Samford men’s basketball coach Jimmy Tillette won’t be coaching against Ohio Valley Conference teams after the 2007-08 season. The private school from Birmingham, Ala. is moving to the Southern Conference and starts play there the year after. (Courtesy of

Samford will leave the Ohio Valley Conference after the 2007-08 school year to join the Southern Conference, effective July 1, 2008.The private school from Birmingham, Ala., and member of the OVC since 2003, announced the decision Thursday. The move will leave the OVC with 10 member schools after the 2007-08 school year.The Bulldogs will join the 86-year old conference that also has four other private schools. Samford was the only private school in the OVC.”I am disappointed that Samford University has made this decision,” said OVC Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher in a statement on Thursday. “I am resolute in my belief that Samford could achieve any of its goals – athletically or institutionally – as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference. However, I understand the institution’s desire to be associated with other private institutions.”Steinbrecher also said the conference isn’t urgently seeking another school to join.A potential school the conference could consider is Southern Illinois at Edwardsville. SIUE is undergoing the reclassification process from Division II to Division I. The Cougars will compete as the Division I level beginning in the 2008-09 school year, but will not be eligible for NCAA Championship competition until the 2012-2013 school year, according to SIUE’s Athletic Task Force Report. The Cougars aren’t in a Division I conference yet and need to be in one to make the move to Division I.Eastern women’s basketball head coach Brady Sallee said Sunday the announcement didn’t come as a surprise to him. He also said having 10 teams is ideal for the conference in a basketball sense.”I think it’s perfect the way it is with 10 (teams),” he said. “We can play a true round-robin (schedule) with basketball. It’ll be a schedule that will make a lot more sense.”The league has a 20-game conference schedule for men’s and women’s basketball. If the league decides to stay with 10 schools after Samford leaves, teams will play an 18-game conference schedule.The Southern Conference will have 12 member schools in five states (Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee). “We wish (Samford) well in their new endeavors in the Southern Conference and will miss them as members of the OVC,” said Rich McDuffie, Eastern’s Director of Athletics in a statement released Thursday.The OVC offers 17 sports and Samford competes in 15.Eastern head softball coach Kim Schuette said she was unaware Samford might leave the OVC.The OVC currently has 10 softball teams, with Murray State not fielding a program. Once Samford leaves, the conference will have nine teams playing softball.Schuette said Samford is a solid program and will be hard to replace, but she will not miss making the nine-hour bus trip down to Birmingham.The league will have 10 member schools for football next season, as Austin Peay reinstated scholarship football for the 2007 season. When Samford leaves after next season, the conference will return to nine schools.

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