Athletics
Sports teams, called the "Railsplitters", compete in NCAA Division II in the South Atlantic Conference. The Chairman of the LMU Board of Trustees recently announced during a speech that the school is looking to move to Division I in 2011.
LMU currently competes in 14 sports. Women's sports are: Basketball, Cheerleading, Cross Country, Golf, Soccer, Softball, Tennis and Volleyball. Men's sports are: Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Golf, Soccer, and Tennis.
LMU is unique among SAC members in that it does not have a football program, though it did have one in the past. Other sports formerly offered at LMU include fencing, track & field and tumbling.
Athletics have been a part of LMU since 1907, when baseball was first organized on campus. The first intercollegiate contest was a baseball game against Cumberland College in 1910.
From 1991–2006 LMU was a member of the Gulf South Conference. Prior to that, the school was a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics and competed in the Smoky Mountain Athletic Conference (1929–61) and Volunteer State/Tennessee Valley Athletic Conference (1946–89).
Over the years the teams have enjoyed great success on the field and in the classroom. Academically, the 2000–01 women's basketball team led the NCAA Division II in team GPA and both soccer teams' 3.0 or better cumulative GPA have won them recognition from the NSCAA for the past few years.
The men's and women's basketball, baseball, tennis, golf, cross-country and soccer teams have all made appearances in their respective national tournaments over the years. The men's soccer team reached the NCAA Division II Championship Match in 2007, losing to Franklin Pierce College 1–0.
Facilities include the Turner Arena, Mars Gymnasium, Neely Field and Hennon Field. The golf teams are based out of Woodlake Golf Club in Tazewell, Tennessee. New soccer and tennis complexes are currently under construction.
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