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Date Posted: 08:51:56 01/23/04 Fri
Author: Moderator
Subject: Berry Moving Back To GACC

BERRY COLLEGE TO REJOIN GEORGIA ALABAMA CAROLINA CONFERENCE IN 2004-05
Viking, Lady Viking Athletics To Return To Former Conference Next Season

MOUNT BERRY, Ga....After leaving what is now the Georgia Alabama Carolina Conference in 1996 to become a charter member of the TranSouth Athletic Conference, Berry College will return to its roots and once again compete in the GACC beginning with the 2004-05 academic year. That announcement was made by GACC commissioner Bill Ensley and Berry athletics director Todd Brooks.

Berry competed in what was then known as the Georgia Athletic Conference from the GAC’s inception in September, 1993 until leaving to help form the TranSouth. Berry has gone on to win 42 TranSouth team championships, with men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s tennis and baseball still to be decided this year.

Along with Berry’s return to the GACC, Lee University, another current TranSouth member, has also announced it will move to the GACC in 2004-05.

“Moving to the GACC allows us to return to a conference in which we can have strong natural rivalries,” Berry athletics director Todd Brooks said. “The Berry-Shorter rivalry has always been strong, and is now that much more important with all the games being conference contests. But, also, due to the close proximity of the schools in the GACC, we think many other rivalries will be formed.”

The average distance from Berry to the other schools in the GACC is just 138 miles. Four schools are located less than 100 miles from Mount Berry, including Shorter (2.5 miles), Reinhardt (50), Southern Poly (53) and Lee (90). Brewton-Parker, located in Mount Vernon, is the furthest distance at 243 miles. In the TranSouth, other than Lee, Berry must travel at least 186 miles to Martin Methodist to get to its closest competition. The average distance from Mount Berry to the TranSouth schools is 285 miles.

“One of the primary reasons we’ve decided to join the GACC is because we wanted to do what is best for the student-athlete,” Brooks said. “We’ve made a commitment that we would emphasize the “student” in “student-athlete.” Where we would travel an average of three-and-a-half to four hours for conference games in the TranSouth, we are now reducing our average trip to about two hours; some trips are only about an hour. That makes a big difference to our students. They will miss less class time and spend less time on the road.”

The addition of Berry and Lee brings the conference membership to thirteen. Besides Berry, Shorter and Lee, the GACC also currently includes Auburn-Montgomery, Brenau, Brewton-Parker, Emmanuel, Faulkner, Georgia Southwestern, North Georgia, Reinhardt, Southern Polytechnic State and Southern Wesleyan.

The conference waived the normal one year probation year so that Berry and Lee could actively participate in all sports and could be eligible for championships during the 2004-2005 school year.

“This decision was based on what is best for our student-athletes, and does not diminish our feelings for the TranSouth,” Brooks said. “We’ve made a lot of friends in the TranSouth, and it is one of the most competitive conferences in the NAIA. We wish them the best, and want them to know that this was not an easy decision to make.”

“This was not a rash decision,” Brooks said. “Berry’s athletics committee has been considering our options for a few years now. We looked at several variables, such as budget considerations, competitive nature of the conference and natural rivalries. We’ve done extensive research and explored all our options. We are confident that this is the best decision.”

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