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The Armstrong State Pirates (also just Armstrong, formerly Armstrong Atlantic State) were the athletic teams that represented
Armstrong State University Armstrong may refer to: Places * Armstrong Creek (disambiguation), various places Antarctica * Armstrong Reef, Biscoe Islands Argentina * Armstrong, Santa Fe Australia * Armstrong, Victoria Canada * Armstrong, British Columbia * Armstrong, O ...
(renamed from ''Armstrong Atlantic State University'' in 2014), located in
Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...
, in
NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...
intercollegiate sports. The Pirates and Lady Pirates competed as members of the Peach Belt Conference for all 11 varsity sports. Armstrong had been a member of the Peach Belt from 1990 until the discontinuation of the Pirates athletic program in 2017.


History

Athletics at Armstrong began at the start of the school's history in the 1930s with its teams known as the Geechees. The school won state championships as a junior college in 1938 in men's basketball and men's tennis. Athletics were suspended during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. Following the war, the college added new athletic programs, and in 1948 men's basketball won a second state championship. Armstrong joined the
National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic scholarships to its stu ...
(NAIA) in 1967 and became known as the Pirates after the college became a four-year institution. in 1973 it joined the
National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
(NCAA) and became a member of the
South Atlantic Conference The South Atlantic Conference (SAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level, which operates in the southeastern United States. The SAC was founded in 1975 as a ...
(SAC) with in-state rivals
Valdosta State Valdosta State University (VSU or Valdosta State) is a public university in Valdosta, Georgia. It is one of the four comprehensive universities in the University System of Georgia. , VSU had over 12,000 undergraduate and graduate students. VSU a ...
, Columbus College, and Augusta College. In 1983, Armstrong State College upgraded athletics to
NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...
and became a charter member of the
Big South Conference The Big South Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I. Originally a non-football conference, the Big South began sponsoring football in 2002 as part of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). Th ...
in 1985. Soon after in 1987, the Pirates returned to Division II, becoming a charter member of the Peach Belt Conference in 1990. Armstrong holds 91 PBC championships. In addition, the university has appeared in 133 NCAA Championships, winning 12 titles. Armstrong has produced 287 All-Americans. The Armstrong men's and women's tennis teams have combined to capture nine NCAA Division II national championships over the last eight seasons. With Armstrong's consolidation with
Georgia Southern University Georgia Southern University (GS or Georgia Southern) is a public research university in the U.S. state of Georgia. The flagship campus is in Statesboro, and other locations include the Armstrong Campus in Savannah and the Liberty Campus in Hine ...
, it was announced on March 7, 2017 that Armstrong's athletic program would be discontinued at the conclusion of the 2016–17 academic year.


Varsity teams


List of teams

Men's sports (5) *Baseball *Basketball *Cross country *Golf *Tennis Women's sports (7) *Basketball *Cross country *Golf *Soccer *Softball *Tennis *Volleyball


National championships


Team

Before the discontinuation of the athletics program, the Pirates and Lady Pirates had won thirteen Division II team national championships.


References


External links

* {{Authority control 2017 disestablishments in Georgia (U.S. state)