Lee’s athletic program is taking what University President Dr. Paul Conn
terms as the beginning of a process that “we believe will raise the
level of athletics at Lee.”

Gulf South Conference Commissioner
Nate Salant announced on Friday the GSC Executive Committee’s unanimous
approval of an invitation to Lee University to apply for membership. The
approval comes on the heels of a recommendation from the GSC Expansion
Committee, which visited Lee’s campus last week. The Executive Committee
also endorsed sending a letter to the NCAA Division II leadership
indicating that the GSC plans to add Lee University upon its acceptance
into the DII membership process.

Commissioner Salant expressed
his excitement about Lee’s acceptance. “I am pleased to make this
announcement because we know we’ve added one of the best NAIA schools in
the country, not only from an athletic perspective but also from an
academic one. Lee is not your typical private school in that it is very
large, has a tremendous following in the community and is in very good
financial shape.

“The stability and steady growth that is the
cornerstone of President Conn’s 26 years at the helm impressed us, as
did the overall quality of its athletic facilities. Lee puts significant
emphasis on women’s athletics, another important item in the evaluation
process, and any time you can add a four-time defending champion
women’s soccer program, you want to do so. They field very strong teams
in two sports in which we need them, men’s soccer and women’s golf, and
will also strengthen our volleyball league.”

“We will file an
official application with the NCAA this week,” said Conn, “and are
optimistic that they will act favorably, although that is far from a
sure thing.”

Conn added, “We enjoy our relationship with the SSAC
(Southern States Athletic Conference). It is a fine conference, and we
hate to leave it. But we feel that Lee’s trajectory for the past two
decades has been always to become better and to operate at a higher
level in every way, including athletics, and moving to the NCAA DII is
the natural way for us to do that.

“This move will be a big
challenge for all of us. We will be competing against some very strong
institutions. I believe our athletes and our coaches have earned an
opportunity to test themselves at this level.”

After gaining
final approval from the NCAA, Lee will compete in the NAIA and the SSAC
for the upcoming 2012-13 year then begin competing in the new conference
in the fall of 2013.

A look back at the athletic history shows
Lee being a member of the NAIA since 1975, competing first in the TVAC
conference, then in the TranSouth, and for the past several years in the
Southern States Athletic Conference.

Under the leadership of
Athletic Director Larry Carpenter, Lee has won the Commissioners Cup,
for the best overall athletic program in the SSAC six out of the last
seven years, including the last three years in a row.

”We have
been discussing the move to NCAA DII for the last two years, and very
intently for the past year,” pointed out Conn. “I discussed it with the
Board of Directors in its January 2012 meeting, and in its meeting on
May 4, I recommended that we pursue DII membership in the Gulf South,
and they voted to authorize me to do so.

”We explored membership
in two other DII conferences, and had positive conversations with each,”
he noted. “Ultimately, however, we decided that the Gulf South is the
strongest conference in this region, and the best fit for us, because of
the size of its schools, the mix of public and private institutions,
the high quality of athletic competition at the national level, and its
strong tradition of presidential leadership.”

A four-man GSC
committee made a site visit to Lee early this month and did a thorough
review of the university school and athletic program. The team was led
by the president of University of West Alabama and the commissioner of
the GSC, as well as the athletic directors from Alabama-Huntsville and
Delta State University. That team made its report to the Expansion
Committee, which recommended to the GSC Executive Committee that Lee be
invited to join the conference.

In its visit, the site team also
met with several community leaders, including Mayor Tom Rowland, radio
personality Steve Hartline, bank president Lee Stewart, and others.

Carpenter,
in talking about the move said he has been part of Lee athletics for 37
years and witnessed many historic events during that time as a player,
coach and athletic director. “The invitation to join the Gulf South
Conference marks yet another event,” he said. “We’ve enjoyed a
tremendous amount of success in the SSAC and NAIA but understand the
challenge that comes by playing in the most competitive conference in
NCAA II.

“The GSC schools are consistently vying for national
championships and this year alone have already won one national title
and had a national finalist,” he pointed out. ”I’ve been very impressed
with commissioner Salant and the members of the expansion committee. I
look forward to meeting and working with the other member institutions.
My staff and I are excited about what the future holds for Lee
athletics.”