Mercer

Location: Macon, Georgia Division: NCAA Division I Conference (basketball): Atlantic Sun Conference Arena: University Center

The Mercer University Bears compete as members of the Atlantic Sun Conference in NCAA Division I basketball. The school has not sponsored football since 1942, but is relaunching the program on a non-scholarship basis beginning in 2013, and will play in the Pioneer Football League. Mercer is a private Baptist institution located in Macon, Georgia. The school has an undergraduate enrollment of around 5,000.

The campus is located south of downtown Macon, bounded by Coleman Avenue, College Street, Mercer University Drive, and I-75. Exit 163 off I-75 is the Mercer University Drive exit, and offers immediate campus access. University Center (3,500) is located mid-campus on the southeast corner of Adams Street and Edgewood Avenue.

Mercer doesn't appear to have a serious rivalry with any other school.

Mercer has sent four players to the NFL. Three of these were in the pre-war era, most notably All-Pro G Les Olsson. Oddly, the fourth was TE Wesley Duke, who appeared in three games for the Broncos in 2005 despite not having played football collegiately -- he'd played basketball for the Bears. One Mercer alum has played in the NBA, that being Sam Mitchell, who enjoyed a 13-year career with Indiana and Minnesota.

Conference Affiliations

Football

no team	Pioneer Football League	2013-
no team		1943-2012
Unaffiliated Independents	Independent	1942
Dixie Conference (I)	Independent	1930-1941†
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	Independent	1919-1936†
Unaffiliated Independents	Independent	1911-1918
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	Independent	1906-1910

† - Mercer competed in both the SIAA and Dixie Conference from 1930-1936.

Basketball

Atlantic Sun Conference	NCAA I	2001-present
Trans America Athletic Conference	NCAA I	1978-2001
NCAA Division I Independents	NCAA I	1974-1978
NCAA Division II Independents	NCAA II	1973-1974
NCAA College Division Independents	NCAA College	1961-1973
NAIA Basketball Independents	NAIA	1954-1961
Dixie Conference (II)	NAIA	1948-1954
NAIA Basketball Independents	NAIA	1941-1948
Dixie Conference (I)	NAIA	1936-1941†
Dixie Conference (I)	Independent	1930-1936†
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association	Independent	1919-1937†
Unaffiliated Independents	Independent	1911-1919
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association	Independent	1906-1911

† - Mercer competed in both the SIAA and Dixie Conference from 1930-1937.

Post-Season Appearances

Football

Mercer never appeared in the post-season in football.

Basketball

NCAA Division I Men's Tournament	1981
NAIA Men's Basketball Tournament	1948, 1954

Championships

Football

Dixie Conference (I) Champions	1932

Basketball

Atlantic Sun Conference Regular Season Champions	2003
Trans America Athletic Conference Tournament Champions	1981
NAIA Men's Basketball District 25 Regional Champions	1954
Dixie Conference (II) Tournament Champions	1951, 1952, 1954
Dixie Conference (II) Regular Season Champions	1950, 1952, 1953
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association Tournament Champions†	1924

† - SIAA records are incomplete, as are records for the 1930-1941 Dixie Conference; Mercer may have won other championships.

External Links

Mercer University Athletics