Division II West Georgia moving up to Div. I Atlantic Sun, United Athletic Conference

CARROLLTON, Ga. (AP) — West Georgia is moving up to NCAA Division I by joining the Atlantic Sun Conference.

The state board of regents approved the move Friday. The Division II Wolves, a member of the Gulf South Conference since 1983, will begin transitioning to the higher level during the 2024-25 school year.

West Georgia will give the Atlantic Sun a dozen members across seven Southern states and effectively replace another state school, Kennesaw State, which is moving up to the Football Bowl Subdivision’s Conference USA next year.

The Wolves’ football program will be part of the United Athletic Conference, a Football Championship Subdivision alliance between Atlantic Sun and Western Athletic Conference.

The UAC currently has 10 schools — four from the Atlantic Sun and six from the WAC. West Georgia will become the 11th member, and WAC school Texas-Rio Grande Valley plans to launch a football program in 2025.

All other West Georgia teams will compete in the Atlantic Sun. The school currently fields 14 sports — nine women’s and five men’s — and plans to add men’s track and field, women’s beach volleyball and women’s stunt, a form of competitive cheerleading.

School officials said no major facility upgrades will be required. West Georgia already has a 10,000-seat football stadium and a basketball arena that holds nearly 6,000.

“It is important for us to control our own destiny in the changing world of college athletics,” West Georgia President Brendan Kelly said.

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