The Armstrong State Pirates (also known as Armstrong, formerly Armstrong Atlantic State) were the athletic teams that represented

Armstrong State University Armstrong may refer to: Places * Armstrong Creek (disambiguation), various places * Armstrong River (disambiguation), various rivers Antarctica * Armstrong Reef, Biscoe Islands Argentina * Armstrong, Santa Fe Australia * Armstrong, Victor ...

(known as ''Armstrong Atlantic State University'' until 2014), located in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and 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 Brita ...

, in

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is the 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 environment ...

intercollegiate sports. The Pirates and Lady Pirates competed as members of the

Peach Belt Conference The Peach Belt Conference (PBC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. The 10 member institutions are located in the South Atlantic states of South Caroli ...

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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. 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 higher education, colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic schola ...

(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 College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

(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 ...

(SAC) with in-state rivals

Valdosta State Valdosta State University (VSU or Valdosta State) is a public university in Valdosta, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1906, it launched in 1913 as an all-girls college. VSU is one of the four comprehensive universities in the University System ...

, Columbus College, and Augusta College. In 1983, Armstrong State College upgraded athletics to

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

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), ...

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 The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and 1 in Canada. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and helps ...

, 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 (informally known as Southern or Georgia Southern) is a public university, public research university in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The largest campus is in Statesboro, Georgia, Statesboro, with ...

, 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)