Samford University Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ==Athletics== {{Main|Samford Bulldogs}} The university fields 17 varsity sports and participates in the NCAA at the Division I level as a member of the [[Southern Conference]].<ref name="samfordfacts">{{cite web |title=Key Facts |url=http://www.samford.edu/about-samford/facts.aspx |access-date=December 31, 2014}}</ref> Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, tennis and indoor and outdoor track and field. Women's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, tennis, indoor and outdoor track and field and volleyball. In the NCAA's 2013 report, Samford student-athletes achieved an average Academic Progress Rate of 990, the highest in Alabama.<ref name="samfordsports">{{cite web |url=http://samfordsports.com/news/2012/6/20/academicsupport_0620124606.aspx?path=academicsupport|title=Samford Teams Post High APR Scores|date=June 20, 2012|access-date=December 31, 2014}}</ref> It marked the eighth consecutive year that Samford has been a leader in APR measures, beginning in 2005 when it placed 7th in the nation in the inaugural ranking.<ref name=samfordsports/> The university is one of only 61 schools to have received an NCAA Public Recognition Award for academic excellence in the past eight years.<ref name="samfordathletics">{{cite web |title=Samford Athletics |url=http://www.samford.edu/athletics/ |access-date=March 14, 2024}}</ref> In 2019, Samford's athletics teams were ranked first in Alabama and the Southern Conference and 18th in the country among all NCAA Division 1 schools for Graduation Success Rate by the NCAA with an average score of 97%. Nine teams posted perfect scores.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.samford.edu/news/2019/10/Samford-Athletics-Ranks-Among-Top-Nationally-for-Graduation-Success-Rate-in-Latest-NCAA-Report| title=Samford Ranks Among Top Nationally| access-date=December 19, 2019| publisher=Samford University| date=October 23, 2019}}</ref> Samford is first among Division I schools in Alabama and in the Southern Conference. The Bulldogs have won 74 conference championships since joining the Southern Conference in 2008.<ref name=samfordathletics/> In the last 20 years, 28 Samford baseball players have been selected in the Major League Baseball Draft, and 19 Bulldog football players have been chosen in the National Football League Draft.<ref name=samfordathletics/> Past student-athletes include national-championship football coaches [[Bobby Bowden]]<ref name="bowden">{{cite web|url=https://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2018/9/8/17661978/jimbo-fisher-bobby-bowden-samford-florida-state|title=FSU's Week 2 opponent was the catalyst for the last 40 years of Seminole greatness|author=Richard Johnson|publisher=SBNation|date=September 8, 2018|access-date=August 24, 2019}}</ref> and [[Jimbo Fisher]]<ref name="fisher">{{cite web|url=http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/sports/college-football/fsus-jimbo-fisher-has-deep-roots-at-samford-and--1/nL9kF/|title=FSU's Jimbo Fisher has deep roots at Samford and close ties to Terry Bowden|date=September 3, 2010|author=Tom D'Angelo|access-date=December 31, 2014}}</ref> All-Pro defensive back [[Cortland Finnegan]],<ref name="finnegan">{{cite web |url=http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2012/03/samfords_cortland_finnegan_get.html|title=Samford's Cortland Finnegan gets 5-year, $50 million deal with Rams|date=March 14, 2012 |access-date=December 31, 2014}}</ref> NFL standouts include James Bradberry (Carolina Panthers), Michael Pierce (Baltimore Ravens) and [[Jaquiski Tartt]] (San Francisco 49ers), and baseball’s Phillip Ervin, who has had success with the Cincinnati Reds. Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page