With two announcements Thursday, the Peach Belt Conference brought the number '13' into play.

That bothers league commissioner Dave Brunk.

"I'm superstitious," he said with a laugh. "We have to get off that number."

The Martinez-based conference announced the addition of Flagler (St. Augustine, Fla.) and Montevallo (Ala.) for the 2009-10 seasons, bringing the number of member schools to 13. The Peach Belt board of directors -- the member school presidents -- unanimously voted in the two schools.

Flagler and Montevallo each meet NCAA Division II requirements and will begin competing for Peach Belt Conference championships next fall.

"We're really excited about it," Brunk said. "Hopefully, this is the first step from a strategic standpoint of where we want to be.

"Both Flagler and Montevallo are excited about the opportunity to join the Peach Belt. They like what they see."

Brunk also announced women's golf will become an official conference sport for the 2009-10 season. It will become the league's 13th sport.

With the addition of Flagler and Montevallo, the Peach Belt will have six women's golf teams, the minimum required to offer a conference championship.

With the league's expansion, the Peach Belt -- made up mostly of Georgia and South Carolina schools -- stretches to Alabama (for the first time) and Florida. Montevallo is located about 35 miles south of Birmingham, Ala. Flagler is about 40 miles south of Jacksonville, Fla.

Brunk said that's as far west and as far south as he wants the league to expand.

"We don't want to stretch so far," he said, "where it'd be cumbersome on our membership."

With 13 league schools, Brunk said schedules and divisions would be made on a sport-by-sport basis because not all sports have 13 teams. For men's and women's basketball, the league will not sub-divide for the 2009-10 season, he said.

Brunk said he's seeking to add an additional school for the 2010-11 season. He's looking at possible NAIA or Division III schools in Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina that want to move up to Division II.

"I really want to try to get us to an even number as quickly as possible," he said.

Flagler is the first private institution to join the Peach Belt. With an enrollment of 2,537, the Saints are a former NAIA school that owns seven national titles in men's and women's tennis.

Montevallo, with an enrollment of 3,100, is a Division II member that currently resides in the Gulf South Conference. The Falcons made the men's basketball Elite Eight in 2006 and 2007 and competed in the baseball World Series in 2006.

Reach Chris Gay at (706) 823-3645 or chris.gay@augustachronicle.com.