1973-74
1974-75	1	Florida Southern Baseball
1975-76
1976-77
1977–78	1	Florida Southern Baseball
1978-79
1979-80
1980-81	4	Florida Southern Baseball • Florida southern Basketball (M) • Florida Southern golf (M) • Tampa Soccer (M)
1981-82	1	Florida Southern golf (M)
1982–83
1983-84
1984-85	2	Florida Southern Baseball• Florida Southern golf (M)
1985-86	1	Florida Southern golf (M)
1986-87	1	Tampa golf (M)
1987–88	3	Florida Southern Baseball • Tampa golf (M) • Florida Tech soccer (M)
1988–89
1989-90	2	Florida Southern golf (M) • Barry soccer (W)
1990-91	3	Florida Southern golf (M) • Rollins tennis (M) • Florida Tech soccer (M)
1991-92	1	Tampa Baseball
1992-93	3	Tampa Baseball • Barry soccer (W) • Florida Southern softball
1993–94	1	Barry soccer (W) • Tampa soccer (M)
1994-95	2	Florida Southern Baseball • Florida Southern golf (M)
1995-96	2	Florida Southern golf (M) • Barry Volleyball (W)
1996-97	1	Lynn tennis (W)
1997-98	4	Tampa Baseball • Florida Southern golf (M) • Lynn soccer (W) • Lynn tennis (W)
1998–99	1	Florida Southern golf (M)
1999-2000	2	Florida Southern golf (M)• Florida Southern golf (W)
2000–01	3	Florida Southern golf (W) • Rollins tennis (M) • Lynn tennis (W)
2001–02	3	Rollins golf (M)• Florida Southern golf (W) • Barry Volleyball (W)
2002–03	1	Rollins golf (W)
2003–04	1	Rollins golf (W)
2004–05	3	Florida Southern Baseball• Rollins golf (W) • Barry volleyball (W)
2005–06	2	Tampa Baseball, Rollins golf (W)
2006–07	6	Tampa Baseball • Barry golf (M) • Florida Southern golf (W) • Tampa soccer (W) • Lynn tennis (M) • Tampa volleyball (W)
2007–08	1	Rollins golf (W)
2008–09	2	Lynn baseball • Nova Southeastern golf (W)
2009–10	3	Florida Southern golf (M) • Nova Southeastern golf (W) • Barry tennis (M)
2010–11	2	Nova Southeastern golf (W) • Barry tennis (W)
2011–12	2	Nova Southeastern golf (M) • Nova Southeastern golf (W)
2012–13	6	Tampa baseball • Barry golf (M) • Lynn golf (W) • Nova Southeastern rowing • Lynn soccer (M) • Barry tennis (M)
2013–14	3	Barry golf (M) • Lynn golf (W) • Barry tennis (W)
2014–15	7	Tampa baseball • Florida Southern basketball (M) • Nova Southeastern golf (M) • Barry rowing • Lynn soccer (M) • Barry tennis (M) • Tampa volleyball
2015–16	5	Nova Southeastern baseball • Saint Leo golf (M) • Rollins golf (W) • Florida Southern lacrosse (W) • Barry rowing
2016–17	3	Barry tennis (W)^[5] • Barry golf (W) • Florida Southern golf (M)
2017–18	2	Barry tennis (W)^[6] • Lynn golf (M)^[7]
2018–19	7	Barry soccer (M)^[8] • Tampa volleyball^[9] • Florida Tech golf (W)^[10] • Lynn golf (M)^[11] • Barry tennis (M)^[12] • Barry tennis (W)^[13] • Tampa baseball^[14]
2019–20
2020–21	2	Barry tennis (M) • Barry tennis (W)
2021–22	4	Tampa lacrosse (M) • Barry tennis (M) • Barry tennis (W) • Tampa Volleyball (W)
2022–23	4	Nova Southeastern basketball (M) • Nova Southeastern golf (M) • Nova Southeastern swimming (W) • Barry tennis (M) • Barry tennis (W)
2023–24

Championships by school

School	NCAA Titles	Most Recent
Florida Southern	30	2017 — men's golf
Barry	28	2023 — men's and women's tennis
Tampa	18	2021 — volleyball
Rollins	12	2016 — women's golf
Lynn	14*	2019 — men's golf
Nova Southeastern	11	2023 — women's swimming & diving, men's basketball, men's golf
Florida Tech	3	2019 — women's golf
Saint Leo	1	2016 — men's golf
North Florida	1	1994 — women's tennis

Controversy

On July 17, 2007, NCAA vacated Lynn's 2005 Women's Division II Softball Championship due to extra benefits given to two players. The NCAA found that former coach Thomas Macera gave two Lynn softball players cash payments totaling more than $3,000. Lynn was also placed on probation for two years.^[15] As of 2019-20 Lynn University has won 15 national championships at the Division II level, but now the NCAA recognizes only 14 of them because of the unsanctioned actions.

Mayors' Cup Champions

The Mayors' Cup was originally presented following the 1986–1987 academic year to recognize the annual SSC all-sports champion. The men's division recognizes competition in eight sports: soccer, cross country, basketball, swimming, golf, tennis, lacrosse and baseball. The Women's Mayors' Cup recognizes competition in nine sports: volleyball, soccer, cross country, basketball, swimming, golf, tennis, softball and rowing.^[16]

Year	Men's	Women's
1987	Tampa	Florida Southern
1988	Florida Southern	Florida Southern
1989	Florida Southern	Florida Southern
1990	Tampa	Florida Southern
1991	Tampa	Barry
1992	Florida Tech	Tampa
1993	Tampa	Tampa
1994	North Florida	North Florida
1995	North Florida	Florida Southern
1996	Florida Southern	North Florida
1997	Florida Southern	Barry
1998	Florida Southern	Florida Southern

Year	Men's	Women's
1999	Florida Southern	Florida Southern
2000	Florida Southern	Barry
2001	Florida Southern	Florida Southern
2002	Florida Southern	Barry
2003	Rollins	Rollins
2004	Rollins	Rollins
2005	Lynn	Florida Southern
2006	Lynn	Barry
2007	Barry	Florida Southern
2008	Florida Southern	Nova Southeastern
2009	Barry	Rollins
2010	Rollins	Rollins

Year	Men's	Women's
2011	Barry	Florida Southern
2012	Florida Tech	Rollins
2013	Saint Leo Florida Southern	Tampa
2014	Saint Leo	Tampa
2015	Lynn	Rollins
2016	Saint Leo	Nova Southeastern
2017	Florida Tech	Saint Leo
2018	Florida Southern	Florida Southern
2019	Lynn	Tampa
2020	Not Held-Covid	Not Held-Covid
2021	Not Held-Covid	Not Held-Covid
2022	Florida Southern	Tampa

Sports

SSC is adding Beach Volleyball, Men's Outdoor Track, and Women's Outdoor Track championships in 2024–25.

Men's sponsored sports by school

School	Baseball	Basketball	Cross country	Golf	Lacrosse	Soccer	Swimming & diving	Tennis	Track &<br>field outdoor	Total SSC sports
Barry										8
Eckerd										5
Embry–Riddle										8
Florida Southern										9
Florida Tech										5
Lynn										9
Nova Southeastern										7
Palm Beach Atlantic										8
Rollins										7
Saint Leo										7
Tampa										8
Totals	11	11	8	10	8	11	7	8	7	84

Women's sponsored sports by school

School	Basketball	Beach volleyball	Cross country	Golf	Lacrosse	Rowing	Soccer	Softball	Swimming & diving	Tennis	Track &<br>field outdoor	Volleyball	Total SSC sports
Barry													11
Eckerd													7
Embry–Riddle													10
Florida Southern													11
Florida Tech													6
Lynn													10
Nova Southeastern													9
Palm Beach Atlantic													10
Rollins													9
Saint Leo													9
Tampa													12
Totals	11	6	8	10	8	5	11	11	7	10	7	11	107

Other sponsored sports by school

School		Men			Women
	Track & field indoor	Volleyball	Track & field indoor
Barry
Embry–Riddle	PBC		PBC
Florida Southern	IND		IND

Discontinued Sports

Florida Tech= Football, Men's Cross Country, Men's Golf, Women's Cross Country, Women's Golf, Women's Rowing

Rollins= Football, Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country

St. Leo= Men's Swimming, Men's Track, Women's Swimming, Women's Track

Tampa= Football, Men's Tennis, Men's Wrestling

Notes and References

1. Web site: SSC Collects NCAA Division II Best Seven National Titles in 2018-19. July 2, 2019. July 2, 2019.
2. Web site: Sunshine State Conference National Champions. July 1, 2018.
3. Web site: About The SSC. July 29, 2015. September 21, 2016.
4. Sunshine State Conference Adds Beach Volleyball and Outdoor Track . Sunshine State Conference . December 13, 2023 . January 9, 2024.
5. Web site: Barry Women's Tennis Defeats Lynn to Win NCAA Championship. Sunshine State Conference. May 13, 2017. May 18, 2017.
6. Web site: Barry Women's Tennis Claims Fourth National Title in Eight Years. May 12, 2018. July 1, 2018.
7. Web site: Lynn Wins 2018 NCAA Division II Men's Golf National Title. May 25, 2018. July 1, 2018.
8. Web site: Barry Men's Soccer Rallies For First National Championship. December 1, 2018. December 4, 2018.
9. Web site: Tampa Defeats Western Washington to Capture Third Volleyball Title. December 1, 2018. December 4, 2018.
10. Web site: Florida Tech Women's Golf Wins 2019 National Championship. May 18, 2019. May 18, 2019.
11. Web site: Lynn Men’s Golf Tops Lincoln Memorial for NCAA Title. May 25, 2019. May 25, 2019.
12. Web site: Barry Men's Tennis Rallies For Fourth National Championship. May 25, 2019. May 25, 2019.
13. Web site: Barry Men's Tennis Rallies For Fourth National Championship. May 25, 2019. May 25, 2019.
14. Web site: Tampa Baseball Wins the 2019 NCAA D2 National Championship. June 8, 2019. June 8, 2019.
15. "NCAA vacates Lynn's 2005 softball title", Palm Beach Post Staff, Palm Beach Post, July 17, 2007
16. Web site: Sunshine State Conference Mayors' Cup. July 1, 2018.