The Truett McConnell Bears are the athletic teams that represent

Truett McConnell University Truett McConnell University is a private Baptist university in Cleveland, Georgia. It is operated under the auspices of the Georgia Baptist Convention and controlled by a board of trustees elected by the convention. The university was named to ...

, located in

Cleveland, Georgia Cleveland is a city in White County, Georgia, located northeast of Atlanta and southeast of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Its population was 3,410 at the 2010 census (up from 1,907 in 2000). It is the county seat of White County. Cleveland is home to ...

, in intercollegiate sports as a member of 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), primarily competing in the

Appalachian Athletic Conference The Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Members of the conference are located in the Southeastern United States in Tennessee, Kentuc ...

(AAC) since the 2013–14 academic year. The Bears previously competed in the

Southern States Athletic Conference The Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The 11 member universities that compete in 19 sports are located in Louisiana, Mississi ...

(SSAC; formerly known as Georgia–Alabama–Carolina Conference (GACC) until after the 2003–04 school year) from 2010–11 to 2012–13; as well as an NAIA Independent within the Association of Independent Institutions (AII) during the 2009–10 school year (when the school joined the NAIA).

Conference affiliations

NAIA *

Association of Independent Institutions NAIA independent schools are four-year institutional members of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) that do not have formal conference affiliations. NAIA schools that are not members of any other athletic conference are ...

(2009–2010) *

(2010–2013) *

(2013–present)

Varsity teams

TMU competes in 22 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, tennis, track & field, volleyball and wrestling; while women's sports include basketball, beach volleyball, cross country, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, tennis, track & field and volleyball; and life sports include competitive gaming, cycling and shooting sports.

Nickname

The initial nickname of TMU's athletic teams, "The Mountaineers," was changed to "Danes" in 1965, and is now the "Bears".

Notable people

Mitchell Wiggins Mitchell Lee Wiggins (born September 28, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player who played the shooting guard position. Early life Wiggins attended North Lenoir High School in LaGrange, North Carolina. College career He pl ...

, NBA player and father of NBA player

Andrew Wiggins Andrew Christian Wiggins (born February 23, 1995) is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected with the first overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft by th ...

, played basketball at Truett McConnell from 1978 to 1979

References

External links

* {{GeorgiaUS-sport-team-stub