BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford Athletics Department and Baptist Health announced an exclusive partnership on Tuesday.
 
"I cannot express how excited we are about our new relationship with Baptist Health as a corporate sponsor for Samford Athletics," Samford Director of Athletics Martin Newton said. "This is a long-term relationship that we look to build on the synergies between our two incredible companies that share a common mission. We are excited about having them on campus to get to work with our student-athletes, our faculty and our staff and we can't wait to develop those relationships."
 
The partnership is a 10-year deal that will make Baptist Health Samford Athletics' official medical partner.
 
"We're thrilled to be partnered with Samford University," Amy Wheeler, chief financial officer for Baptist Health, said. "Just like us, they are a faith-based organization serving the Birmingham community, so it just makes sense. And they're our neighbors. They're right down the street from Baptist Health Brookwood Hospital. It's a wonderful partnership for this community."
 
Baptist Health's network of five hospitals has been serving the Birmingham, Alabaster, Jasper and Talladega areas for more than 100 years, providing patients with high quality, faith-based care.
 
In 2024, Baptist Health entered a new venture with Orlando Health for five of its hospitals: Baptist Health Citizens Hospital, Baptist Health Princeton Hospital, Baptist Health Shelby Hospital, Baptist Health Walker Hospital and Baptist Health Brookwood Hospital.
 
Samford Athletics fields 17 teams at the NCAA Division I level, competing in the historic Southern Conference. Since joining the Southern Conference in 2008, Samford has won 87 SoCon Tournament or regular-season titles.
 
Samford has won five straight Germann Cups, which goes to the top women's athletics program in the SoCon, while also winning five straight SoCon Graduation Rate Awards. Additionally, Samford has won two of the last three Commissioner's Cups, for the top men's athletics program in the SoCon.
 
Orlando Health is a private not-for-profit, integrated academic healthcare system with $14 billion of assets under management, that serves the southeastern United States – including Florida and Alabama – and Puerto Rico. With corporate offices in Orlando, Florida the system provides a complete continuum of care across a network of medical centers and institutes, community and specialty hospitals, physician practices, urgent care facilities, skilled nursing facilities, home healthcare, and long-term and behavioral health care services. Founded more than 100 years ago, Orlando Health's mission is to improve the health and the quality of life of the individuals and communities we serve. The system provided nearly $1.7 billion in community impact in the form of community benefit programs and services, Medicare shortfalls, bad debt, community-building activities and capital investments in FY 23, the most recent period for which the information is available. For more information, visit orlandohealth.com, or folloedw us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and X.
 
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