Shawnee State University’s athletic programs have entered a new era. At the start of this academic year, the Bears moved from the Mid-South Conference to the River States Conference. The change coincides with the arrival of a new SSU athletic director, Gerald Cadogan, who explained the reasoning behind the switch.

“Primary for us repositioning our conference alignment was for proximity,” he said. “Previously our closest school would have been far away. We are now in a conference with the likes of Rio Grande, Midway, Indiana Kokomo and West Virginia Tech, which are a lot closer to Portsmouth, Ohio, and Shawnee State University.”

While coaches want to see their athletes succeed in competitions, they also want them to be successful students. This change will allow athletes to travel less and miss fewer classes. Head women’s basketball head coach DeWayne Burroughs said he genuinely believes that the distance factor will help everyone.

“One of the major changes will be travel for SSU,” he said. “In the Mid- South, we spent a lot of money and time on travel. The athletes would miss a lot of time from class. Being in the River States, there are schools that are closer in distance, and our athletes will not miss a lot of class time.”

Burroughs expressed confidence that his team is ready for the new challenge. He believes that his players’ dedication and effort will push them forward this year.

“It’s very hard to judge competition by conference,” he said. “The Mid-South is a tough conference, and I am sure that the River States will be just as tough. We will have to go out and compete every night in the River States Conference like we did in the Mid-South. Our preparation will not change. We work hard every day to be very successful.”

The athletic department is optimistic about the university’s future within the River State Conference. Cadogan’s vision is to make every team at Shawnee successful, and he believes that this change will aid everyone’s progress in the coming seasons.

“Our goal and my goal as the athletic director is to make sure that all of our programs have success, and I think within this new River States Conference we can be even more competitive,” he said. “We are excited about it! I know we will be very competitive!”