Austin Peay will join the ASun Conference in all sports, the school and league announced jointly on Friday.
The addition of the Governors will increase the ASun membership to 13 programs, and follows the league’s addition of three new schools that became effective on July 1, 2021. Two of those schools that realigned in July – namely Eastern Kentucky and Jacksonville State – were formerly members of the Ohio Valley Conference with APSU.
When their new conference alignment becomes official on July 1, 2022, Austin Peay will join the ASun in all sports and become immediately eligible for conference titles and NCAA tournament berths.
In a statement, Austin Peay athletic director Gerald Harrison said, “”This is an incredible day for our University, our athletes and coaches, and all citizens of Stacheville. I could not be more excited to help lead Austin Peay into a new era of growth, which will help expand and enhance our brand, our footprint and the quality of our product both athletically and academically. As challenging as this opportunity is—and make no mistake, we are facing a step up in competition level—it’s even more exciting to embark on this journey to elevate the profile of this department. From the beginning, I’ve said Austin Peay is a sleeping giant, a juggernaut hiding in plain sight with the right people in place to become great. Today is the next step down the path to greatness, and we are closer than ever to achieving the status we covet—to be the most complete athletics department in our league. And now, that league will be the ASUN.”
Austin Peay’s softball program has become a perennial contender in the OVC over the last few seasons, finishing third in the conference standings in 2019 and 2021 and second in the league in 2018.
