An Early Summer SHOUT (for the old year and the new)!

Well, the 2010-11 year is put to rest...today is a massive cleaning day around the Big South headquarters (you have spring cleaning, we have SUMMER cleaning) as we set our sites already on the year ahead.

For the Big South sports calendar, July 1st is New Year's Day...that's the start for the fiscal year and the dividing line on paper between the season past and the season to come. This year, it also means the arrival of the Campbell University Fighting Camels to the Conference. Well, not "arrival" really--more like "return," since CU was a founding member of the Big South and participated here from 1983-1994. So the Camels are back: WELCOME, FRIENDS!

As for the year gone, well, Liberty won the Sasser Cup after taking 7 of the 18 Big South Championships outright (MXC, WXC, MITF, WITF, MG, MOTF, SOFT). Coastal Carolina was next in terms of hardware, with another four of the BSC titles (MSOC, WG, WOTF, BASE). Count High Point in for two (WSOC, VB), and then it's one each for Winthrop (WTEN), Asheville (MBB), Gardner-Webb (WBB), and Radford (MTEN)...all of which means none this time around for VMI, CSU, or PC. The only one not mentioned was football, and since that one is based just on regular season finish and not a tournament or championship like the ones listed above, we're left with a tie there between Coastal, Liberty, and Stony Brook (CCU got the playoff bid in a tiebreaker).

The last gasps in the sports year included Coastal winning the baseball tourney and grabbing a big win at the regional before falling after that, and NCAA Track & Field efforts that topped out with another National Championship for Liberty's Sam Chelanga--this time in the 5K. We've said this in other spaces already, but there really aren't words enough to describe the success of Chelanga, a multiple national champion and an All-American many times over...a shame to see him go, but he's going to keep on running to even greater achievements, I'm sure.

Meanwhile, some rotating vacation time around the office includes days off for yours truly next week, but once we get into July, we're full speed ahead into the 2011-12 season on all fronts. We are looking forward to updates and improvements to all our online outlets in the year ahead...psst...already tweaked our Twitter page--go see the simple yet sleek new background.

I hope everyone in the wide world of Big South Conference fans, friends, and family has a great summer--enjoy the breather while you can, because the competition will be back and just as intense as ever, if not more so, in only a couple of months...so get fired up (but pace yourself)!

And on that note, thanks, everybody...and...SHOUT...out.