DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Sunshine State Conference announced on Thursday that the Embry-Riddle Athletics program has been granted full league membership beginning in 2017-18. ERAU joined Palm Beach Atlantic as the newest members of the NCAA II conference, bringing the number of schools in the league to 11.
 
"This is a historic day for the conference," stated Dr. Ronald L. Vaughn, chair of the SSC Presidents Council and President at the University of Tampa.  "Today marks the completion of an expansion process that started nearly four years ago.  We are very pleased to be where we are today."
 
In 2014, ERAU Athletics began the three-year journey toward NCAA II and Sunshine State Conference membership. After playing its final year of NAIA competition in 2014-15, the Blue and Gold spent the next two years as provisional members of NCAA II and the SSC, during which time the program had to meet certain requirements in order to be granted full membership. Provisional membership also meant ERAU would be ineligible for postseason play and team/individual awards for two seasons. Now, as full members, the Eagles are now eligible for athletic and academic awards, as well as conference championships and postseason play.
 
"Whether it is in the classroom or in athletic competition, our student-athletes are held to the highest standards," said Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University President Dr. P. Barry Butler. "This inclusion affirms our ongoing commitment as a university to student diversity, opportunity and success."
 
Embry-Riddle will look to continue the tradition of excellence the program enjoyed during its 27 years as a member of the NAIA and The Sun Conference. The Athletics program began with three sports in 1988-89 and will field 21 intercollegiate sports with the addition of men's and women's lacrosse, and men's and women's rowing in 2017-18.
 
"We are absolutely thrilled to be accepted into the Sunshine State Conference," ERAU Director of Athletics John Phillips said. "Over the last 25 years, we have tried to build the program here at Embry-Riddle around the 'Student-Person-Player' concept — outstanding academics, great character and highly competitive teams. The SSC is the ideal fit for Embry-Riddle because of their commitment to academics, along with high-level competition on the playing field. With 11 schools, all private, all in the state of Florida and all committed to a top-notch student-athlete experience, it really couldn't be any better for us."
 
During its transition to the NCAA, Embry-Riddle posted 21 wins against ranked Division II opponents. ERAU student-athletes continued to excel in the classroom, as their 3.2 cumulative GPA in 2017-18 was higher than the rest of the ERAU student body for the 18^th year in a row. Additionally, the Eagles had a 94% Academic Success Rate – highest in the Sunshine State Conference and best in the country – and boasted 138 SSC Commissioner's Honor Roll recipients in 2016-17.
 
Embry-Riddle enjoyed great success in the NAIA and The Sun Conference, winning 104 Sun Conference regular season titles, 32 conference tournament crowns, 29 individual national titles, as well as team national championships in men's basketball (2000) and men's tennis (2013). Embry-Riddle's student-athletes have also proven to be very successful in the classroom, as evidenced by the 321 NAIA scholar-athletes and 80 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans since 1990. Embry-Riddle has had 59 of those CoSIDA Academic All-Americans come since 2010, which is the 11th-highest total among NCAA schools across all three divisions.
 
Embry-Riddle's first contest as a full-fledged member of Division II will be held on Thursday, August 31 when the men's soccer team hosts Francis Marion University (S.C.) at the Embry-Riddle Soccer Stadium at 7 p.m.
 
Founded in 1975, the Sunshine State Conference has risen from a single sports organization to the Division II "Conference of National Champions." Since its inception, the conference has shown steady growth in sports played, membership, and national prominence. In 42 years, member institutions have won a total of 102 NCAA national championships across 12 sports. During the 2016-17 academic year, SSC schools won three national titles and achieved a NCAA Division II best 86% Academic Success Rate. The SSC consists of 11 member institutions, all within the state of Florida: Barry University (Miami Shores), Eckerd College (St. Petersburg), Embry-Riddle, Florida Institute of Technology (Melbourne), Florida Southern College (Lakeland), Lynn University (Boca Raton), Nova Southeastern University (Ft. Lauderdale), Palm Beach Atlantic University (West Palm Beach), Rollins College (Winter Park), Saint Leo University (Saint Leo), and the University of Tampa.