AAC Welcome 5 New Affiliates, Adds Men's Volleyball as Championship Sport for 2022-23

ASHEVILLE, N.C. –Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) John Sullivan announced Friday the addition of five new affiliate members and the addition of men's volleyball as a championship sport for 2022-23.

The addition of the affiliate members allows the AAC to make men's volleyball a championship sport and adds more schools in the sport of men's wrestling.

The new affiliates come to the AAC as full members of The Sun Conference and the Southern States Athletic Conference.

"The commissioners from The Sun Conference, the Southern States Athletic Conference, and myself have been working on this agreement over the past year," said Sullivan. "By adding these affiliate members, we are able to sponsor men's volleyball as a conference sport and increase the number of teams sponsoring men's wrestling to the advantage of all three conferences by reducing travel and missed class time. It also makes us one of the largest wrestling conferences in the country and moves men's volleyball forward on the path to national championship status."

The schools joining the AAC are:

• Life University (Ga.) – men's volleyball and men's wrestling;
• Webber International University (Fla.)* – men's volleyball;
• Warner University (Fla.) – men's volleyball;
• Brewton-Parker College (Ga.) – men's wrestling;
• St. Thomas University (Fla.) – men's wrestling;
• Keiser University (Fla.)* - men's wrestling;
• Southeastern University (Fla.) – men's wrestling.

*-Webber and Keiser are already affiliate members of the AAC in the sport of men's lacrosse.

These institutions will join Bluefield, Columbia International, Reinhardt, St. Andrews, and Truett McConnell in men's volleyball, and Bluefield, Montreat, Reinhardt, St. Andrews, Truett McConnell, and WVU Tech.

With the addition of men's volleyball, the AAC will offer a total of 24 championship sports in 2022-23.