SSU has competed as an NCAA Division I Independent without conference affiliation since leaving the Division II Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in 2002.  "We are very, very excited at Savannah State University," SSU President Earl Yarbrough said. "When I arrived on the campus about two and a half years ago, three years ago, there was a concern about what would we do about athletics on the campus. ...We looked around, we read the reports and we decided to pursue MEAC affiliation, a dream that, of course my predecessor Carlton Brown had."... And we couldn't have moved into a better conference."

MEAC Commissioner Dennis Thomas, who is attending the MEAC basketball tournament in Winston-Salem, N.C., issued a statement announcing SSU's admission.  "We are pleased to extend membership and welcome Savannah State University to the MEAC family," Thomas said. "The addition of SSU keeps
us in compliance with our long range and strategic plan of adding up to 14 members."

 Only Georgia member

SSU is Georgia's only MEAC member. The Tigers join:  Florida A&M
(Tallahassee, Fla.), Bethune-Cookman (Daytona Beach, Fla.), South Carolina State (Orangeburg, S.C.), North Carolina A&T (Greensboro, N.C.), North Carolina Central (Durham, N.C.), Howard (Washington, D.C.), Norfolk State (Norfolk, Va.), Hampton (Hampton, Va.), Morgan State (Baltimore), Coppin State (Baltimore), Maryland-Eastern Shore (Princess Anne, Md.) and Delaware State (Dover, Del.) The MEAC admitted North Carolina Central on Sept. 10, 2009. The next day, Winston-Salem State (Winston-Salem, N.C.) announced it will leave the MEAC and return to Division II. Winston-Salem State will compete in the MEAC through the 2010 season.

Winston-Salem State's departure combined with the addition of North Carolina Central and SSU gives the MEAC 13 member institutions. Two MEAC schools - Coppin State and Maryland-Eastern Shore - do not have football programs.

As a provisional member, SSU must be in compliance with three stipulations by Sept. 1, 2011, before full membership status into the MEAC is granted. The stipulations include student-athlete scholarships, athletics budget and staffing. SSU must increase its athletics budget of approximately $2.7 million, as well as the number of scholarships offered throughout its 13 sports programs.

"We've put together a three-to-five-year plan at the university that the conference has looked at," Yarbrough said. "They've reviewed our financial statements and looked at what we can do and can't do, and they've said to us, 'Based upon your plan, you're worthy of membership.' It's just a matter of making the plan work now. And we're going to do that."  SSU Vice President for Administration Claud Flythe, who oversees athletics, said he will travel today to Winston-Salem, N.C., to meet with Thomas at the MEAC basketball tournament. The MEAC has scheduled a news conference Friday at 5 p.m. at Joel Coliseum to further discuss SSU's acceptance.  SSU will conduct another press conference March 24 on campus.

SSU has been waiting since 2006

SSU applied for MEAC membership in 2006. Thomas and other conference representatives made their first site visit to SSU on May 8, 2006. MEAC school presidents were set to vote on SSU's admittance, but the NCAA placed the Tigers' football program on a three-year probation the week before the scheduled decision. As a result, the MEAC on July 5, 2006, tabled its SSU vote. SSU's probation ended May 18, 2009. Thomas and other MEAC representatives
returned to SSU on June 29, 2009.

Being a member of the MEAC will benefit SSU in numerous ways, especially in terms of scheduling opponents. Without conference affiliation and built-in opponents, the Tigers have had to beg other schools to play them. Often it has meant having to travel to places as far away as California to play a game.

"Our student-athletes can spend more time in class than on the road and in airports and in hotels across the country," Flythe said. "We can generate some rivalries."

SSU men's basketball head coach Horace Broadnax, who was Bethune-Cookman's coach before coming to SSU, said he is thrilled to be in the MEAC. "From an individual standpoint, I'm extremely excited," Broadnax said. "From an overall standpoint, for the Savannah State family, I'm excited for everybody in the process. We've got a lot of work to do, but it's a positive step. It gives us a lot of credibility. It seems like when you're out there as an Independent, you're like the stepchild of college athletics."

SSU football interim head coach Julius Dixon could not stop smiling after the announcement.  "We're very excited about the news," Dixon said. "It's tremendous for us as well as for the university in terms of recruiting. That opens the door to a whole new world."

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SSU announces tentative 2010 football schedule

 Major renovations to Theodore A. Wright Stadium have forced SSU to schedule less home games. In 2010 the Tigers will play nine road games and two home contests.

 "Scheduling was a difficult task for us this season," said interim athletics director Marilynn Suggs. "We wanted to play our usual complement of home games, but with the stadium renovations we will not be able to do so."

"We have scheduled six games in the state of Georgia in order to give our students, alumni, boosters, fans and supporters the best opportunity to see us play. We are extremely excited about the renovations to the stadium and look forward to playing on our campus in 2011," added Suggs.

The Tigers will kick off the season on the road against local rival Georgia Southern in Statesboro on September 4. The Tigers will play 11 teams from six conferences (Southern, Southern Intercollegiate, Mid-Eastern, Big South, Colonial and Southwestern).

 Savannah State will play Fort Valley State on Sept. 11, at a site yet to be determined, followed by a road trip to Bethune-Cookman on Sept. 18 and a Sept. 25 match-up against Albany State at a site yet to be determined. Although the site venue has not been announced, the games against Fort Valley and Albany State will be played in Georgia.

The Tigers will travel to Lynchburg, Virginia to play Liberty on October 2 and will head to Atlanta, Georgia to play Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) newcomer Georgia State in the Georgia Dome on Oct. 9.

SSU will close out the month at Florida A&M on Oct. 16 and at Alabama State on Oct. 23 before an OPEN date on Oct. 30.Old Dominion will be the Tigers last road game of the season on November 6.

 Savannah State will end the year with back-to-back home games on Nov. 13 and Nov. 20. North Carolina Central will come to Savannah on Nov. 13 and Norfolk State will be SSU’s Homecoming opponent on Nov. 20. SSU will announce the site of its home games at a later date.

 When completed in the summer of 2011, the new Theodore A. Wright Stadium will accommodate 8,000 patrons – 4,500 on the home side and 3,500 on the visitor side – in a combination of bleachers and seats. The existing concrete bleachers will be ground up and used during construction. – and construction of a new student complex, also slated to begin in July – will be financed by the Georgia Higher Education Facilities Authority (GHEFA), which enables pooled financing of multiple projects under a single bond issue to help fund capital projects for the University System of Georgia and Department of Technical and Adult Education.

 Nearly all stadium structures will be demolished as part of the upgrade, but the skybox, built in 2008, and track and field will remain intact. An elevator and restrooms will be added to the skybox and team locker rooms, concession areas and restrooms for the home and visitor sides of the stadium will be constructed. A 500-seat student section will be located below the President’s Club section, and the SSU Student Government Association will have its own skybox for use during football games.

 The stadium renovations 

SSU students voted last year to begin paying in the fall an extra $150 semester fee to help fund both the stadium renovations and student center construction, expected to cost a combined $17 million. The expected cost for stadium renovations are $4.5 million. Students were involved in the design process for both projects and will be able to use the stadium for other events at no addit'l cost.

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Out-of-State Tuition Waiver POLICY

 In accordance with USG BOR Policy 704.041 (Rev 05-2009/Effective 2-2009), Savannah State University (SSU) may award out-of-state tuition waivers to students under the following conditions:

 A.    Academic Common Market. Students selected to participate in a program offered through the Academic Common Market. SSU has a common market agreements with two states:

a)      State of South Carolina for students accepted into the SSU Homeland Security and Emergency Management program.

b)      State of Tennessee for students accepted into the SSU Marine Science program.

B.     International and Superior Out-of-State Students International students and superior out-of-state students selected by the SSU president or an authorized representative, provided that the number of such waivers in effect does not exceed 2% of the equivalent full-time students enrolled at the institution in the fall term immediately preceding the term for which the out-of-state tuition is to be waived.

C.     University System Employees and Dependents. Full-time employees of the University System, their spouses, and their dependent children.

D.    Medical/Dental Students and Interns. Medical and dental residents and medical and dental interns at the Medical College of Georgia (BR Minutes, 1986-87, p. 340).

E.     Full-Time School Employees. Full-time employees in the public schools of Georgia or Technical College System of Georgia (BR Minutes, October 2008), their spouses, and their dependent children. Teachers employed full-time on military bases in Georgia shall also qualify for this waiver (BR Minutes, 1988-89, p. 43).

F.      Career Consular Officials. Career consular officers, their spouses, and their dependent children who are citizens of the foreign nation that their consular office represents and who are stationed and living in Georgia under orders of their respective governments.

G.    Military Personnel. Military personnel, their spouses, and their dependent children stationed in or assigned to Georgia and on active duty. The waiver can be retained by the military personnel, their spouses, and their dependent children if:

a)      The military sponsor is reassigned outside of Georgia , and the student(s) remain(s) continuously enrolled and the military sponsor remains on active military status.

b)      The military sponsor is reassigned out-of-state and the spouse and dependent children remain in Georgia and the sponsor remains on active military duty.

c)      Active military personnel and their spouse and dependent children who are stationed in a state contiguous to the Georgia border and who live in Georgia . (BR Minutes, February 2009).

H.    ResearchUniversityGraduate Students. Graduate students attending the University of Georgia, the Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia State University, and the Medical College of Georgia, which shall be authorized to waive the out-of-state tuition differential for a limited number of graduate students each year, with the understanding that the number of students at each of these institutions to whom such waivers are granted, shall not exceed the number assigned below at any one point in time:

Universityof Georgia 80

Georgia Institute of Technology 60

Georgia State University 80

MedicalCollege of Georgia 20

I.       Border County Residents. Students domiciled in an out-of-state county bordering Georgia , enrolling in a program offered at a location approved by the Board of Regents and for which the offering institution has been granted permission to award Border County waivers (BR Minutes, October 2008). For SSU, the counties approved for this waiver are the South Carolina counties of Beaufort and Jasper.

J.       National Guard and U.S. Military Reservists. Active members of the Georgia National Guard, stationed or assigned to Georgia or active members of a unit of the U.S. Military Reserves based in Georgia, and their spouses and their dependent children (BR Minutes, October 2008).

K.    Students enrolled in University System institutions as part of Competitive Economic Development Projects. Students who are certified by the Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development as being part of a competitive economic development project.

L.     Students in Georgia-Based Corporations. Students who are employees of Georgia-based corporations or organizations that have contracted with the Board of Regents through University System institutions to provide out-of-state tuition differential waivers.

M.   Students in ICAPP® Advantage programs. Any student participating in an ICAPP® Advantage program.

N.    International and Domestic Exchange Programs. Any student who enrolls in a University System institution as a participant in an international and domestic direct exchange program that provides reciprocal benefits to University System students (BR Minutes, October 2008).

O.    Economic Advantage. As of the first day of classes for the term, an economic advantage waiver may be granted to a U.S. citizen or U.S. legal permanent resident who is a dependent or independent student and can provide clear evidence that the student or the student’s parent, spouse, or U.S. court-appointed legal guardian has relocated to the State of Georgia to accept full-time, self-sustaining employment and has established domicile in the State of Georgia. Relocation to the state must be for reasons other than enrolling in an institution of higher education. For US. citizens or U.S. legal permanent residents, this waiver will expire 12 months from the date the waiver was granted.

 As of the first day of classes for the term, an economic advantage waiver may be granted to an independent non-citizen possessing a valid employment-related visa status who can provide clear evidence of having relocated to the State of Georgia to accept fulltime, self-sustaining employment. Relocation to the state must be for employment reasons and not for the purpose of enrolling in an institution of higher education. These individuals would be required to show clear evidence of having taken legally permissible steps toward establishing legal permanent residence in the United States and the establishment of legal domicile in the State of Georgia . Independent non-citizen students may continue to receive this waiver as long as they maintain a valid employment-related visa status and can demonstrate continued efforts to establish U.S. legal permanent residence and legal domicile in the State of Georgia .

 A dependent non-citizen student who can provide clear evidence that the student’s parent, spouse, or U.S. court-appointed legal guardian possesses a valid employment-related visa status and can provide clear evidence of having relocated to the State of Georgia to accept full-time, self-sustaining employment is also eligible to receive this waiver. Relocation to the state must be for employment reasons and not for the purpose of enrolling in an institution of higher education. These individuals must be able to show clear evidence of having taken legally permissible steps toward establishing legal permanent residence in the United States and the establishment of legal domicile in the State of Georgia .

 Non-citizen students currently receiving a waiver who are dependents of a parent, spouse, or U.S. court-appointed legal guardian possessing a valid employment-related visa status may continue to receive the waiver as long as they can demonstrate that their parent, spouse or U.S. court-appointed legal guardian is maintaining full-time, self-sustaining employment in Georgia and is continuing efforts to pursue an adjustment of status to U.S. legal permanent resident and the establishment of legal domicile in the State of Georgia (BR Minutes, amended October 2008).

P.      Recently Separated Military Service Personnel. Members of a uniformed military service of the United States who, within 12 months of separation from such service, enroll in an academic program and demonstrate an intent to become domiciled in Georgia . This waiver may also be granted to their spouses and dependent children. This waiver may be granted for not more than one year (BR Minutes, June 2004, amended October 2008).

Q.    Nonresident Student. As of the first day of classes for the term, a nonresident student can be considered for this waiver under the following conditions:

a)      Dependent Student. If the parent, or U.S. court-appointed legal guardian has maintained domicile in Georgia for at least 12 consecutive months and the student can provide clear and legal evidence showing the relationship to the parent, or U.S. court-appointed legal guardian has existed for at least 12 consecutive months immediately preceding the first day of classes for the term. Under Georgia code legal guardianship must be established prior to the student’s 18th birthday (BR Minutes, October 2008).

b)      Independent Student. If the student can provide clear and legal evidence showing relations to the spouse and the spouse has maintained domicile in Georgia for at least 12 consecutive months immediately preceding the first day of classes for the term. This waiver can remain in effect as long as the student remains continuously enrolled (BR Minutes, October 2008).

c)      If the parent, spouse, or U.S. court-appointed legal guardian of a continuously enrolled nonresident student establishes domicile in another state after having maintained domicile in the State of Georgia for the required period, the nonresident student may continue to receive this waiver as long as the student remains continuously enrolled in a public postsecondary educational institution in the state, regardless of the domicile of the parent, spouse or U.S. court-appointed legal guardian (BR Minutes, June 2006, amended October 2008).

R.     Vocational Rehabilitation Waiver. Students enrolled in a University System of Georgia institution based on a referral by the Vocational Rehabilitation Program of the Georgia Department of Labor (BR Minutes, October 2008).

 Out-of-State Tuition Waiver Forms or requests for tuition waivers must be received in the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs no later than the last day to pay tuition & fees for the term for which the out-of-state tuition is to be waived. Petitions or requests for waivers submitted after that date will not be considered for the term. If a waiver application is approved, the waiver will not be retroactive to prior terms. Waivers must be renewed annually unless otherwise noted.

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SavannahState University

 Out-of-State Tuition Waiver for International & Superior Out-of-State Students Process

The following are the guidelines for an out-of-state tuition waiver:

Fill out an Application for Out-of-State Tuition Waiver.

1.      Include in your application packet a 100-word personal statement substantiating your reasons for requesting this waiver.

2.      Include in your application packet, a letter from an advisor referencing your campus, or community, involvement. Considerable weight is given to these types of activities and service.

3.      Submit your application packet to the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs no later than the last day to pay tuition & fees for the term for which the out-of-state tuition is to be waived (Refer to the SSU academic calendar for the tuition & fees due date).

4.       Incomplete packets, or packets submitted after the due date, will not be considered for the term.

Requirements if granted  a Out-of-State Tuition Waiver:

-          If a waiver application is approved, the waiver will not be retroactive to prior terms.

-          Waivers must be renewed annually unless otherwise noted.

-          The student must maintain ‘full-time’ registration status at all times, and falling below 12 hours may cause a student to lose the waiver (EXCEPTION:  graduating semester).

-          The student’s GPA has considerable weight in determining approval of the waiver, and falling below a 2.0 GPA may cause a student to lose the waiver for the next semester of registration.

-          A student who stops out for a semester may jeopardize losing the waiver.

NOTE:  The Out-of-State Tuition Waiver Committee will review the application packet and advise the Vice President for Student Affairs of approval/denial.

Good morning to all fellow alums. Here are your new 2009 - 2011 SSUNAA Officers (Pictures are above):

Vice President - Tommie Aaron 74'

Recording Secretary - Nefetara Clark 04'

Corresponding Secretary - Versie M. Dupont 67'

Treasurer - Lisa Earls 83'

Financial Secretary - Tanyetta Sims 96'

Chaplain - Dorothy B. Trawick 68'

Eastern Region VP - Donrell A.B. Johnson 97'

Mid Western Region VP - Birnell Hatcher 66'

Northern Region VP - Alvernia S. Jackson 67'

Southern Region VP - Serena Garcia-Holland 93'

Western Region VP - Florine M. Baker 70'