ABAC athletic director Chuck Wimberly.

TIFTON — Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College has entered a new era in athletics. In July, ABAC officially joined the NAIA and Southern States Athletic Conference. That step is complete. Soon the Fillies and Golden Stallions will officially take the athletic fields and athletic director Chuck Wimberly is excited about the milestones to come.

First things first, though. Students have to return to campus for fall semester and get settled, Wimberly said. Many student-athletes are familiar with Tifton, but many are not. Even those who do know Tifton will have to learn ABAC’s campus, from the location of classes, the bookstore and Donaldson Dining Hall to where to get parking decals.

“The small things people don’t think about,” Wimberly said. Returning athletes are a big help with this, he said. Coaches help as well, he said, “to direct and point and guide them in the right direction.”

The complete change in league for ABAC athletics means new learning though many things are similar, said Wimberly. That includes that athletes must take 12 hours of classes each semester to be eligible. There are some differences in terminology from NJCAA to NAIA.

One of the differences is a fewer amount of out-of-season softball games, he said. Plus, “Once you’re in season, you have to play four-year schools,” As an example, in previous years, ABAC has played Thomas University, but only their junior varsity squads. Now, they’ll be in the same conference.

Soccer will be the first sport to start on the NAIA slate. Head coach Christopher Earls’ Fillies have their first match Aug. 12 on the road against South Georgia State. They will host Georgia Military College in their first home contest on Aug. 20. Their SSAC debut is slated for Sept. 19 at home against Dalton State.

Taelor Hill, head coach of ABAC’s cross country teams, said she is in the process of finalizing men’s and women’s schedules in that sport.

Wimberly said he has a good group to make the league transition. “We’re all on the same page,” he said. “We work hard together. I think that’s extremely important to the success of any program. It doesn’t matter what league you’re in.” They are also willing to learn and adapt, he said.

“The transition from two-year to four-year athletics has created a buzz here,” he said. “And that buzz isn’t just with the student-athletes, it’s also with the coaches. The coaches here are excited to be at a four-year school.”

Being a four-year athletic program is a bigger draw for athletes, Wimberly said, a big one being they won’t have to move after using up their two years of eligibility.

The NAIA is now ABAC’s present and not just their future. Now, Wimberly and staff have to continue the excitement that came with the change.

When each sport gets their first victory, he said, “That’s the first time this college won a four-year game.”

“A lot of milestones, a lot of first-times,” are coming.

It has been nearly a century since a college in Tifton participated in four-year athletics. Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College was born out of a Georgia Board of Regents shakeup in 1933, one that discontinued Georgia State College for Men and launched in its place a fully coeducational two-year school that focused on agriculture.

Wimberly sees the excitement building. He sees it starting with the coaches, then to the players, the campus, the community. “Each one of them starts falling into a tradition,” he said.

Things that probably mean little for most everyone else will be huge for Wimberly as they happen this year. Even running on the floor for the first time. He’s soaking in all the energy that has come with the NAIA move.

“That’s what sports are supposed to be, supposed to be a word called ‘fun,’” he said.

A new conference means a whole new slate of opponents and a chance to build new rivalries.

ABAC played frequently against Brewton-Parker and Middle Georgia State in decades past. They will likely only get to continue the latter rivalry for a year as Middle Georgia State has applied to move to the NCAA’s Division II in 2025. Dalton State and Thomas University are also former junior colleges.

The buses are going to need tires more frequently. The Peach State is home to many of ABAC’s conference opponents — Life and Point are two more in-state members — but there are even more beyond state lines. The SSAC has 13 full-time members and they span north into Tennessee and west to Louisiana and Mississippi. The only school further east in is Brewton-Parker and Abraham Baldwin has two conference mates more than 450 miles away.

Then there is the level of competition.

“We did not jump in a conference that is not tough,” said Wimberly. “This conference will be a tough conference to play in.” He has no worries the Stallions and Fillies will be able make the jump. Wimberly cited the school’s strong tradition “of being really, really good in anything they’ve done.”

ABAC softball arrives with a brand new GCAA championship and berth in the national playoffs. Golf, baseball, cross country, tennis and soccer are established programs. He credits former athletic director Dr. Alan Kramer for their growth.

All programs will have a learning curve, he said, but it will no doubt be a bigger one for women’s and men’s basketball. This winter will be the first time ABAC has had hoops teams since 2007-08. Wimberly will be women’s head coach with Calvin Sinkfield leading the men.

“The main thing,” said Wimberly, “is a program, not a team.”

“I don’t want to win just today,” he said. Wimberly wants a program that builds and is competitive every year. Team, program, tradition. Those are the order he seeks.

Building the identity is big. He wants everyone to build an association with ABAC, whether it’s seeing the Stallion, the buses, the uniforms. “I want you to go, ‘That’s ABAC,’ “ said Wimberly.