King elected to Council of Presidents | Schools

The following is a press release from William Carey University:

William Carey University president Dr. Tommy King has been elected to represent the Southern States Athletic Conference on the Council of Presidents of the National Association for Intercollegiate Athletics. Dr. King will serve a three-year term and will represent the interests of the largest of the 24 conferences that make up NAIA. The SSAC includes 15 schools in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina.

Established in 1937, the NAIA is one of the oldest athletic organizations in the U. S. and includes nearly 300 four-year colleges and universities. There are 60,000 student-athletes that participate in 13 sports in the institutions that make up the NAIA.

The most outstanding feature of NAIA institutions is their commitment to the “Champions of Character” program, which emphasizes the development of integrity, respect, responsibility, sportsmanship, and servant leadership in the student-athletes. As part of the program, the NAIA teamed up with the American Red Cross and State Farm Insurance to establish the Red Cross/NAIA Collegiate Leadership Program. It offers student-athletes the chance to receive a $2,000 scholarship and participate in a two-week internship at the American Red Cross headquarters in Washington, D.C., for becoming an ambassador for Champions of Character on their respective campuses.

WCU made the switch from the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference to the SSAC in 2010 after being in the GCAC conference for 28 years. The sports offered at WCU include baseball, men and women’s basketball, men and women’s cross country, men and women’s golf, men and women’s soccer, men and women’s tennis, men and women’s track and field, softball, and cheerleading. Twelve out of WCU’s 15 sports compete in the SSAC conference, and over the years, WCU has produced over 75 NAIA All-American Athletes. WCU’s athletic teams have participated in 35 NAIA national tournaments and  have captured 39 GCAC championships. They earned one SSAC championship since the move to SSAC two years ago.