NEW ORLEANS Florida Atlantic University has accepted an invitation of full membership into the Sun Belt Conference, Dr. Norval Pohl, president of the Sun Belt Conference announced today. The Owls will join the league in football in 2004, with all sports joining at a time to be determined at a later date.

"The chief executive officers and Executive Committee of the Sun Belt Conference are pleased to announce the addition of Florida Atlantic University", said Pohl. "The inclusion of the FAU community in the Sun Belt family will bring stability to the league and serve as a great partner for current member Florida International."

Florida Atlantic is currently a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference and a I-AA independent in football with the intent to begin the process of reaching I-A football requirements in 2004. FAU, located in Boca Raton, Fla., has an enrollment of 25,000 and sponsors 17 sports. The athletics department, under the direction of Craig Angelos, finished 150th out of 318 programs in the 2002-03 Directors Cup standings sponsored by NACDA. The Owls sported a 50% graduate rate of its student-athletes in the latest release by the NCAA, a rate 12% higher than the student body during the same period.

The Owls football team is currently 10-2 and preparing for a I-AA quarterfinal game in just its third season of existence, under the direction of legendary head coach Howard Schnellenberger. The baseball team was ranked as high as No. 11 in 2003 and has made four NCAA tournament appearances in the past five seasons, while the softball team advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the fifth consecutive season in 2003. The mens basketball team picked up a win earlier this week over future conference foe Florida International, while the womens team hosted future conference foe Middle Tennessee in the FAU Embassy Suites Classic over the past weekend.

Florida Atlantic University was established in 1961, becoming the fifth university in Florida's State University System. The University opened with a charter class of 850 students in September 1964. Then-U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson received an honorary degree at dedication ceremonies held October 25, 1964. FAU now has an alumni base of over 80,000 spread out across the United States. FAU currently holds the Carnegie Foundation classification of Doctoral/Research Universities - Intensive. The University is organized into eight college: the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters; the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science; the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College; the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing; and the colleges of Business, Education, Engineering, and Architecture, Urban and Public Affairs.

Boca Raton is located 40 miles north of Miami where the weather is a balmy 56-79 degrees during the winter. The 1.1 million residents of the Boca Raton area enjoy a media household income of $60,248 and have a unique combination of thriving high-tech economy and a first-rate cultural scene.

The Sun Belt Conference
The Sun Belt Conference is in its 28th year of existence. In the 2002-03 NCAA RPI ratings, the league ranked fifth in baseball, 13th in womens basketball, and 15th in mens basketball.

Current full-time members of the Sun Belt Conference are the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Arkansas State University, the University of Denver, Florida International University, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Middle Tennessee State University, New Mexico State University (leaving in 2005), the University of New Orleans, the University of North Texas, the University of South Alabama, and Western Kentucky University. The University of Idaho and Utah State University (leaving in 2005) are currently football-only members, with the Vandals scheduled to become a full-time member in 2005. The University of Louisiana at Monroe is an affiliate member in football and womens swimming & diving. Troy State University is scheduled to join the league in football in 2004 and all sports in 2005.

The Sun Belt began play as a Division I-A football conference in 2001, and its champion plays in the annual New Orleans Bowl at the Louisiana Superdome. This years game, the first of the 2003-04 bowl season, will be played Tuesday, Dec. 16, live on ESPN2, and will feature Sun Belt champion North Texas against Conference USA opponent Memphis. In just two short years, the new kid on the block among IA college football leagues has already won a bowl game, when North Texas defeated Conference USA co-champion Cincinnati, 24-19 in 2002.

The league also has long-term agreements with ESPN and ESPN Regional Television for coverage of Sun Belt football, and mens and womens basketball, through 2007-08. Included in the deal is regional coverage beginning in the 2001-02 academic year, and national exposures of Sun Belt football teams on ESPN and ESPN2 beginning with the 2003 season. The Sun Belt Conference was the first conference to sign a long-term contract with ESPN in 1979, and has the longest running broadcast relationship with the network of any conference, 24 consecutive years. The leagues first nationally-televised football game on Nov. 25, 2003, featuring North Texas at New Mexico State on ESPN2, received an 0.86 rating, a competitive rating in the same time slot versus games featuring BCS conferences.

In mens basketball, the Sun Belt Conference sent a team to the Final Four in its first-year of play (Charlotte in 1977) and became known as an innovator in its early stages by pioneering the shot clock and three-point field goal, standards which are followed throughout college basketball today.

Sun Belt members have also made tremendous strides in womens basketball. The league made its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 1983 when former member Old Dominion advanced to the national semifinals against then-future member Louisiana Tech. ODU continued to set the tone by winning the National Championship in 1985. Since then as many as three teams have advanced to the NCAA Tournament each season with Western Kentucky and former member Louisiana Tech leading the way.

The Sun Belt Conference annually ranks among the nations top conferences in the country in baseball. In five straight seasons, the league has placed at least three teams in the NCAA Tournament -- including four in 2000 and 2002. In 2000, Louisiana-Lafayette made it to the NCAA College World Series, where the Ragin Cajuns finished tied for third after claiming two wins.

The sport that is quickly garnering national attention for the league is softball. In just its fourth year of sponsorship, the league was represented in the Womens College World Series in 2003 when Louisiana-Lafayette reached Oklahoma City. Even with just five schools competing in the sport, two reached the 2003 NCAA Tournament -- UL Lafayette and Florida International.

Womens soccer has also made great strides in three seasons with Denver advancing to the NCAA Tournament for three consecutive seasons.

In 2003, Middle Tennessees Mardy Scales won an NCAA championship in the mens outdoor 100-meter dash, giving the league its second national track & field champion in four years. Former Sun Belt Conference Student Athlete of the Year David Kimani of South Alabama was a three-time national champion distance runner in the 1999-2000 season.

The Sun Belt Conference is also very involved with NCAA Championships, serving as the co-host of the 2002 NCAA Womens Volleyball Championships and the 2003 NCAA Mens Final Four in New Orleans. The Sun Belt has been headquartered in the New Orleans area since 1991, moving to its current downtown location in 2000.

Current Membership for 2005 (13 full members; 9 I-A football members)

East Division
Florida Atlantic (joining around 2005); Florida International (1998-present); Middle Tennessee (2000-present); South Alabama (charter member; 1976-present); Troy State (fb only 2004; full member in 2005); Western Kentucky (1982-present)

West Division
Arkansas-Little Rock (1991-present); Arkansas State (1991-present); Denver (1999-present); Idaho (fb only 2001-04; full member in 2005); Louisiana-Lafayette (1991-present); New Orleans (1976-80; 1991-present); North Texas (2000-present)

Affiliate Member
Louisiana-Monroe football (2001-present); womens swimming & diving (2002-present)

Former Members (years of membership)
Central Florida (1991-92); Georgia State (1976-81); Jacksonville (1976-98); Lamar (1991-98); Louisiana Tech (1991-2001); New Mexico State (2000-05); UNC Charlotte (1976-91); Old Dominion (1982-1991); South Florida (1976-91); Texas-Pan American (1991-98); UAB (1979-91); *Utah State (Football, 2003-04); *Vanderbilt (Mens soccer, 1995); Virginia Commonwealth (1979-91)
*=affiliate member

Championship Sports

Mens Sports (first season; 8 sports)
Baseball (1978); Basketball (1976-77); Cross Country (1978); Football (2001); Golf (1977); Tennis (1977); Indoor Track & Field (1992); Outdoor Track & Field (1992)

Womens Sports (first season; 10 sports)
Basketball (1983); Cross Country (1978); Golf (1990); Soccer (2000); Softball (2000); Swimming & Diving (2001); Tennis (1984); Indoor Track & Field (1992); Outdoor Track & Field (1992); Volleyball (1983)

Discontinued Sports
Mens Soccer (1976-1996)

The Vic Bubas Cup (All Sports Award; formerly The Commissioners Cup)

1977 Jacksonville
1978 South Florida
1979 South Florida
1980 South Florida
1981 South Florida
1982 South Florida
1983 Old Dominion
1984 South Florida
1985 South Florida
1986 South Florida
1987 Western Kentucky
1988 South Alabama
1989 South Alabama
1990 South Florida
1991 South Alabama
1992 South Alabama
1993 South Alabama
1994 South Alabama
1995 Arkansas State
1996 South Alabama
1997 South Alabama
1998 Arkansas State
1999 South Alabama
2000 South Alabama
2001 Middle Tennessee
2002 Western Kentucky
2003 Western Kentucky

Carnegie Classification of Sun Belt members
(2000 rankings)

Doctoral/Research - Extensive: Denver, Florida International, Idaho, North Texas

Doctoral/Research - Intensive: Arkansas-Little Rock, Florida Atlantic, Louisiana-Lafayette, Middle Tennessee, New Orleans, South Alabama

Masters I: Arkansas State, Troy State, Western Kentucky

This Is Florida Atlantic University
Quick Facts
Location: Boca Raton, Fla.
Founded: 1961
Enrollment: 25,000
Nickname: Owls
Colors: Blue and Grey
President: Frank T. Brogan
Athletics Director: Craig Angelos
Football Stadium: Lockhart Stadium (20,450)
Basketball Arena: FAU Gymnasium (5,000)

Conference Sponsored Sports
Men baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis

Women basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, swimming & diving, softball, tennis, indoor and outdoor track & field, volleyball

University Website
www.fau.edu

Athletics Website
www.fausports.com

What you may not know about Florida Atlantic...
The mission of the University includes 42 centers and institutes dedicated to specific academic or research pursuits. Just a few of these are: the Center for Complex Systems and Brain Sciences; U.S. Navy-funded research at the SeaTech ocean engineering research center; the Center for Applied Stochastics Research; the NASA Space Communications Technology Center; and the Florida-Israel Institute.

Every year more than 25,000 men and women of retirement age pursue intellectual stimulation, personal growth and cultural fellowship as members of the FAU Lifelong Learning Society, the largest organization of its kind in the United States.

Some alumni you may have heard of... comedian Scott Carrot Top Thompson; Robert Orr, president, Boeing Japan; Donald Brewer, drummer and founding member, Grand Funk Railroad; Maynard Webb, president, eBay Technologies, Inc.; Frank Brogan, president of FAU and former Lieutenant Governor of Florida.