Reflecting on the Historical NAIA Press Conference
(04-30-08)

LAKELAND--A room full of coaches, students, administrators, faculty, and athletes witnessed the birth of a new era as the Southeastern Athletics Director, Duane Aagaard, announced this past Wednesday that Southeastern University will officially be moving into the National Intercollegiate Athletic Association (NAIA).

Evan Gibson, the university's Sports Information Director, opened the press conference in prayer before introducing Dr. Robert Crosby, Vice President of Student Development, who offered his congratulations and support. Aagaard then took the floor for the main announcement.

Aagaard cited those who served before him - the athletes, coaches, and athletic administrators - specifically referencing former athletic director Scott Laing, who originally proposed a move to the NAIA back in the early 1990's.

Coming back to the mic, Gibson shared memories from his time as an athlete at Southeastern, when he dreamed, even then, about possibly seeing Southeastern become a national power in athletics. He then mentioned how ironic it was for him to be hosting a press conference years later as that dream has become a reality. Since joining the coaching staff, Gibson, who is also the university's men's golf coach, has led the Fire golf program to three NCCAA National Championships, including the school's first NCCAA D-I national championship this past October.

The pace of Southeastern's success is astounding and is a large part of its jump to the NAIA. In the history of Southeastern's athletics department before 2003, the university had produced 28 NCCAA All-Americans, captured nine NCCAA II South Region banners, and had nine total national tournament appearances, but no national championships.

However, since the fall of 2003, Southeastern's athletics department has seen 66 student athletes named NCCAA All-Americans, the Fire has captured 21 NCCAA II South Region banners, and the Fire has made 28 national tournament appearances, winning 11 national championships altogether.

In addition, the Fire was awarded the prestigious President's Cup in 2005 and 2007 and is currently in first place for it in 2008. The President's Cup is awarded every year to the NCCAA II institution regarded as having that year's most successful athletics department.

Though Southeastern's successes were touted, character and spirituality seemed to be the theme of the press conference.

"That's how you win championships," Fire men's soccer coach Drew Stacey said. "It's a result of character."

Aagaard reiterated the mission statement of the athletics department, which emphasizes the athletics department's commitment to using athletics as a vehicle to help enhance the spiritual lives of its student-athletes.

"To develop Southeastern athletes holistically: physically, academically, and spiritually," said Aagaard, proclaiming the athletics department's mission statement. "As a department, we strive to foster character, servant leadership, and the development of life skills while providing a professional environment in Christian athletics."

"We can't compromise character to bring in better players," men's basketball coach John Dunlap said. "I think once the coaches start coaching against the other NAIA teams and coaches, we'll start getting better and understanding better what it takes to win."

Southeastern was officially accepted into the NAIA by the Council of Presidents at the annual NAIA Convention, April 11-15. The next step for the Fire is to gain membership into the Florida Sun Conference, joining Webber International University (Babson Park) and Warner Southern College (Lake Wales).

"We need to be in a conference, and this seems to be the right place for us," Aagaard said. Southeastern frequently has traveled long distances to play in the NCCAA Division II South Region. "It's going to cut our travel costs way down. Going to Warner or Webber is much easier than traveling to Atlanta."

Despite the move into the NAIA, the university will continue to be a member of the NCCAA through a dual membership, though now an NCCAA D-I member.

The press conference concluded with Kirk Carey, a junior men's soccer athlete, sharing some thoughts as a spokesperson on behalf of the student athletes. Carey talked about the athletics department's Leadership Institute, an initiative to create, develop, and provide ownership for the athletes.

Carey shared how the team leaders are organized into committees. These committees protect and promote the core values of the athletic department, including spiritual development, academic success, athletic excellence, Christian service, leadership development, and recruiting.

Carey closed with a letter from a student athlete to one of the coaches, part of which read as follows: "I have never been part of a program where I truly felt taken care of and loved. Thank you for working so hard to provide a Christian atmosphere where we can play our favorite sports, but serve the Lord at the same time."

What Others Are Saying About Southeastern

"Over the last few years, Southeastern University has established itself as a program that would be a great fit with the NAIA, a great fit from a competitive standpoint, but maybe most importantly a great fit from a mission standpoint."
Rob Miller, NAIA Director of Champions of Character

"The NCCAA applauds its member institutions that have successfully functioned as dually affiliated members within the NAIA and NCAA. An institution need not vacate its mission and biblical heritage when making such a move. It should simply insure the mission will always drive the program when hiring staff, recruiting student athletes, developing schedules, and branding the institution's athletics program."
Dan Wood, Executive Director of the NCCAA

"Southeastern University and the Florida Sun Conference would be a great fit: a) geographically, b) in its Christian values, c) in its level of competitiveness, and d) in its familiarity with our member schools....We currently have a lot of institutions looking at membership into the Florida Sun Conference, but I would say Southeastern is the most ideal candidate and would be a tremendous asset to the NAIA."
Wayne Howard, Commissioner of the Florida Sun Conference

"The overall make-up of Southeastern is very similar to a majority of the members of the NAIA in that they are specialized institutions - for Southeastern, it's developing Christian leaders. In addition, the NAIA is a very personal community, which seems to fit the character of the individuals I've met from Southeastern...I'm not sure if there is a better fit for the NAIA...than Southeastern. This is due to its emphasis on academics, its spirituality, the number of sports offered, the quality of athletic facilities, its geographic location, and its staff of coaches."
Steve Ridder, President of the Florida Sun Conference & Athletic Director of Embry Riddle University

Fire Golf Team Steals Show at 2008 Fire Awards
(04-28-08)

LAKELAND--The Southeastern University Athletic Department hosted its annual awards banquet Sunday night in Tuscana Ristorante on campus.

About 250 athletes, coaches, and parents filled the restaurant as coaches gave out their season-ending awards while the athletic department gave out program-wide awards as well.

Taking home the 2008 Team of the Year Award was the Southeastern men's golf team. The golf team won the school's first NCCAA D-I National Championship this past year, defeating 18 NCCAA D-I schools at Hombre Golf Club in Panama City, Florida.

Head Coach Evan Gibson also took home the 2008 Coach of the Year award after being named the 2007 NCCAA National Coach of the Year at the 2007 NCCAA national tournament.

Junior Matt Parziale won the 2008 Male Athlete of the Year award along with senior Fire baseball player Matt Braly.

Parziale won two tournaments in 2007-2008 and was named the 2007 NCCAA National Player of the Year.

Braly was named the 2008 South Region Player of the Year and will most certainly be named a 2008 NCCAA All-American this upcoming week when the Fire completes its season at the 2008 NCCAA II national tournament, May 7-10, in Lakeland.

Braly also won the award for Single Best Performance. This award goes to a player who had the best single game performance this year; coaches vote on who gets this award.

Braly went 5-for-5 with two home runs and four RBIs versus NCAA D-I Cornell University back on March 22.

Casey Jensen won the 2008 Female Athlete of the Year award as she was named an All-American in both basketball and volleyball as a freshman.

The 2008 Academic Award went to Heather Kitts while Kitts also took home the 2008 President's Award. The President's Award is an award given by executive office at Southeastern to the athlete who best represents the school spiritually, academically, and athletically.

Senior volleyball player Sarah Maus won the 2008 Character Award; the Character Award is presented to the athlete who best represents the university on and off the court.

The Southeastern Leadership Institute also gave out three awards: Male and Female Athlete of the Year and Coach of the Year.

The Leadership Institute is a committee comprised of student athlete leaders within the athletic department. The Institute is comprised of team captains and future captains whose main purpose is to help the athletic department create leaders out of student athletes.

The Leadership Institute honored Sarah Maus as its Female Athlete of the Year and Grant Berman from the Fire baseball team as its Male Athlete of the Year.

Fire baseball coach Jason Beck won the Leadership Institute's Coach of the Year award.

The Southeastern Athletic Department's Fire Awards is an awards banquet that takes place at the end of every school year to honor all teams, coaches, and athletes who made many sacrifices over the school year to help better the university and the athletic department.

The (Lakeland, Fla.) Ledger: Southeastern Vows to Maintain Character at Higher Level
(04-25-08)

LAKELAND--Southeastern University's teams will look to win on a higher level in the future, but that's not their main mission.

The Southeastern athletics department stressed the importance of maintaining high character when it discussed the Fire's move to the National Athletic Intercollegiate Association at a news conference Wednesday on Southeastern's campus.(Click here for more.)

Southeastern To Officially Announce NAIA Acceptance
(04-21-08)

LAKELAND--Southeastern University was officially approved for admission into the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) by the NAIA Council of Presidents during the NAIA National Convention, April 13, in Louisville, Kentucky.

Southeastern will become an active member as soon as the fall of 2008.

"This is the next logical step in the life of a great university," said Southeastern President Dr. Mark Rutland. "As we say around here, 'A rising tide lifts all the boats,' and Southeastern University's athletics boat is definitely rising."

The Southeastern Athletics Department will host a press conference Wednesday, April 23, at 3:00 p.m. The press conference will be held in the Mi Casa Cafe, in the Southeastern Pansler Alumni-Student Union, and will be open to all Southeastern students, faculty, staff, and alumni.

"This is a historic day for Southeastern," said Southeastern University Athletics Director Duane Aagaard. "The NAIA core values and Champions of Character fit our mission statement as a university very well."

Southeastern has been a non-scholarship athletics program since athletics were first started at the university back in the early 1950s.

The Fire is currently an active member of the National Christian College Athletic Association, and it will continue to be a member since Southeastern will have a dual affiliation with the NAIA and the NCCAA.

With its acceptance into the NAIA, Southeastern targets the fall of 2009 as the year the university will begin to give athletic aid to student athletes.

Fire Golf Team To Be Honored Tonight
(06-26-07)

LAKELAND--For the second time in four years, the Southeastern University men's golf team is the recipient of the Polk County All Sports Awards' Male Collegiate Team of the Year.

Head Coach Evan Gibson will accept the award tonight at the seventh Polk County All Sports Awards and Hall of Fame Banquet, which will be held at the Lakeland Center at 6:15 p.m.

The Southeastern golf team earned the honor after winning its fourth straight NCCAA II National Championship. Other nominees for the award were the Southeastern men's soccer team and the Florida Southern baseball team.

The Fire golf team is the only team in Southeastern history to win a Polk County All Sports Award, and it has now earned the honor twice, winning the award the first time back in 2004 after capturing Southeastern's first national championship.

"It is another tremendous accomplishment, not just for our program but for our university as a whole," said Head Coach Evan Gibson.

The Polk County All Sports Awards and Hall of Fame Banquet is an event geared both to honor teams who compete in Polk County and to recognize amateur and professional athletes who have ties to Polk County.

Other notable award winners being honored Tuesday night will be the Lakeland High School football team for winning its third straight state championship and finishing No.1 nationally for the third straight season.

Florida Southern's women's golf team captured the Female Collegiate Team of the Year award over Southeastern's basketball and soccer teams. The Lady Mocs won the 2007 NCAA II National Championship in women's golf.

Also, Chicago Bears' tight end Desmond Clark, who graduated from Kathleen High School, will be honored as the Professional Athlete of the Year.

The Polk County All Sports Awards will be aired on PGTV tonight, starting at 6:15 p.m.

Fire Wins 2007 President Cup
(06-04-07)

The Southeastern University athletic department has been named the 2007 NCCAA II President's Cup winner for the second time in three years.

Southeastern University Athletic Director Duane Aagaard accepted the award on behalf of the university at the NCCAA National Convention, Saturday, June 2, in Kansas City, Missouri.

The President's Cup is an award given by the NCCAA to the best overall athletic department in the country for Division I and Division II schools. A scoring system is used to determine the winner, and the scoring system is based on how teams finish in their respective national tournaments.

Southeastern University won national championships in men's golf, men's soccer, and baseball while women's basketball and women's soccer both finished third in the country. Every Southeastern athletic program except one finished in the top-five nationally during the 2006-2007 season.

"In college athletics, many schools have a program or two that competes at the highest level within their association," said Dan Wood, executive director of the NCCAA. "However, Southeastern University is that rare institution that strives for excellence in every program. Their performance throughout the year has been outstanding, and when you know the quality of the staff and student-athletes involved, it comes as no real surprise. Excellence always begins with the proper foundation, and the Fire build only on Christian values."

SEU won the President's Cup by more than 20 points, which is the highest margin of victory for a President's Cup winner since 2000.

"When an individual player or even one sport excels, it is a great accomplishment. But when the overall athletic program of a university achieves this level of dominance in its division, it is a testimony to team leadership of the highest quality," said Southeastern President Dr. Mark Rutland. "Mr. Aagaard, all the coaches, all the athletes, the entire university and its administration have pulled together to make this great accomplishment possible."

Since 2003, Southeastern University has won 17 South Region titles and nine NCCAA II National Championships.

Men's golf has won four straight national championships while the Fire baseball team won its third straight national championship this past May when SEU hosted the 2007 NCCAA II Baseball National Tournament.

Southeastern's men's basketball team has finished in the top-five nationally for the past four seasons. SEU has the only team in the country to do so.

"'Winning the second NCCAA II President's Cup in three years reveals both our commitment and desire to build successful Christ-centered athletic programs and not simply chase a championship season or two," Aagaard said. "The President's Cup is the culmination of collaborated efforts from our visionary administration (Dr. Rutland and Vice President for Student Development Dr. Robert Crosby) and our excellent coaching staff to the greatest student-athletes in the country; they are all to be congratulated."

Southeastern athletic director remembers Jerry Falwell
(05-17-07)

By Duane Aagaard, Athletic Director

When I arrived in Lynchburg, Virginia, in January of 1997 to enroll at Liberty University, I had never heard of its founder and chancellor Jerry Falwell. I enrolled at Liberty mostly on a dare from a lifelong friend from Orlando, and I had every intention of returning to the beaches of South Florida after one semester of soaking up the Blue Ridge Mountains.

On this week of Jerry Falwell's death, I look back on my time at Liberty University and its impact upon my education, my faith, and my friendships, and I remember the individuals who shaped me through that amazing university.

While it is not possible for the chancellor to know everyone's name on a campus with 7,000 students, I was fortunate enough to spend a few occasions with him.

Falwell was not the individual portrayed through the evening news. Many of the articles surrounding Falwell's death are still riddled with controversies, but this was not the man that everyone adored at Liberty University.

I am saddened to hear about the loss of Falwell, yet I am blessed to have been impacted by his vision through the education I received at Liberty University.

It has been seven years since I shook his hand and received a degree in sport management from Liberty University, and today I serve as the athletic director at Southeastern University.

My prayer is that Falwell would be proud that his mission of releasing "champions for Christ" is taking place in our athletic department at Southeastern University. We take more pride in impacting lives for Christ than in winning national championships. This is something I feel Falwell showed me in a profound way.

I will remember Falwell as an amazing man of God, a visionary in leadership, a bold communicator, a strong man who stood for his faith, and one on a passionate quest to see moral character in America. Students also found him approachable, and I remember he was always willing to show his sense of humor.

I am proud to have seen Falwell's leadership up close while attending Liberty University. I also am proud that he has displayed what true servant leadership is--leaving a legacy that is bigger than yourself and inspiring a generation to do the same.

AG Tournament: All-Tournament Team and Scores
(01-13-07)

MEN'S SCORES
Thursday, January 11
Central Bible College 84, North Central University 83
Southeastern University 82, Valley Forge Christian College 65

Friday, January 12
Valley Forge Christian College 68, Central Bible College 66
North Central University 70, Southeastern University 67

Saturday, January 13
North Central University 88, Valley Forge Christian College 86
Southeastern University 74, Central Bible College 56

WOMEN'S SCORES
Thursday, January 11
North Central University 62, Central Bible College 54
Southeastern University 107, Valley Forge Christian College 45

Friday, January 12
North Central University 66, Southeastern University 64

Saturday, January 13
North Central University 87, Valley Forge Christian College 50
Southeastern University 78, Central Bible College 48

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAMS
Men
Steven Pierantozzi-Valley Forge Christian College
Thomas Williams-Southeastern University
Israel Galloway-Southeastern University
C.J. Johnson-North Central University
Levi Myers-North Central University-Tournament MVP

Women
Keelie Solomon-North Central University-Tournament MVP
Amanda Parr-Valley Forge Christian College
Krystian Thompson-Southeastern University
Amy Kase-Central Bible College

NCCAA II TOURNAMENT: DIRECTIONS TO AUSTIN-TINDALL REGIONAL PARK
(11-01-06)

Here are directions to Austin-Tindall Regional Park for students and fans traveling to the NCCAA II National Tournament in Kissimmee, Florida.

DIRECTIONS TO AUSTIN-TINDALL REGIONAL PARK FROM LAKELAND, FLORIDA

Take I-4 east towards Orlando.
Take exit 62 towards FL-417 North, heading towards the Orlando International Airport.
Merge onto FL-417 (toll road) take the Boggy Creek Exit 17.
Turn right onto Boggy Creek Road and take Boggy Creek Road 3.9 miles to Austin-Tindall Regional Park.

Here is the address for Austin-Tindall Regional Park for travelers who want to obtain their own directions through the Internet.

Austin-Tindall Regional Park
4100 Boggy Creek Road
Kissimmee, FL 34744
(407) 344-2939

Fire Earns No. 5 Seed; Lady Fire Gets No. 3 Seed

LAKELAND--The Southeastern University men's and women's soccer teams are preparing for the NCCAA II National Tournament, which starts on Wednesday at Austin-Tindall Park in Kissimmee, Florida.

Both teams won their respective region and have plenty of confidence rolling into the national tournament.

The men earned the No. 5 seed despite going 17-5 on the year and 11-1 in the South Region. The Fire will play No. 4 seed Northland Baptist Bible College on Thursday at 7:00 p.m.

The Lady Fire earned the No. 3 seed in the national tournament and will play on Thursday at 2:00 p.m. versus Crown College.

The Lady Fire was perfect in its region this year, going 8-0 while outscoring its opponents 25-1.

Southeastern University's athletic Web site will be updated throughout the tournament with all the latest scores.

Southeastern Athletics Ends Season With Awards Banquet
(04-26-06)

Southeastern University Athletics celebrated another successful season this past Monday night with its annual awards banquet, which was held at Oasis Community Church in Lakeland, Fla.

SEU celebrated two NCCAA II National Championships in 2005-2006 with men's golf winning its third straight national championship and the Fire baseball team winning back-to-back national championships.

Trisha Moody won the Female Athlete of the Year Award as she was honored for her outstanding 2005-2006 season in women's basketball. Moody was named the 2006 NCCAA II National Player of the Year and ended her career at Southeastern as the school's all-time leader in scoring, rebounding, and blocked shots.

Drew Robbins earned the Male Athlete of the Year Award for his monster year in baseball. Robbins set the school record with 25 doubles in a season and tied the school-record with 75 hits. He also led the team with 10 home runs and 65 RBIs while also batting .426 on the season.

First year Head Coach Evan Gibson earned the 2005-2006 Coach of the Year Award as he helped lead the Southeastern golf team to its third straight national championship.

Head Coach Dominic Stross and the women's soccer team won the 2005-2006 Team of the Year Award for their outstanding 2005-2006 season. The women's soccer team went 17-5-1 and finished second in the nation in only the program's third year of existence.

Also receiving awards were:

Men's Soccer
Coaches Award: Jamie Wentworth
Most Improved Player: Chris Joseph
Most Valuable Teammate: Randy Kok

Women's Soccer
Coaches Award: Lindsay Harris
Most Improved Player:
Most Valuable Teammate: Beth Seitz

Golf
Blair Bailey Award: Graeme Nelson
Most Improved Player: Ryan Carriss
Most Valuable Teammate: Graeme Nelson

Volleyball
Coaches Award: Bethany Case
Most Improved Player: Michelle Outlaw
Most Valuable Teammate: Darla Sechrest

Men's Basketball
Coaches Award: Chris Molitor
Most Improved Player: Anthony Turner
Most Valuable Teammate: Israel Galloway

Women's Basketball
Coaches Award: Cristen Wall
Most Improved Player: Erica Jensen
Most Valuable Teammate: Trisha Moody

Cheerleading
Coaches Award: Katie Beeman
Most Improved Player: Andrew DiChristina
Most Valuable Player: Sara Sauers

Baseball
Coaches Award: Jeff Beal
Most Improved Player: Joe Seawell
Most Valuable Teammate: Tommy Sutton

Female Athlete of the Year
Trisha Moody

Male Athlete of the Year
Drew Robbins

Coach of the Year
Evan Gibson

Character Athlete of the Year
Chris Molitor and Lindsay Harris

2005-2006 Team of the Year
Women's Soccer

Academic Athlete of the Year
Matt Powell

President's Award
Derek Britt

Third Time Is The Charm for Southeastern (From The Ledger)
(02-27-06)

LAKELAND -- The No. 2 seeded Atlanta Christian Chargers were looking for a threepeat in Saturday's National Christian Colleges Athletic Association South Region Championship against Southeastern. The Chargers had already defeated Southeastern twice this year and snapped two different Fire streaks in the process. A victory Saturday would snap Southeastern's South Region championship streak at two.

There indeed was a three-peat at the Southeastern Sportsplex, but this one went to the Fire. Click here for more >>

fire basketball to appear on pgtv
(02-10-06)

LAKELAND--Thanks to a partnership between Southeastern University and Polk Government Television, four Southeastern basketball games will appear on PGTV, channel 19, in Lakeland.

Evan Gibson, Southeastern's sports information director, and Duane Aagaard, Southeastern's director of athletics, call the games for Southeastern Athletics.

Under the leadership of Wade Mumm, Southeastern's communication department has produced these athletic events for PGTV.

The partnership between Southeastern's communication and athletic departments has existed for many years. The two departments first started producing basketball games back in 1998 but never had an avenue to broadcast the games throughout Polk County.

But now, thanks to PGTV, all Southeastern broadcasts will be taped and then played throughout Polk County. See the schedule below for the latest information.

SOUTHEASTERN ATHLETICS ON PGTV, CHANNEL 19
Monday, February 20 at 4:00 pm (SEU vs Carver Bible)
Wednesday, Feb 22 at 5:00 p.m. (SEU vs Atlanta Christian)
Saturday, Feb 25 at 1:30 p.m. (SEU vs FL Memorial)

southeastern starting women's tennis
(02-01-06)

LAKELAND--The Southeastern University athletic department is announcing its plans to start women's tennis in the fall semester of 2006. With the addition of women's tennis, Southeastern will raise the number of sports offered to nine.

Southeastern currently offers women's volleyball, men's golf, women's soccer, men's soccer, men's basketball, women's basketball, cheerleading, and baseball.

The Fire women's tennis program will compete within the NCCAA alongside such programs as Cedarville University, Palm Beach Atlantic University, Bethel College, North Greenville College, and Spring Arbor University.

"We are excited to continue moving Southeastern athletics forward; I believe that similar to (the) women’s soccer program(NCCAA National Championship game in its third year of existence), this program will be able to compete at the highest level in the upcoming years," said Southeastern Athletic Athletic Director Duane Aagaard.

Southeastern is currently looking for a coach to start the recruiting melee, hoping to put the program onto the court as soon as possible.