South Alabama Jaguars

Infobox college athletics
name = South Alabama Jaguars

university = University of South Alabama
conference = Sun Belt | division = Division I
director =
city = Mobile
state = Alabama
stateabb = AL
teams = 14
stadium = Ladd-Peebles Stadium
baseballfield =
arena = Mitchell Center
mascot = South Paw
nickname = Jaguars
color1 = Red
color2 = White
color3 = Blue
hex1 =ff0000
hex2 =ffffff
hex3 =0000ff
pageurl = http://www.usajaguars.com/
pagename = USAJaguars.com

The South Alabama Jaguars represent the University of South Alabama in NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletics.

USA participates in NCAA Division I athletics. It competes in the Eastern Division of the Sun Belt Conference. USA's athletics teams are nicknamed the Jaguars. Popular sports are baseball and men's basketball. USA sponsors 6 men's sports and 8 women's sports. The board of trustees recently voted to start a football program that will begin play in the fall of 2009.

Men's Sports: Basketball, Baseball, Cross Country, Golf, Tennis, Track and Field, Football (Partial Schedule 2009, Full Sun Belt Conference play by 2013)

Women's Sports: Basketball, Softball, Cross Country, Golf, Tennis, Track and Field, Volleyball, Soccer

Football

On December 6, 2007, The school's Board of Trustees approved the addition of football to the intercollegiate athletics program. The team is scheduled to begin play in 2009 with a full transition to the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (Division I-A) by 2013. [ [http://www.usajaguars.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=8300&ATCLID=1349218 BOARD OF TRUSTEES VOTES TO ADD NCAA FOOTBALL - USAJaguars.com—Official Web Site of University of South Alabama Athletics ] ] On February 15, 2008, President Gordon Moulton and Athletic Director Joe Gottfried announced Joey Jones, former University of Alabama and Atlanta Falcons receiver, as the first head football coach in the university's history.

Baseball

The baseball team is typically a powerhouse in the Sun Belt Conference, and has produced a number of successful Major League players, such as Juan Pierre, Luis Gonzalez,
Jon Lieber and Marlon Anderson. The head coach of the baseball team is Steve Kittrell, who has coached for 24 seasons. Coach Kittrell has led South Alabama to 18 NCAA Tournament appearances and 11 Sun Belt Conference championships.In 1999 they won the sun belt conference championship with the help of star pitcher eric janecek

Basketball

The men's basketball team has a strong history, and former head coach John Pelphrey brought the team back to its winning ways. In 2006, South Alabama won the Sun Belt Conference Championship in basketball, beating Western Kentucky 95-70 in the championship game. They earned a bid into the 2006 NCAA Tournament doing this (their first since 1998), and were seeded 14th in the Minneapolis bracket. They lost to the 3rd-seeded Florida Gators, 76-50, in their first-round NCAA game. Florida went on to win the 2006 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. The 2005-2006 basketball season marked the best turnaround in the nation for a Division I basketball program. South Alabama was 10-18 in 2004-05 and went 24-7 in 2005-2006. This yielded a 12.5 differential to lead the nation, ahead of Brigham Young and Memphis who both had 11.5 differentials. South Alabama has now had back to back 20-win seasons.

Other Sports

* Men's and Women's Tennis are consistently ranked among the nation's best.
* The men's track team has been consistent in recent years. David Kimani won a Cross Country Championship in 1999 and two individual titles in 2000. Vincent Rono won the NCAA Outdoor Championship in 2006. The indoor track team captured a Conference Championship in 2007.
* Women's Softball was added to the South Alabama's sports in 2007.

External links

* [http://www.usajaguars.com/ USAJaguars.com (Official Site)]

References