By BY BRUCE HIXON – SPORTS EDITOR
Two Alabama Community College Conference women's sports will undergo a change in membership in the near future, which could lead to conference structure changes down the road.
Volleyball is getting two new members, Wallace State-Selma and Snead State. Wallace State-Selma's program is scheduled to begin play this coming season, while Snead State's program will begin operations in 2008.
The addition of those two schools will increase conference membership in volleyball to 11 teams. Current members include Jefferson Davis Community College, Gadsden State, Northwest Shoals, Bevill State-Fayette, Wallace State-Hanceville, Faulkner State, Southern Union, Central Alabama and Lawson State.
While conference sports such as basketball, baseball and softball are broken into divisions, volleyball has operated without divisions.
Game schedule would not be the only area that would affect JDCC in a potential north/south divisional format. It could also reduce some travel.
JDCC and Faulkner State are the only softball south division schools that play volleyball. Current volleyball members Wallace State-Hanceville, Bevill State, Gadsden State and Northwest Shoals compete in the ACCC's north division in softball. Incoming volleyball member Snead State is also a north division participant in softball. Southern Union and Central Alabama compete in the league's central division in softball.
While Snead State is adding volleyball to its sports curriculum effective in the fall of 2008, it is dropping its softball program after next season. Snead State could be replaced in softball's north division by Lawson State, which is considering adding the sport in the near future.
While baseball consolidated from three divisions (north, central, south) to two divisions (north and south) for this past season, softball continued to operate with three divisions (north, central, south).
JDCC softball is currently in the south division along with Alabama Southern, Bishop State, L.B. Wallace, Faulkner State, Enterprise-Ozark and Wallace State-Dothan.
Snead State's departure after the 2008 season will leave the north division with five members. That list includes Calhoun, Wallace-State Hanceville, Bishop State-Sumiton, Gadsden State and Northwest Shoals.
The central division is already at five members with Central Alabama, Jefferson State, Shelton state, Chattahoochee Valley and Southern Union.