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ASUN-UAC TO CREATE STRATEGIC ALLIANCE IN 2026

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CONWAY, Ark. _  The Atlantic Sun Conference announced today a groundbreaking strategic alliance creating a consortium of two conferences (Atlantic Sun and United Athletic Conference), bringing together three Texas universities which are currently part of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) with the five football-playing ASUN schools to create an all-sports United Athletic Conference beginning July 1, 2026.

The WAC announced Wednesday that Southern Utah and Utah Tech will be leaving the conference to join the Big Sky Conference, effective July 1, 2026, leaving UT Arlington, Abilene Christian and Tarleton State as the only three full members of the WAC. ACU and Tarleton State were already competing in the football-only incarnation of the UAC.

The new alliance is expected to strengthen and improve operational efficiency across both conferences and across the university campuses. It will create new growth opportunities across the southeast, and position both conferences for continued success in the future. The consortium will be led by current ASUN Commissioner Jeff Bacon, who will serve as its Executive Director, providing experienced leadership for this new venture. Current WAC Commissioner, Rebekah Ray, will assume a leadership role within the consortium.

“The landscape of collegiate athletics has changed rapidly in recent years, and this strategic alliance creates innovative opportunities for collaboration and increased efficiencies for all of the institutions involved,” said Matt Whiting, UCA director of athletics. “I am excited for what this means for the University of Central Arkansas and our Athletics Department as we enter a new era of college athletics.”

“As we navigate the changing world of collegiate athletics, I am excited about the opportunities presented in this strategic alliance and further strengthening our partnership and future with our current United Athletic Conference peers,” said UCA President Dr. Houston Davis. “This alliance positions the University of Central Arkansas well geographically, creating greater experiences for our student-athletes and fans.”

In 2026, the WAC will rebrand to the United Athletic Conference (UAC), which is the brand currently used to recognize the ASUN-WAC Football Alliance. This rebrand will better recognize the new membership composition of the Conference with all seven (7) UAC football-playing members housed within one conference, and the shift in geographic footprint.

The UAC will welcome new members Austin Peay State University, the University of Central Arkansas, Eastern Kentucky University, the University of North Alabama and the University of West Georgia. The addition of five football-playing members (identified above) will bring total UAC membership to 8 members, including 7 football-playing members along with UT Arlington.

Remaining ASUN membership will include Bellarmine University; Florida Gulf Coast University; Jacksonville University; Lipscomb University; the University of North Florida; Queens University of Charlotte, and Stetson University.

 

Both the ASUN and the UAC will continue to operate separate championships as independent conferences. Championship formats and locations will be determined at a later date for sports that are not already contracted. The ASUN basketball tournament will remain in Jacksonville, Fla., and the UAC basketball tournament location is to be determined.

The UAC and the ASUN will remain independent conferences, each with their own automatic qualifiers (AQ’s) for NCAA postseason play. Both conferences will also continue to meet the NCAA sport sponsorship and membership standards.  Membership will continue to be a top priority for both conferences. Through the President’s leadership the Consortium will evaluate potential opportunities for growth and best alignment of Institutions.

Sport sponsorship for the conferences will be as follows: 

ASUN:

• Men’s Sports:
 Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Golf, Lacrosse, Soccer, Swim & Dive and Indoor/Outdoor Track & Field

• Women’s Sports: Basketball, Beach Volleyball, Cross Country, Golf, Lacrosse, Soccer, Softball, Swim & Dive, Tennis, Indoor/Outdoor Track & Field and Volleyball

UAC:

• Men’s Sports:
 Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Golf, Football, Tennis and Indoor/Outdoor Track & Field

• Women’s Sports: Basketball, Cross Country, Golf, Soccer, Softball, Tennis, Indoor/Outdoor Track & Field and Volleyball

“As many in the media and the public have mentioned, and as many other Division I conferences have discussed, the Division I Conference membership landscape at our level has become unsustainable and confusing,” the ASUN said. “We now have conferences that stretch from coast to coast, and conference membership often consists of a mix of football and non-football playing member institutions, public and private institutions, or institutions whose geography does not align well. 

“In addition, conferences and institutions are looking for ways to reduce or streamline expenses, unlock new revenue streams, forge scheduling alliances, and prepare for the modern world of intercollegiate athletics.

“Through the formation of a consortium, this alliance allows two similarly situated conferences to partner together to resolve many of these challenges at once: better aligning our membership; reducing expenses; collectively leveraging assets such as media rights; providing members of both conferences games

and home games in multiple sports; and situating both conferences for streamlined decision making.”

“This is not a merger, but a forward-thinking alliance. We are proactively building a modern structure for intercollegiate athletics that benefits everyone involved. This alliance provides great leverage for two conferences and long-term stability amongst like-minded and similarly situated institutions.”

ASUN RELEASE 

 



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Kansas City Yields Positive Results at Nebraska, Iowa State

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LINCOLN, Neb. — Kansas City completed their final meets of 2025, showcasing positive signs for the indoor season moving forward at the Husker Holiday Open and ISU Holiday Invitational on Friday afternoon. Last weekend, Kansas City broke school records in the men’s 60 and 300-meter dashes, the men’s 600-yard dash and the women’s shot put at the Crimson and Gold Invitational. This weekend didn’t go by without a record being broken as KC’s All-American Tory Lanham delivered his third indoor school record, darting a 47.62 second time in the 400-meter dash to take first in the race and break fellow sprinter Jayden Henry’s 47.71 time set in last year’s holiday meet. Lanham continues to cement a historic legacy at Kansas City as the junior sprinter is KC’s school record holder in the indoor 200, 300 and 400-meter dashes, breaking each previous record in the calendar year of 2025.

Elsewhere in Lincoln, several other Roos put forth a great effort on the track, ending 2025 of a positive note heading into the New Year. Notably, distance runner Dalton Heller set a career-best in the mile, running a 4:18.52 and finishing third in the event. Right behind Heller was Luke Swarts, running a 4:20.68 to give the sophomore a new career-best time in the mile. Connor Jacober finished first in the 800-meter dash among several competitors, finishing with a 1:59.45 time. In the field, Hunter Roos earned himself a first place finish, cracking a triple jump mark of 14.32 meters. Brant Wilson finished as Kansas City’s best long jumper, leaping a mark of 6.84 meters which was good for third in the event. 

On the women’s side, Jacky-Perez Vela nearly notched a program record in the 300-meter dash, recording a time of 39.86 seconds, finishing under a tenth of a second shy of the Roos all-time record at 39.79 set back in 2024. Naomi Eyanagho clocked a 60-meter hurdles time of 9.21 seconds, finishing fourth in the race and coming close to her career-best. In the women’s 60-meter dash, Tonique Fleming sprinted a third place time of 7.87 seconds while Sarah Wulfert came in sixth with a time of 7.92 seconds. Additionally, Wulfert and Fleming came in the top five finishers in the 200-meter dash, leaving the meet with times of 25.21 and 25.55 respectively.  

In Ames, Kansas City put together a nice performance with Stephen Clunis getting a time of 6.68 in the 60-meter dash and Junior Powell notching a time of 6.91 in the same event. Kai White and M.J. Foster got times of 2:28.84 and 2:29.60 in the 1000-meter dash to close out Kansas City’s day at Iowa State. Kansas City takes a break for the holidays before hitting the ground running on January 10 for the Alexis Jarrett Invitational at Missouri. 



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Wisconsin defeats Stanford in NCAA regional semifinals: Updates, recap

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6:20 pm CT December 12, 2025

Who does Wisconsin volleyball play next in NCAA tournament?

John Steppe

Third-seeded Wisconsin will face top-seeded Texas in the NCAA regional finals on Dec. 14 at a to-be-announced time. The Longhorns are coming off a sweep in the regional semifinals against fourth-seeded Indiana.

Here are some highlights from the Texas-Indiana match:

6:02 pm CT December 12, 2025

More to read from Wisconsin’s four-set win over Stanford

John Steppe

5:32 pm CT December 12, 2025

Wisconsin’s Charlie Fuerbringer goes out of her way to praise teammate Una Vajagic

John Steppe

3:20 pm CT December 12, 2025

Wisconsin volleyball advances to the regional finals, will face Texas

John Steppe

Wisconsin is headed to the NCAA regional finals following a four-set win over Stanford. The Badgers won the fourth set, 25-22. Check back for more postmatch updates.



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#11 Volleyball Practices, Then Meets Media Prior to #2 Kentucky Match

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LEXINGTON, Ky. — The Creighton Volleyball team practiced for just more than an hour before meeting the media in Lexington, Ky., on Friday afternoon as it completed preparations for Saturday’s Elite Eight match at No. 2 Kentucky.

After practice, Creighton head coach Brian Rosen, along with Eloise Brandewie, Jaya Johnson and Abbey Hayes met the media.

First serve between Creighton and Kentucky is set for 4 p.m. Central. The contest will be nationally-televised on ESPN2.

 



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What channel is Kansas women’s volleyball vs Nebraska? Time, schedule

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Dec. 12, 2025, 3:04 a.m. CT



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‘U’ Falls in Sweet 16 to No. 4 Pittsburgh

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PITTSBURGH, Pa. — The No. 4 seeded Minnesota volleyball team fell to the No. 1 seeded Pittsburgh Panthers on Thursday night at the Petersen Events Center in three sets. The set scores of the match were 25-16, 25-23, 25-22.

The Gophers season ended in the Sweet 16 for the 21st time in program history with a 24-10 (12-8 B1G) record.

“Congrats to Pittsburgh on the win and for the university and city for being such great hosts,” said head coach Keegan Cook. “I’m proud of the way our team battled tonight and throughout the season. We just fell a little bit short tonight. I told the team I have loved coaching them all year and appreciate their willingness to learn and grow. We’re going to miss these seniors next year, but we’re glad to get back to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament and continue to push the program forward.”

Kelly Kinney and Carly Gilk led Minnesota with nine kills while Stella Swenson had 28 assists, three blocks and three aces. Julia Hanson was held to eight kills in her final collegiate match.

The Gophers (24-10, 12-8 Big Ten) were outhit the Panthers (29-4, 18-2 ACC) .271 to .178, leading in kills (47 to 33) and digs (48 to 34). Minnesota had more aces (4 to 3) and blocks (10 to 5).

Julia Hanson commented on her time at Minnesota and what it meant for her to end her career as a Golden Gopher.

“There were times that I questioned myself and how things were going after my sophomore year,” Hansen said. “But I’m so glad to be a part of this program and so proud to have that ‘M’ on my chest. It means everything to me. I’m so thankful for my time at Minnesota.”

For Pittsburgh, Olivia Babcock had 19 kills while Brooke Mosher went for 35 assists. Bre Kelly and Blaire Bayless also had eight kills for the Panthers.

How It Happened

SET 1 | Pittsburgh started out hot, scoring six of the first seven points before Minnesota called a timeout. The Gophers tallied a pair of kills to get it to four at 7-3 before the Panthers scored three straight on two kills and a block to go up 10-3. An attacking error followed by a kill from Kinney and a block from Myers cut it to four again at 11-7. Following a service error from Minnesota, the Gophers scored four of the next five to force a Pitt timeout, trailing 13-11. Swenson tallied an ace, Gilk had a kill and Taylor combined with Gilk on a block. After the timeout, the Panthers bounced back by scoring four of five, taking a 17-12 lead and forcing coach Cook’s final timeout of the frame. The Gophers would get no closer than five the rest of the way as the Panthers closed out the first frame, 25-16. Pitt hit .267 for the set while Minnesota hit just .026.

SET 2 | Minnesota came out strong, scoring seven of the first 12. Swenson had two aces while Kinney tallied a pair of kills. A kill from Myers and a block from Kinney and Myers put the Gophers up 10-9 before three straight from Pitt forced a Minnesota timeout, trailing 12-10. Kills from Swenson and Gilk combined with a Panthers attacking error helped give Minnesota back the lead at 14-13. The Panthers scored three of the next four to tie it up at 16-16. Two more kills put them up 18-16, forcing Minnesota’s final timeout of the set. Pitt would go up by as many as three at 22-19 before two errors cut the lead to just one at 22-21, leading to a Pitt timeout. A Panthers hitting error and kill from Hanson tied it up at 23-23, forcing one more Pitt timeout. A kill and a block won the set for Pitt, 25-23.

SET 3 | Pitt scored seven of the first 11 points before kills from Taylor and Gilk combined with a block from Hanson and Taylor tied it up at 7-7. The Panthers went on a 5-2 spurt after that, getting four kills and an ace to go up 12-9, forcing a Minnesota timeout. The Gophers would battle back, scoring five of the next seven to cut it to 15-14. Kills from Gilk and Myers combined with an ace from Garr tied it up at 17 apiece. A pair of kills from Myers put Minnesota up 19-18, leading to a Panthers timeout. After the break, Minnesota got a block and a Pitt error to go up 21-19 before the Panthers answered back with two more to tie it at 21. The two teams exchanged the next pair of points before the Panthers closed out the match on a 3-0 run to win, 25-22.

Game Notes

» Minnesota is now 1-3 all-time against Pitt, including 0-2 in the NCAA Tournament.

» The Gophers are now 10-11 in the NCAA Regional Semifinals.

» Minnesota posted 10+ blocks for the 15th time this season.

» Minnesota is now 4-7 against ranked opponents this season.

» McKenna Garr (10) posted 10+ digs for the 24th time in 2025.

» Lourdes Myers went for six blocks to lead Minnesota.

» Stella Swenson went for 28 assists and a team-best three aces.

Up Next

Minnesota’s spring season begins in January.



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Nebraska Volleyball keeping practices light-hearted as they prep for NCAA Regional

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LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – Nebraska volleyball is keeping the practices light-hearted as they prep to play Kansas in the NCAA Regional.

The Huskers come into the Round of 16 with a 32-0 record and a lot of pressure to make the Final Four. With the mountain of expectations, the players and coaching staff are keeping the training fun and focused on each round rather than the latter goals.

“We still have a lot of fun in our practice, so even though the level is so high, we’re still managing to find ways to have fun,” junior middle blocker Andi Jackson said.

The light-hearted practices and emphasis on playing freely, has really proven to help Jackson’s game. This season she is hitting a nation-best .483 and is averaging 1.14 blocks per set.

“If you look too far into the future, you’re probably going to get a little nervous and get a little stressed out. So just really focusing on what we’re doing in the moment and focusing on where our feet are,” junior outside hitter Harper Murray said.

Nebraska VB’s HC Dani Busboom Kelly, MB Andi Jackson, and OH Harper Murray Pre-Sweet 16 Press Conference | Dec. 11, 2025

No. 1 ranked Nebraska will face off against 16th ranked Kansas on Friday, Dec. 12. The match starts 30 minutes after the conclusion of the two-seed Louisville versus three-seed Texas A&M match, which begins at 6 p.m. CT.

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