Sunshine State Conference

As the final clock ran out on the 2014-15 season, Florida Southern Men's Basketball became NCAA Division II Champions.

On their home court, Florida Southern was eliminated from the 2014 NCAA postseason regional tournament in a 98-95 loss to Tuskegee. The loss left an awful image in their minds as they watched another team move on in the postseason on their court.

The Moccasins began their season with the Tuskegee loss on their minds and opened the 2014-15 season 9-0 at home, 11-0 overall, including a win over No. 3 Bellarmine. The Moccasins knew conference play would be a challenge as they opened up play against Barry. In what would prove to be their only loss of the season, the Moccasins were upset 107-102 at home by No. 11 Barry. "Looking back on the season, I am glad that the loss came on January 3rd and not March 28th in the National Championship Game," commented Senior Bubby Johnson.

Florida Southern went on to win the next 16 games earning their third consecutive Sunshine State Conference regular-season title and the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament. The Moccasins defeated Eckerd (87-75), Lynn (79-66), and Barry (93-83), for their fourth consecutive SSC tournament championship.

Following the SSC tourney, Florida Southern was set to host to the 2015 NCAA South Regional Tournament. The Moccasins were pitted against Benedict College in the same game where they were knocked out of the postseason on their home court the previous year. "We knew who Benedict was, and just like Tuskegee, they were coming in hot, and we couldn't look past them. We made sure we did all we needed to do to be the ones celebrating at our house," said Johnson.

Florida Southern took down Benedict (89-68), West Georgia (84-81), and Lynn (88-80) en route to winning the regional tournament. For the second time in three years, the Moccasins were headed to the Elite Eight.

In the national quarterfinals, Florida Southern breezed past Southern New Hampshire, 81-70. Against Bellarmine, in the semifinals, the Moccasins clung to a four-point halftime lead in what was a physical ball game. Bellarmine started on a run with minutes left in the game, and Johnson was called for his fifth foul. Upon appeal and following a nine-minute review, officials ruled Johnson only had four fouls.

The break cooled the hot shooting Knights, and the teams went back and forth with the lead. Scoring stalled at 76 points with just under two minutes remaining. Then the final points came at the hands of senior Kevin Capers, the NABC D-II Player of the Year, who sank a three-point bucket with eight seconds remaining. Capers last-second heroics gave Florida Southern the 79-76 victory.

On March 28th, the Moccasins were slated to play for their second basketball national title in school history. The only team standing in their way was the Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Florida Southern took the early lead and did not look back. At halftime, the Moccasins owned a nine-point lead and started to widen the score with ten minutes remaining, proving too much for IUP.

As the clock ran down to zero, the Moccasins knew they had gotten the most important victory. The miracle season had come to an end as they defeated Indiana University of Pennsylvania, 77-62, to claim the 2015 National Championship.

When all the confetti had fallen, and We are the Champions ended, a member of the 1981 Florida Southern Men's Basketball National Championship team approached Johnson and his teammates Tyler Kelly and Dominique Williams. He said, "Now, when the school honors champions, you all will be right there with us."

By: Jonathan Glass | Sunshine State Conference Intern

[Published: 2/26/16 / Edited: 3/23/20]

---

Beginning on October 29th, 2011, the University of Tampa began an epic reign over Sunshine State Conference volleyball. The Spartans won 59 consecutive games against conference foes over the next four years.

Tampa dispatched Saint Leo, 3-1, to begin their streak of wins overs SSC members. The Spartans concluded the 2011 season with nine straight wins before falling in the national semifinals to Concordia-St. Paul.

The next two seasons, Tampa was unblemished in conference play, winning 32 games overall in each season. The Spartans finished as national runners-up in 2012 and as national semifinalists in 2013, each time falling to a familiar foe, Concordia-St. Paul.

In 2014 the Spartans powered through for their second National Championship in program history. UT went 34-1 overall, winning their last 30 games to garner the title. Again perfect in SSC play, the Spartans swept 11 of the 16 matches.

On an October 2015 road trip to Lynn, No. 1 ranked Tampa fell to the Fighting Knights, 3-2. Nearly four years after the streak began it had come to a close. Tampa bounced back, finishing the season 27-6 overall, 15-1 in SSC play, and securing their sixth straight conference championship and a trip to their seventh consecutive regional tournament.

"While the streak was alive, I did not think or talk about it even once. Now that it is over, I realize how difficult it was to win 59 straight conference games in the Sunshine State Conference," commented Chris Catanach, University of Tampa Head Coach.

"From top to bottom, this is the best Division II Volleyball Conference in the country. This accomplishment is a testament to the awesome kids who chose to attend and compete for The University of Tampa Volleyball program. "

Tampa has become synonymous with Division-II volleyball. The Spartans currently hold 25 regular season SSC titles and 17 NCAA South Region titles. UT has two national championships in their six appearances in the title game (2006, 2014).
 

[Published: 2/26/16 / Edited: 3/23/20]

About the 40 Great Moments Campaign

The "40 Great Moments" campaign was created to bring attention to the athletic excellence, academic excellence, community engagement, and sportsmanship that has made up the Sunshine State Conference over the last 40 years. Moments were nominated by current and former student-athletes, coaches, administrators, alumni, and fans. The final 40 moments were decided upon by a vote of conference Sports Information Directors. The "40 Great Moments" campaign concluded during the Summer of 2016.

View all 40 of the SSC's Great Moments, here.