Mayor Mark Stodola will be on campus along with several other guests, Aug. 3 – 4, to prepare for several games and events surrounding the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference’s Volleyball and Basketball 2012-2013 tournaments. Philander Smith College will be the host campus for this season’s tournaments.

Athletic directors, coaches, staff and conference personnel will be attending planning meetings and Mayor Stodola has been asked to formally welcome the conference members to the city, which will attract up to 5,000 guests for the conference events this fall and next spring.

Teams making up the conference include Philander Smith, Talladega College, Talladega, Ala., Tougaloo, Tougaloo, Miss., Fisk University, Nashville, Tenn., Dillard University, and Xavier, Southern University of New Orleans, all in New Orleans, La., and Edward Waters College, in Jacksonville, Fla.

The GCAC Volleyball Tournament is scheduled for Nov. 7-10, with a players’ celebration banquet scheduled for Nov. 7 at the Kendall Center on campus.

The GCC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments are scheduled for Feb. 28 – March 1 to be held at Barton Coliseum with a players’ banquet scheduled for Feb. 27 to be held at the Kendall Center.

For more information about the conference, go to www.gcacconf.com or contact, Coach Sam Weaver, at (501) 375-9845.