Dover, Del. (June 24, 2021)  – The Delaware State women's golf team has a conference home for the first time. The Hornets will join the Southland Conference as an affiliate member beginning in the 2021-22 academic year, the league announced today.  The Southland Conference will also welcome the Augusta (Ga.) University men's and women's teams, and Francis Marion (S.C.) University men's team next season.
"We are very pleased to welcome our new affiliate golf members to the Southland," league Commissioner Tom Burnett said. "We look forward to a beneficial partnership with these institutions, providing outstanding championship experiences and NCAA access for the student-athletes of these programs."
Delaware State women's golf has competed as a Division I independent since the program began in 2014. The Hornets are coming off their most successful season during the 2020-21 campaign.
DSU's Baipor Khunsri claimed the 2021 PGA WORKS Minority Collegiate Women's Singles Championship, while the Hornets were second among eight competitors in the PGA team tournament.
Also last season, Delaware State outplayed four other clubs to capture the championship of the Navy Spring Invitational in Annapolis, Md., six shots ahead of the second place team.
 "Delaware State is excited and honored to have its women's golf team join the highly-respected Southland Conference as an affiliate member," said Alecia Shields-Gadson, DSU Interim Director of Athletics.  "The Southland Conference has a tremendous academics and athletics tradition, and features outstanding Division I women's golf. After competing as an independent since our program began, it's great that our surging women's golf team will now have the opportunity to swing for conference championships and honors, along with national tournament bids."
"I couldn't be more excited to have our team join the outstanding Southland Conference as an affiliate member," said Delaware State Head Women's Golf Coach Rick McCall. "The benefits of conference affiliation are numerous, including the opportunity to compete for league and national championships, along with individual and team awards. It will also aid our program in the areas of recruiting and scheduling. I'm grateful to Delaware State's administration and the Southland Conference for this exciting move."    
The new Southland Conference women's golf lineup in 2021-22, in addition to Augusta and Delaware State, will include Houston Baptist, Incarnate Word and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.  The 2022 Southland Women's Tournament will be held April 18-20, at a location to be determined.  The Women's Tournament winner will also earn the Southland's automatic berth into the NCAA Division I Women's Championship.
 
About the Southland Conference
The Southland Conference, abbreviated as SLC, is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the South Central United States (specifically Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas). It participates in the NCAA's Division I for all sports; for football, it participates in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). The Southland sponsors 18 sports, 10 for women and eight for men, and is governed by a presidential Board of Directors and an Advisory Council of athletic and academic administrators. Tom Burnett was named the Southland's sixth commissioner on Dec. 23, 2002. From 1996 to 2002, for football only, the Southland Conference was known as the Southland Football League. The conference's offices are located in the Dallas suburb of Frisco, Texas.
 
Southland Conference homepage
https://www.southland.org/