The Sun Conference, Inc.
The Sun Conference, Inc. is a non-profit NAIA collegiate athletic conference founded in 1990, governing competition across 21 sports for 26+ member institutions across the southeastern and south-central United States through member dues and a Sidearm Sports-managed digital platform.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded-
- Headquarters—
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What The Sun Conference, Inc. does
The Sun Conference, Inc. is a private, non-profit collegiate athletic conference founded in 1990 and headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida, operating as a member conference of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). It governs intercollegiate athletic competition for 26+ member institutions across the southeastern and south-central United States — including schools in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi such as Ave Maria, Keiser, SCAD, Florida Memorial, Coastal Georgia, Texas A&M-Texarkana, and William Carey. The conference administers competition, scheduling, and championships across 21 sports, spanning traditional offerings (football, basketball, baseball, softball, soccer, track and field, swimming, tennis, volleyball) and newer additions (Esports — Overwatch 2 and Rocket League — Flag Football, and Women's Lacrosse).
Its core operational products are a composite multi-sport scheduling system, conference-wide standings tracking, a weekly Athletes of the Week recognition program, and an event calendar with results archive. The underlying digital platform is provided and operated by Sidearm Sports, which hosts the conference website, event calendar infrastructure, and member-facing interfaces; calendar and schedule data are distributed through Google Calendar, iOS/Windows calendar imports, RSS feeds, and Excel/Text downloads. No proprietary AI, app, or public API is offered.
The business model is non-commercial in structure: the conference is funded through member institution dues and NAIA affiliation, with no disclosed consumer pricing, advertising revenue model, or public pricing. It markets primarily through its official website and the @sunconference social media account, focusing on event promotion, standings, athlete recognition, and conference news. With approximately 10 employees, the organization operates a lean central staff to coordinate scheduling, championships, and NAIA tournament qualification for its member schools.
The Sun Conference, Inc. firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Sun Conference, Inc.
- Legal name
- The Sun Conference
- Website
- https://thesunconference.com
- Company type
- Private
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- The Sun Conference, Inc. is a non-profit NAIA collegiate athletic conference founded in 1990, governing competition across 21 sports for 26+ member institutions across the southeastern and south-central United States through member dues and a Sidearm Sports-managed digital platform.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The Sun Conference, Inc. industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Collegiate Athletic Conference Administration
- NAICS
- Other Spectator Sports (711219)
- SIC
- Services-Membership Organizations (8600)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Collegiate Athletic Conferences & Associations (MPAKACAA)
Keywords
The Sun Conference, Inc. business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels3 records
The Sun Conference, Inc. product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Sun Conference is a non-profit collegiate athletic conference that organizes and administers intercollegiate NAIA competition for 26+ member institutions across the southeastern United States. It coordinates composite schedules, tracks conference standings, administers championships, and facilitates national tournament qualification across 21 sports including football, basketball, soccer, esports, and track and field. Digital infrastructure is delivered via the Sidearm Sports platform, providing scheduling tools, calendar integrations, and standings tracking.
Product overview
The Sun Conference operates as a single unified platform providing athletic conference management services for the NAIA. The platform consists of a Composite Schedule System for multi-sport event management, a Sports Standings Tracker for conference rankings, an Athletes of the Week Recognition feature for student-athlete highlights, and an Event Calendar and Results system for tracking competition outcomes. The platform supports 21 sports across 26 member institutions including Ave Maria, Brenau, Coastal Georgia, Florida Memorial, Keiser, SCAD, and others.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Composite Schedule System
- Conference Standings and Rankings
- Conference Championships and Athletic Competition
- Conference Membership Program
Companies that use The Sun Conference, Inc.
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
The Sun Conference, Inc. technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration4 records
The Sun Conference, Inc. partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA)coreThe Sun Conference is an official NAIA athletic conference. The partnership provides governance framework, national tournament qualification pathways, and association membership for all 26+ member institutions across 21 sports.
- Play NAIAcoreOfficial NAIA digital platform (play.mynaia.org) for content, news, and athletics information. The Sun Conference maintains a presence on this platform alongside other NAIA conferences.
- Sidearm SportscoreWebsite and digital infrastructure provider for The Sun Conference. Sidearm Sports provides the conference website, event calendar systems, and digital platform technology. Copyright notices reference sidearmsports.com for terms of service, privacy policy, and accessibility.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
The Sun Conference, Inc. competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference: A large NAIA conference coordinating intercollegiate competition among member institutions — operates an analogous conference-governance, scheduling, and NAIA championship-qualification model as The Sun Conference.
- Great Plains Athletic Conference: An NAIA conference coordinating championships and standings across member institutions in the central US — mirrors The Sun Conference's conference-level governance and NAIA championship pathway role.
- Frontier Conference: NAIA conference organizing multi-sport competition among small colleges; comparable in mission, structure, and relationship to NAIA national tournament qualification.
- Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference: An NAIA conference with a comparable small-college membership profile and multi-sport governance structure; directly comparable as a peer NAIA athletic conference.
- Appalachian Athletic Conference: Another NAIA conference headquartered in the Southeast US that organizes intercollegiate athletics competition across multiple sports for small colleges — directly comparable in structure, governance model, and member institution profile to The Sun Conference.
- Southern States Athletic Conference: An NAIA conference in the Southeast US organizing multi-sport intercollegiate competition for member colleges — directly comparable to The Sun Conference in geography, governance, and membership composition.
- River States Conference: An NAIA athletic conference serving member institutions across multiple states with a similar multi-sport governance, scheduling, and championship framework as The Sun Conference.
Regional players
- Sunshine State Conference: An NCAA Division II conference operating in Florida with a similar small-college membership profile; comparable in scale, sport portfolio, and Florida geography, but at the NCAA D-II tier rather than NAIA.
- Peach Belt Conference: An NCAA Division II conference in the southeastern US with a comparable small-college membership base; relevant for benchmarking conference governance, sport offerings, and digital infrastructure at a higher-visibility tier.
Broad incumbents
- National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA): The umbrella organization for NAIA athletics — both governs and provides championship pathways for The Sun Conference; comparable as the broader industry body setting competition standards across all NAIA member conferences.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
The Sun Conference, Inc. social profiles
Digital presenceThe Sun Conference, Inc. financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Sun Conference, Inc. leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
The Sun Conference, Inc. funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Sun Conference, Inc. M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about The Sun Conference, Inc.
What does The Sun Conference, Inc. do?
The Sun Conference is a non-profit collegiate athletic conference that organizes and administers intercollegiate NAIA competition for 26+ member institutions across the southeastern United States. It coordinates composite schedules, tracks conference standings, administers championships, and facilitates national tournament qualification across 21 sports including football, basketball, soccer, esports, and track and field. Digital infrastructure is delivered via the Sidearm Sports platform, providing scheduling tools, calendar integrations, and standings tracking.
Is The Sun Conference, Inc. a public or private company?
The Sun Conference, Inc. is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was The Sun Conference, Inc. founded?
The Sun Conference, Inc. was founded in -1. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Who are The Sun Conference, Inc.'s main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference, Great Plains Athletic Conference, Frontier Conference, Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference, Appalachian Athletic Conference, Southern States Athletic Conference and River States Conference. Regional players are Sunshine State Conference and Peach Belt Conference. National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does The Sun Conference, Inc. have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Sun Conference, Inc..
What industry is The Sun Conference, Inc. in?
The Sun Conference, Inc.'s product category is Collegiate Athletic Conference Administration. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAKACAA, Collegiate Athletic Conferences & Associations. Its NAICS code is 711219 and its SIC code is 8600.