The ASUN Conference

In January of 2021, Jacksonville State announced that it would be rejoining the ASUN Conference – the league that was its first Division I conference home - after an 18-year stay in the Ohio Valley Conference that produced some of the most decorated years in JSU’s storied history . The expansion that included JSU, Eastern Kentucky and Central Arkansas brings the league’s membership to 12 teams and allows it to compete in two six-team divisions that are split based on geography . The Gamecocks officially re-joined the ASUN on July 1, 2021 . The move to the ASUN is one that will allow the Gamecocks a better geographic fit than in the Ohio Valley Conference, where JSU was over 209 miles south of the closest school . JSU’s new conference home features three schools closer than the nearest in the OVC, including Kennesaw State, which is just 85 miles from JSU’s campus . Also in the league is one of the Gamecocks’ oldest rivals in North Alabama, located just 146 miles away in Florence . “Giving Jacksonville State a regional presence in the heart of our alumni and fan base, along with the ASUN’s plan to create a new football league were very important factors in us engaging in discussions with the league,” JSU President Dr . Don Killingsworth said . “We look forward to working with the current membership of the ASUN, as well as Eastern Kentucky and Central Arkansas, who are making this move with us today . We know we will all make each other better, and we cannot wait to see what the future holds for Jacksonville State in our new conference home . ” Jacksonville State, whose previous membership in the ASUN stretched from 1995-2003, is coming off a dominant run in the OVC that saw the Gamecocks win 81 conference championship trophies . They also made over 50 trips to NCAA postseason play, honored hundreds of all-conference players and dozens of All-Americans . ASUN Conference, Atlanta, Ga . - the only DI conference headquartered in the ATL, our footprint’s primary media, sports, business, transportation and cultural hub The ASUN, a Division I conference member of the NCAA, boasts a membership of institutions that share visionary leadership, bold ambition and creative innovation . As a nimble adaptive conference, unafraid to blaze a national pathway for better service to our student-athletes, teams, and institutions, the ASUN has a proud history of firsts, national academic and athletic achievements and a conference culture that walks the walk with its four ASUN Beams . Students First! Rise . Connect . Impact . #ASUNBuilt by Bellarmine (Louisville), Central Arkansas (Conway), Eastern Kentucky (Richmond), FGCU (Fort Myers), Jacksonville (Fla .), Jacksonville State (Jacksonville, Ala .), Kennesaw State (Ga .), Liberty (Lynchburg, Va .), Lipscomb (Nashville), North Alabama (Florence), North Florida (Jacksonville, Fla .), and Stetson (DeLand, Fla .) .