Coastal Carolina officially

joins Sun Belt Conference

NEW ORLEANS — Coastal Carolina University officially joined the Sun Belt Conference on Friday, after announcing its acceptance of an invitation on Sept. 1, 2015.

The Chanticleers join the Sun Belt Conference as full members and will begin play in all sports, with the exception of football, in the upcoming 2016-17 academic year. The CCU football program will begin its two-year transition from the FCS to FBS this fall. Next season, CCU will play a full Sun Belt football schedule and will be eligible to win a conference championship, but ineligible for postseason play. The Chanticleers will complete the transition and attain full football membership status, with eligibility to play in a bowl game, for the 2018 season.

With the addition of Coastal Carolina, the Sun Belt Conference will have two universities in Alabama (South Alabama and Troy), Arkansas (Arkansas State and Little Rock), Georgia (Georgia Southern and Georgia State), Louisiana (UL Lafayette and UL Monroe) and Texas (UT Arlington and Texas State) to go with Appalachian State in North Carolina and Coastal Carolina in neighboring South Carolina.

The Sun Belt will be an 11-team league in football until the 2018 season when Idaho and New Mexico State are officially booted out, and Coastal Carolina joins to bring the membership to 10 teams. That season will be the first in which the Sun Belt football champion will be determined by a championship game. The conference, with the addition of Coastal Carolina, will be a 12-team league beginning in the 2016-17 academic year in the following sports: baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, women’s cross country, men’s golf, women’s indoor track and field, women’s outdoor track and field and volleyball. Coastal Carolina also sponsors men’s sports in cross country, outdoor track and field, soccer and tennis, and women’s sports in golf, soccer, softball and tennis.

This past week, Coastal Carolina’s baseball team won the College World Series in its first appearance.

Robbins tabbed as

ABCA/Diamond NAIA Coach of the Year

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Along with his second national title in two seasons, Lewis-Clark State baseball coach Jeremiah Robbins was honored on Friday as the 2016 ABCA/Diamond National Coach of the Year award for the NAIA.

Robbins, who was also named NAIA-Baseball Coaches Association National Coach of the Year last week, led the Warriors to their 18th NAIA championship and first back-to-back titles since LCSC did so from 2006-08.

Robbins also earned the 2016 Regional Coach of the Year honors for the third consecutive season. Robbins will join 10 other honorees at the ABCA/Diamond Hall of Fame/Coach of the Year Banquet at the 73rd annual ABCA Convention on Jan. 6, 2017, in Anaheim, Calif.