CHARLOTTE, NC -- The Big South Conference today announced that Gardner-Webb University will join the league as an associate member in football, effective with the 2002 season, the first year of the Big South's newly formed football conference.

"We are excited about bringing Gardner-Webb into the Big South Conference as an associate member for football," said Conference President Dr. Jairy C. Hunter. "The addition of Gardner-Webb moves the Big South one step closer to our goal of receiving an automatic bid in NCAA Division I-AA football."

By adding Gardner-Webb, the Big South moves to within one of the six members needed to fulfill the minimum for an automatic bid to the NCAA I-AA Championships.

"Gardner-Webb University is excited about the opportunity and we look forward to our association with the Big South Conference in the sport of football," said Gardner-Webb Director of Athletics Chuck Burch.

Gardner-Webb will become an active Division I member in 2002. Except for football, all of the Bulldog athletic programs will compete in the Atlantic Sun Conference (the former TAAC).

"The opportunity to play with a group of schools in a football league from the inception of that league is exciting," said Gardner-Webb Head Football Coach Steve Patton. "We enjoyed competing with Liberty and Elon in 2000 and will have that same opportunity again in 2001. As football members of the Big South Conference, we will now be able to compete with those schools and Charleston Southern for a conference title very soon."

The Big South will kick-off in 2002 with three current members, Elon, Charleston Southern University and Liberty University. Coastal Carolina University, which is adding football as a varsity sport, would become the fourth member in 2003. Gardner-Webb will bring the total up to five.

--ELON--