LAKELAND, Fla.—Southeastern University announced that it will join the Appalachian Athletic Conference as an affiliate member for the sport of wrestling beginning in the 2022-23 academic year.
The Fire along with Life University, Brewton-Parker College, St. Thomas University, and Keiser University along with full AAC members Bluefield, Montreat, Reinhardt, St. Andrews, Truett McConnell, and West Virginia Tech will make up the wrestling league.
"The move to the Appalachian Athletic Conference is an exciting one for Fire Wrestling and is a great move for our program going forward," said
Travis Patrick, SEU wrestling coach. "I am looking forward to conference competition with current AAC programs including national powerhouse Reinhardt and continuing to compete against programs like Life and Keiser who will be making the move as well. I am appreciative of our time in the Mid-South Conference and am excited for our team to compete for one last shot at an MSC title before setting our sights on our program's first AAC Conference Championship in 2023."
The new affiliate members were all previously affiliate members in the sport in the Mid-South Conference.
"The Appalachian Athletic Conference fits our needs for the Fire wrestling program at this time in our development as a program," said Southeastern University Director of Athletics
Drew Watson. "We are looking forward to working with the other schools in the AAC as all having equal representation in what we're trying to accomplish as a conference. The future is bright for this group and I look forward to continuing the goal of being a powerhouse conference in wrestling in the NAIA."
The Fire will begin their final season in the Mid-South with the Red vs. Black Dual on Friday, October 29th.
