July 16, 2007
The University of Texas-Pan American men's golf program became the second athletic squad at UTPA to become a full-fledge conference affiliate on Monday (July 16) with the announcement of the formation of the America Sky Men's Golf Conference.
The NCAA Division I Management Council Administrative Committee announced that the America Sky Men's Golf Conference has been elected as an active NCAA Division I conference effective September 1, 2007.
"We are very excited about becoming a conference affiliate with our men's golf program," said UTPA Director of Athletics Scott Street. "We will continue to look for more opportunities for our other programs to become conference members, but it's a tremendous opportunity for our men's golf team to have the possibility of competing in the NCAA Tournament within two years. The America Sky Men's Golf Conference is an example of how we are continuing to look for opportunities for our athletic programs to become conference members."
"The America Sky Men's Golf Conference is a unique partnership of institutions from literally across the country," said Jim Keener, Associate Athletic Director at University of Hartford and Executive Committee Chair for America Sky Men's Golf Conference. "We are pleased that the NCAA has recognized our collective commitment to support men's golf on our campuses, and we believe our association will be an important factor in the development of our programs. The formation of the America Sky Men's Golf Conference is a tribute to the hard work of the coaches and administrators at each of our schools. We look forward to our future together."
With the development of the America Sky Men's Golf Conference, member institutions will have an opportunity for its student-athletes to compete in conference action to go along with a conference championship. The America Sky Men's Golf Conference will also provide greater exposure for the membership's men's golf program as an affiliated conference.
The America Sky Men's Golf Conference will include eight institutions spanning from the East Coast to the West Coast in Binghamton University, University of Hartford, Idaho State University, University of Texas-Pan American, University of Northern Colorado, Weber State University, Utah Valley University and Sacramento State University.
A Closer Look into Member Programs:
Binghamton University (Vestal, New York) earned a NCAA at-large selection in three of the last six seasons and earned America East Conference titles during the 2003 and 2005 seasons.
University of Hartford (West Hartford, Connecticut) captured three tournament titles during the 2007 season, including the America East Conference championship, and earned its 14th berth in the NCAA East Regional Tournament.
Idaho State University (Pocatello, Idaho) earned a top-10 finish at four tournaments during the 2006-07 season.
University of Texas-Pan American (Edinburg, Texas) has won back-to-back National Minority College Golf Championships for the first time in program history.
University of Northern Colorado (Greeley, Colorado) captured the 2006 National Independent Men's Golf Championship and earned 11 top-10 finishes over the course of the last two seasons.
Weber State University (Layton, Utah) earned seven top-10 finishes during the 2006-07 season.
Utah Valley University (Orem, Utah) earned runner-up laurels at the 2007 National Independent Men's Golf Championships.
Sacramento State University (Sacramento, California) captured two tournament titles during the 2006-07, including the 2007 National Independent Men's Golf Championships.
The UTPA men's golf program has enjoyed tremendous success in two seasons under head coach Andrew Tredway as the Broncs have posted back-to-back National Minority College Golf Championships to go along with two of the top-five team scores in program history.
This past season, Colin Norris (Calgary, Alberta, Canada/Cochrane H.S.) became the sixth athlete in department history to earn Academic All-American accolades as the UTPA senior posted a 3.4 grade point average in psychology to go along with a career-best 75.5 strokes average. He recorded the best finish of his collegiate career at the 2007 National Minority College Golf Championships with a third-place showing and a 54-hole tally of 215.
The UTPA men's golf program recorded the best overall team grade point average among all men's programs at UTPA with a 3.294 cumulative grade point average at the conclusion of the spring semester. In addition to Norris, Shane Pearce (Carrollton, TX/Hebron H.S.) and Blake Hughey (Plano, TX/Plano West H.S.) also earned Academic All-Independent selections, which were released on June 18.
At the conclusion of the 2007 spring semester, the UTPA men's golf program recorded the best overall team grade point average among all men's programs at UTPA with a 3.294 cumulate grade point average.
"This is a big step for our program," said Tredway. "The America Sky Men's Golf Conference will give our current players as well as future athletes an opportunity to vie for a NCAA Tournament bid. We are excited about the opportunities and challenges that this presents our team."
The America Sky Men's Golf Conference is a single-sport conference who will declare a conference champion over the course of the next two seasons with hopes of gaining an automatic qualifier status in the 2009-10 season. Programs included in the America Sky Men's Golf Conference will vie for the first-ever championship in 2007-08 as part of the Purple & Red Invitational hosted by Weber State University in Layton, UT.
The UTPA men's golf program joins the men's tennis program, which is an affiliate-member of the Southland Conference, as the only squads at UTPA to become a conference member.
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