Courtesy SWAC.org
History will take place this fall during the 2014 Southwestern Athletic Conference soccer season as Howard University is all set to compete. Last year, the SWAC entered a membership agreement welcoming the Lady Bison into the conference for the sport of women's soccer.
A season ago, the women’s soccer program competed as an independent. HU will officially join the SWAC this fall when they open the season on the road at VMI August 22. The Lady Bison will make their conference debut at Alcorn State September 26.
This transition now makes Howard eligible to compete for the SWAC Soccer Championship and have an opportunity to earn the conference's NCAA automatic qualifier in 2015. With the addition of HU, the SWAC will now feature 11 soccer teams eliminating divisional play. Each team will play an overall conference schedule alternating home games each season.
Howard's women soccer program started in 1995. Under current head coachBrent Leiba, Howard advanced to the championship game of the 2012 GWC Soccer Tournament as a No. 6 seed.
The SWAC Council of Presidents and Chancellors voted unanimously making Howard the first University to join the conference in one sport outside of the league's original footprint.
"We are excited about our women's soccer team joining the Southwestern Athletic Conference," said Howard University Director of Athletics Louis "Skip" Perkins. "SWAC has been recognized for its competitiveness and commitment to academic excellence. Howard looks forward to entering the conference and contributing to SWAC's traditions of top performance on the field and in the classroom."
Howard will play its SWAC home games in Vestavia Hills, Ala.
"We are pleased to welcome Howard University and its women's soccer team to the Southwestern Athletic Conference," SWAC Commissioner Duer Sharp added earlier this year. "They are an amazing university with a strong academic and athletic history. Howard's athletic programs have strong fan support and the program fits well with the goals we have in place for the sport."
Posted By: How May I Help You NC
Monday, July 21st 2014 at 11:04AM
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