Commissioner Benson Released Statement On WKU Departure Announcement
After Western Kentucky announced that they entered into an agreement with Conference USA to join the league on July 1, 2014, Sun Belt Commissioner Karl Benson released a statement.
“Today’s announcement that Western Kentucky University has accepted an invitation to join Conference USA is not a surprise given the communication that I have had with university officials and the rampant speculation over the past several months,” Benson said in the statement released by the conference office.”
“I have long understood the implications of the move and what it means for the Sun Belt Conference. In fact, the Sun Belt Conference has been preparing for this possibility for quite some time and with the support and guidance of the Sun Belt Conference board of directors, I will continue to make recommendations on what options the Sun Belt Conference has in terms of future members and divisional structure.”
“I remain confident that we have numerous options and that there are universities that have a strong desire to be members of the Sun Belt Conference. Last week’s additions to the Sun Belt of Appalachian State and Georgia Southern as all sports members and Idaho and New Mexico State as football-only members gives proof that there are universities that want to join the SBC and be part of its dynamic future.”
In 2013 the Sun Belt football season will consist of eight football teams. South Alabama, Arkansas State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisana-Monroe, Troy and Western Kentucky along with newcomers Georgia State and Texas State.
Currently the 2014 membership will include Appalachian State and Georgia Southern, who will be in the final year of their two-year transition from FCS to FBS. It will also include Idaho and New Mexico State as Western Kentucky will leave for C-USA.
Texas-Arlington and Arkansas-Little Rock both are Sun Belt members but do not sponsor football. Two top mentioned potential replacement schools for WKU have been James Madison and Liberty.
A timeframe for announcing any new members to the Sun Belt Conference is not known. Though it is known they intend to go to divisional play in football, which will require one more school who sponsors football in order to do so. That would pave the way to holding a conference championship game. This could happen as soon as 2014 unless the seemingly ever moving target of conference expansion continues to plague the Sun Belt.
Jags Fall To #17 Mississippi State At Home
The South Alabama baseball team fell to the #17 ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs Tuesday night by a score of 6-4 at Eddie Stanky Field.
The Jags opened the scoring with sac fly to left field in the bottom of the third inning. The Jags held onto the 1-0 lead until the top of the fourth inning. MSU loaded the bases in the top of the fourth when Jaguar pitcher Matt Bell balked home the tying run before inducing the inning ending groundout to first base.
In the top of the fifth inning the Bulldogs took the lead on a wild pitch by Bell. They would then extend their lead to 3-1 with an RBI groundout. In the top of the sixth, the Bulldogs would add another run to their lead when a ball was mishandled in right field.
The Jags responded in the bottom of the seventh inning when they were facing a 4-1 deficit. They took advantage of two Bulldog errors on the way to tying the game.
But in the top of the ninth, the Bulldogs got on base on a single and a batter being hit by a pitch to start the inning. A flyout ot right field would advance one runner to third base with one out. A walk would load the bases prior to a two-run single through the right side of the inning for the 6-4 final score.
Matt Bell tied a career high in innings pitched with six, but came away with a no-decision in the game. James Traylor sufferred the loss to fall to 2-3 on the season in two innings of relief.
The Jags will look to break the four game skid when they host Southeastern Louisiana University on Wednesday evening. First pitch is set for 6:30pm at Eddie Stanky Field.
Jags Enter Final Week Of Spring Practice Before Spring Game
Offensive lineman Drew Dearman, his father and Offensive Coordinator Robert Matthews after the annual Red & Blue Spring football game in 2012.
The South Alabama football team has only two practice sessions left this spring. The Jags hit the practice field this morning for their final true practice prior to the Red-Blue Spring game on Saturday at Ladd-Peebles Stadium that gets underway at 2pm.
Thursday morning the Jags will work out in shorts.
Admission and parking is free to the public and will feature two 10-minute quarters for the first half. Then after a 10-minute break they will return to the field for two 12-minute quarters with a running clock (clock will not stop for normal stoppages in play).
Ladd-Peebles parking lot will open at 10am for tailgating. The USA College of Medicine will hold it’s annual Gumbo & Chili Cookoff in the east parking lot.
Stadium gates will open at 1pm with seating in all but the east stands. Limited concessions will be available in the west concourse.
JagWear, Jag_Gals and the USA Athletic Ticket Office will be in the west concourse as well.
After the game, fans will be allowed on the field for 30 minutes to get autographs and photos with Jaguar players and coaches.
This week, coach Jones will split his staff into two squads and the players will be split by a draft later in the week.
Rubit Earns Honorable Mention All-America Honors From AP
Rubit added another honors to his shelf on Monday. Photo by John Adams | usajaguars.com
Augustine Rubit has garnered yet another national honor this off season. This time he was named Honorable Mention All-America by The Associated Press on Monday.
Rubit is the first Jaguar since Terry Catledge in 1984 to receive an All-America status from the Associated Press.
He led the Sun Belt in rebounding with 10.5 per game and was second in scoring with 19.4 points per game and also second in the conference in double-doubles with 16. He is also the first player in Sun Belt history to lead the conference in rebounding for three consecutive years.
Rubit set a new school record for free throws in a season with 198 while ranking third school history for rebounds with 315 and seventh in points with 582 in one season. He also became the first Jaguar to be named to the All-Sun Belt First Team in consecutive seasons since 2008 and is only the sixth to earn all-conference recognition three times.
Congratulations Aug!
WKU to Conference USA
Western Kentucky has been invited to join Conference USA according to Brett McMurphy of ESPN.com. An official announcement is expected on Monday.
WKU will replace Tulsa who who is going to the conference formerly known as the Big East. This has not been officially announced yet.
The Hilltoppers would join C-USA on July 1, 2014.
James Madison and Liberty are reportedly the top candidates to replace Western Kentucky for the Sun Belt.
South Alabama Sports Weekend Update
Baseball
Florida Atlantic had the Jaguars number this weekend in Boca Raton as the #24 were swept in the three game Sun Belt Conference series.
In the opening game on Friday, the Jags jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning after Austin Gomber belted a three-run homer to right. The Owls would cut the lead down to one in the bottom of the first inning after Tyler Rocklein also homered to right field.
In the bottom of the second inning the Owls took the lead 4-3 on consecutive RBI singles. They then extended their lead in the bottom of the sixth inning to the final score 6-3 as the Jags were unable to get anything going to manufacture runs.
Brandon Boyle suffered the loss in five innings of work by allowing four earned runs on 10 hits with a strikeout and two walks. James Traylor struck out five and only allowed two hits in three shutout innings of relief.
On Saturday, the Owls scored five unanswered runs to defeat the Jags 7-6. Through 4 1/2 innings the Jags led 6-2 before the Owls scored three runs in the bottom of the fifth on a two-run triple followed by an RBI single to cut the Jaguar lead to 6-5.
The Owls then tied the game in the bottom of the seventh on a sac fly. They then scored the eventual game-winning run in the bottom of the eighth on a Jag error that allowed the runner to score from second after reaching on a leadoff single and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt.
On Sunday, FAU’s Jeremy Strawn threw a complete-game shutout as the Owls completed the series sweep with a 3-0 win over the Jags. Strawn improved his overall record to 2-1 on the season while Jacob Noble suffered his first loss of the season.
FAU scored their first two runs in the bottom of the second inning with the first coming on a Jaguar error at third base. Then their second came on a sacrifice bunt.
The Jags loaded the bases in the top of the third inning but Strawn worked out of it by inducing a grounder for a force out at home plate, then he struck out Jordan Patterson to end the Jaguar threat.
FAU improved to 19-9 on the season and 7-2 in Sun Belt play while the Jaguars fell to 22-7 overall this season and 5-4 in Sun Belt play.
The Jags are in action again on Tuesday evening as they host Mississippi State with first pitch scheduled for 6:30pm.
Softball
The Lady Jaguars split the series opening doubleheader on Friday against Western Kentucky at Jaguar Field.
In the first game the Jags fell 4-3. WKU were the first on the board with a solo home run to left center in the top of the fourth inning, only the fifth homerun given up by Hannah Campbell this season.
The Jags responded in the bottom half of the inning after a Brittany Fowler single and a Haley Fagan double that scored Fowler. Then Julie Moss put down a sacrifice bunt to move Fagan to third base before Kaitlyn Griffith knocked her sixth home run of the year to give the Jags a 3-1 lead.
The next inning the ‘Toppers scored the game-winning two-out single to score both runners on base for the 4-3 margin.
In the second game the Jags responded with an 8-5 win. The Jags opened the scoring with three runs in the bottom of the second inning. Both schools scored a run in the fifth inning. Then the Jags scored their final runs of the game in the bottom of the sixth when they extended their lead to 8-3.
WKU would add two more runs for the final score of 8-5.
On Sunday, WKU’s ace pitcher dominated the beginning of the game by retirin gnine of the Jags first 10 batters before Blair Johnson hit a home run in the bottom of the fourth inning to tie the game up at 1 apiece.
That wouldn’t last long as the ‘Toppers would respond in the top of the next inning with two runs to take a 3-1 advantage.
Britany Campbell would cut the WKU lead to one as she hit a home run over the right field wall, but consecutive fly outs would end the game.
The Lady Jags fell to 29-7 on the season and 6-3 in conference play. Hannah Campbell’s loss dropped her record to 13-7 on the season.
The Lady Jags will return to action on Wednesday with a midweek series against Florida Atlantic. They have a double-header scheduled on Wednesday with the first game set to start at 4pm.