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ASUN is moving its conference headquarters to Jacksonville this summer. Here's why
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- ASUN is moving its conference headquarters to Jacksonville this summer. Here's why
For Jacksonville University and the University of North Florida, calls to the office of their athletic conference are about to get a whole lot less distant.
The ASUN Conference is moving its headquarters to Jacksonville during the summer, commissioner Jeff Bacon announced Wednesday in a press conference at City Hall.
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The 46-year-old conference would become the first NCAA Division I conference located in Florida.
"We really felt here we had our own presence, the opportunity to be the only Division I conference office in the state of Florida, really attracted us. That played a big part," Bacon said. "The affordability of the city, the convenience of the airports, the access to our schools really fell into place."
For the ASUN, now based in Atlanta, the move is expected to take effect Sept. 1. Bacon said that he has already been residing in the area for several months.
Bacon cited multiple factors, including affordability, for moving away from Atlanta.
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"You get drowned out in a city of 7 million people sometimes… there's a lot going on in Atlanta, in the athletic space, the college athletic space in particular. So to stand out in that crowd is difficult as well," he said.
ASUN Conference commissioner Jeff Bacon speaks during a press conference at Jacksonville City Hall on Wednesday.
In all, Bacon said, 15 conference employees are expected to relocate from the Peach State to the Sunshine State.
Bacon said the ASUN is planning its future headquarters for Jacksonville's Southside, south of the St. Johns Town Center and Butler Boulevard.
Based on logistics, Bacon said the chance to move the office to the same city as two of its member institutions made sense.
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"For us and our staff to be able to be located near the schools is a great benefit for us, in terms of accessing our membership and engaging with not only our coaches, but certainly our student-athletes," he said. "So that was a big attraction for us."
ASUN 101: About Jacksonville's new college conference
With the move, the conference office is now located in the same city as two of its member schools, a rarity in Division I college athletics. The Los Angeles-based UCLA and USC, longtime Pac-12 members now moving to the Big Ten, are by far the most well-known example, although the ACC trio of Duke, North Carolina and N.C. State are separated by fewer than 30 miles while located in three different municipalities.
Founded in 1978 as the Trans America Athletic Conference, and known for years as the Atlantic Sun before its present branding, the ASUN includes 12 members, four located in Florida: Jacksonville, UNF, Florida Gulf Coast (Fort Myers) and Stetson (DeLand). JU joined the conference (then still called Trans America) in 1998, while UNF followed in 2005 as part of its transition to NCAA Division I.
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The most distant conference member from Jacksonville is Central Arkansas, located in Conway, Ark., more than 850 miles of driving distance away.
The other seven are scattered throughout the Southeast: Austin Peay (Clarksville, Tenn.), Bellarmine (Louisville, Ky.), Eastern Kentucky (Richmond, Ky.), Lipscomb (Nashville, Tenn.), North Alabama (Florence, Ala.), Queens (Charlotte, N.C.) and new NCAA Division I member West Georgia (Carrollton, Ga.).
ASUN impact on JU, UNF
Jacksonville guard Marcus Niblack (11) tries to get a shot past North Florida forward Jake van der Heijden (32) during a February ASUN basketball game.
In the long run, university and conference officials agreed, the move will likely bring more collegiate events to the First Coast, including ASUN postseason tournaments.
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"I think it's going to be more jobs. I think it's going to be an exciting chance at championships coming to Jacksonville, Florida," JU president Tim Cost said.
Cost said that Jacksonville won out ahead of cities including Charlotte, N.C.; Louisville, Ky.; Nashville, Tenn.; and Raleigh, N.C.
Moez Limayem, president of UNF, also backed the conference's impact in a statement.
"We know the ASUN will be a great addition to Northeast Florida, as we continue to grow and provide amazing sports experiences for our residents and visitors," he said.
While Jacksonville will be new to the role of conference headquarters, the city has already served as host for multiple college sports events, including the NCAA East Preliminary track and field meet that will return in May 2025.
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"We don't intend to get in the way of what they've already done," Bacon said. "What we hope to do is find opportunities to enhance or add to that where it's comfortable. So I think we'll spend some time sitting down with the leadership here in Jacksonville to evaluate what the best opportunities are."
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: ASUN Conference moves headquarters to Jacksonville, Florida
