The Thomas University Night Hawks have begun preparations to host the 2023 Sun Conference Flag Football Tournament on April 28-29 at the TU Soccer Complex. For the Night Hawks, this will be the second consecutive year that they will host the event. The tournament is hosted by the regular season champion of the Sun Conference. The Night Hawks have won two consecutive Sun Conference Regular Season Championships. In two years, they have only lost two conference games, with both being on the road. Tickets for the tournament can be purchase by clicking the following link:
This year, the tournament will be a two day event, with the semifinals matchups beginning on Friday at noon, featuring the number one seeded
Thomas University (14-1, 9-1 SUN) against the number four seeded
Webber International Warriors (8-6, 4-6 SUN). The Night Hawks swept Webber this season, 19-6, on April 6 at home and 33-6, on March 24, in Babson Park. Thomas has not lost to Webber in their six matchups and have won by an average score of 22-4, with a shut out in two previous contests.
The second semifinal will feature the number two seeded
Keiser Seahawks (8-3, 7-3 SUN) against the number three seeded
St. Thomas Bobcats (11-3, 7-3 SUN). Keiser comes in as the second seed, despite losing to St. Thomas on this past Saturday, 20-7, and the two teams having identical conference records. Keiser won the tiebreaker, based upon total points scored in conference games. The loss for Keiser was their first loss to St. Thomas in the nine matchups between the two teams. St. Thomas has been shut out in five of the nine matchups, but score a series high, 20 points in their last outing against Keiser. The two teams will play each other at 3 PM on Friday.
Prior to each game on Friday, members of each team will receive their conference awards. The championship game on Saturday will be at noon and will feature the winners of the two matches on Saturday. The winner of the Sun Conference tournament will receive an automatic bid to the NAIA Invitational at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA, which will serve as the National Championship for NAIA Flag Football.
All games will be streamed live on the
Sun Digital Network. The post-game press conference will be streamed live on Thomas University's Night Hawks Sports
YouTube page.
| Time |
Game |
Saturday, April 29th |
Live Stream |
Press
Conference |
| 12:00 PM |
3 |
G1 Winner vs. G2 Winner |
WATCH |
WATCH |
The
NAIA added flag football as an emerging sport in 2021. The NAIA has two status levels prior to becoming a championship sport, which allows for a timely approach for the sport to find success and interest among NAIA membership. Emerging is that first step, which requires 15 schools to begin a program and declare intent to participate in the following year. The next step for women's flag would be invitational status, which requires 25 schools to declare such intent. The final stage would be to become a championship sport, which requires a minimum of 40 schools and NAIA final approval. Since its inception, the NAIA has worked with Reigning Champs Experiences (RCX), whom operates the NFL FLAG initiative for the NFL and has been instrumental in the process of bringing women's flag football to the NAIA.
Keep up with all of the action on the 2023 Sun Conference Flag Football Tournament by following the Tournament Central Page.
ABOUT THOMAS UNIVERSITY
Thomas University is a private, non-profit, regionally accredited university in south Georgia. TU's beautiful campus is situated on 75 acres just north of Tallahassee, Florida.
Thomas University provides a highly personalized educational experience. Our faculty and staff are committed to helping each student reach their unique potential. Our student body includes traditional students, professionals returning to college, members of the military and citizens from around the globe. Students participate in a wide variety of activities including 14 varsity and junior varsity athletic teams, including the nation's only veteran's transition football team.
TU offers associate, bachelor and graduate degrees at our main campus, online and at locations across Georgia. Certification preparation and other professional development is also available through our Center for Professional Learning.
The Center for Military Life supports military personnel and their families' from pre-enlistment to veteran status and is home to the Armed Services Institute. www.thomasu.edu.
ABOUT THE SUN CONFERENCE
Entering its 33rd year, The Sun Conference, a 501c3 organization, continues to be one of the most successful intercollegiate athletic conferences in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).
Under the guidance of Commissioner Dustin Wilke, the league sponsors championships in 23 NAIA sports: Baseball, Men's and Women's Basketball, Beach Volleyball, Men's and Women's Cross Country, Football, Flag Football, Men's and Women's Golf, Men's and Women's Indoor Track and Field, Women's Lacrosse, Men's and Women's Soccer, Softball, Men's and Women's Swimming, Men's and Women's Tennis, Men's and Women's Outdoor Track and Field and Women's Volleyball.
The roots of The Sun Conference date back to 1990 when the league was originally formed as the Florida Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The founding members consisted of 8 Florida schools. With the addition of the Savannah College of Art & Design, Southeastern University, Ave Maria University, Thomas University, and College of Coastal Georgia, the Sun Conference now stands at 10 NAIA colleges and universities.
https://thesunconference.com/index.aspx
ABOUT THE NAIA
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., is a governing body of small athletics programs that are dedicated to character-driven intercollegiate athletics. NAIA members provide more than 77,000 student-athletes with opportunities to play college sports, earn $800 million in scholarships and compete in 27 national championships.
www.naia.org
ABOUT REIGNING CHAMPS EXPERIENCES (RCX)
Reigning Champs Experiences (RCX) is the premier youth-sports experiences business, running and operating leagues, camps, combines, tournaments and events across the U.S.
Part of Reigning Champs LLC, RCX works with professional leagues, national governing bodies, sports-centric businesses and brands to reimaging youth sports experiences. RCX produces events with world class partners including the NFL, NBA, Rivals, and Adidas.
Reigning Champs is committed to growing youth sports participation and creating a path to college for all students. In 2019, Reigning Champs' family of businesses donated $23 million in services to deserving student-athletes and families. Each year, Reigning Champs' innovative platforms support over 2 million athletes across 34 different sports. For more information, visit reigningchamps.com.
