Georgia State’s men’s soccer team has lost its independence, and it’s for the better.
The Sun Belt conference has added men’s soccer to its list of sponsored sports starting fall 2014, and Georgia State will be one of its inaugural members.
Men’s soccer will be the 15th sport eligible to compete for a Sun Belt tournament, and the winner will receive an automatic bid into the NCAA men’s soccer tournament.
“Very excited and grateful for all the work the administration put in to make it a reality,” Head Coach Brett Surrency said via email. “The Sun Belt will be a test for our program and winning it will be no small feat but just being able to compete for a title has got our whole program pumped.
Surrency said his team will strive each season to win the Sun Belt regular season and tournament to ensure an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament.
The men’s soccer team competed independently in 2013, meaning not competing within a conference, after the school left the Colonial Athletic Association to move into the Sun Belt in July 2013.
Last fall, the men’s soccer team finished 9-9-1 and played an array of teams across the country including two games in Seattle, Wash.
“We will not be making a cross country trip this year but will always maintain a challenging schedule,” Surrency said. “We have a great non-conference schedule lined up for 2014, and that, coupled with our Sun Belt schedule, will make for a fun, yet competitive season.”
Full-time members Appalachian State, Georgia Southern and Georgia State will compete with affiliate members Hartwick, Howard and the New Jersey Institute of Technology in a round robin schedule.
The conference tournament will feature all six schools competing at one of the school’s campus. The top two seeds will get a first round bye going straight to the semi-finals. The date and location for the tournament will be announced this May.
Soccer was sponsored by the Sun Belt from 1976 to 1995, and was the first Sun Belt Championship in any of its sponsored sports.
