ROCK HILL, S.C. – The South Atlantic Conference announced it will add Erskine College as an associate member in football for the 2022 and 2023 seasons.  The Flying Fleet will be joined by Barton College as associate members and will be eligible for the Conference Championship and individual awards (Player of the Week and All-Conference) in the 2022 and 2023 seasons.

"We are thrilled to have Barton and Erskine join the South Atlantic Conference as associate members in football," said South Atlantic Conference Commissioner Patrick Britz. "As two new programs in the region, both institutions have done a tremendous job of getting football off the ground and we look forward to having them join our conference for the 2022 and 2023 seasons." 

The addition of Barton and Erskine will increase the number of SAC football institutions to 12 starting in 2022 with the addition of full member Emory & Henry College. In addition to Barton, Emory & Henry, and Erskine, the SAC football programs are Carson-Newman, Catawba, Lenoir-Rhyne, Limestone, Mars Hill, Newberry, Tusculum, UVA Wise, and Wingate.

Erskine, who just competed in its first football season in 2020 after a 69-year hiatus, will join the SAC as an associate member for the following two seasons.

"We are thrilled to be part of the South Atlantic Conference in football beginning in the fall of 2022," said Erskine Director of Athletics Mark Peeler. "The SAC has a respected historical reputation in our geographical footprint, so to be able to compete with not only like-minded schools, but in many cases, natural rivalries is a blessing for the Flying Fleet. We are honored and grateful to be part of this conference which will provide our football program with an added boost as we head into our second year of play."

"Erskine football could not be more excited about joining the SAC as a football Associate Member for the 2022 season," stated Head Coach Shap Boyd. "We are excited and we are looking forward to competing in one of the best Division II Football Conferences in the country.  We appreciate the SAC including us and look forward to a hopefully long-lasting relationship."

Among the nation's premier Division II Conferences, the South Atlantic Conference has sent at least one team to the NCAA playoffs for the last 27 years and have sent at least two teams in three of the last five years, including Lenoir-Rhyne advancing to the NCAA Quarterfinals in 2018 and 2019. 

In conjunction with the addition of Barton, Emory & Henry, and Erskine, the SAC will look to play a divisional football schedule based on geography with the plan for the two divisional winners to meet in a conference championship game during the final week of the regular season beginning in 2022.

"Moving to divisional play and having the ability to play a conference championship game is something that we have wanted to do for a very long time," Britz stated. "Our goal is to have two divisions of six with each division playing three cross-over games and two non-conference games each year, which will leave the final week of play open for a championship. Additionally, the remaining 10 teams will play cross-over games during the final week of the season. It is a unique concept, but we feel it will be a great experience for our student-athletes, coaches, and fans, as we put the top two teams on the field for the SAC title each year."

The 2021 fall season will begin on Thursday, September 2 with Shaw traveling to Wingate for the first game of the season. The remaining teams in the SAC will begin play on Saturday, September 4. 

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