Not to be confused with Conference South, Big South Conference, or Conference League South.
Southern Conference
Established
1921
Association
NCAA
Division
Division I
Subdivision
FCS
Members
10
Sports fielded
22
men's: 11
women's: 10
coeducational: 1
Region
Southeast
Headquarters
Spartanburg, South Carolina
Commissioner
John Iamarino (since 2006)
Website
www.soconsports.com
Locations
The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly known as Division I-AA). Member institutions are located in the states of Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.
The Southern Conference ranks as the fifth-oldest major college athletic conference in the United States, and either the third- or fourth-oldest in continuous operation, depending on definitions.[1] Among conferences currently in operation, the Big Ten (1896) and Missouri Valley (1907) are indisputably older. The Pac-12 Conference did not operate under its current charter until 1959, but claims the history of the Pacific Coast Conference, founded in 1915, as its own. The Southwest Conference (SWC) was founded in 1914, but ceased operation in 1996. The Big Eight Conference claimed the same history as the Missouri Valley from 1907 to 1928 during its existence; though it essentially merged with four SWC members to form the Big 12 Conference in 1996, the Big 12 does not claim the Big Eight's legacy. The Ivy League was formally organized in 1954 with athletic competition starting in 1955, but claims the history of the Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League, which competed from 1901 to 1955, as its own.
The SoCon was the first conference to use the three-point field goal in basketball in a November 29, 1980 game at Western Carolina against Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU), where Ronnie Carr shot the historic shot from 22 feet (6.7 m) away and the Catamounts won 77–70.[2][3]
The Southern Conference is considered one of the stronger football conferences in the Football Championship Subdivision and is considered a mid-major conference in basketball. It has also garnered considerable national attention from its recent success in these sports: in particular, former member, three-time Division I NCAA Football champion Appalachian State Mountaineers, who stunned the fifth-ranked Michigan Wolverines 34–32 on September 1, 2007;[4] from the Davidson Wildcats, who reached the Elite Eight in the 2008 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament by upsetting power programs Gonzaga (a mid-major school which became a power program in the 2000s), Georgetown, and Wisconsin.[5] More recently, the six-time Division I NCAA Football champion Georgia Southern Eagles stunned Southeastern Conference power-house Florida Gators 26–20 in The Swamp on November 23, 2013—the first loss to a lower division opponent in the Florida program's history.[6] In 2015, Furman defeated UCF 16–15 and The Citadel topped South Carolina 23–22 for their second win over the Gamecocks in the past three meetings. The SoCon also frequently sees multiple teams selected to participate in the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship.[7]
Contents
1History
2Member schools
2.1Current members
2.2Associate members
2.3Future associate members
2.4Former members
2.5Membership timeline
3Sports
3.1Men's sponsored sports by school
3.2Women's sponsored sports by school
4Facilities
5Conference champions
5.1Football
5.2Men's basketball
5.3Women's basketball
5.4Baseball
6Commissioner's and Germann Cups
7See also
8References
9External links
History
Conference Commissioners
Wallace Wade
1951–1960
Lloyd Jordon
1960–1973
Ken Germann
1974–1986
Dave Hart
1986–1991
Wright Waters
1991–1998
Alfred B. White
1998–2001
Danny Morrison
2001–2005
John Iamarino
2006–present
Talks of a new conference for southern athletics had started as early as fall of 1920.[8] The conference was formed on February 25, 1921 in Atlanta as fourteen member institutions split from the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association.[1] Southern Conference charter members were Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi State, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Tennessee, Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Washington & Lee. In 1922, six more universities – Florida, LSU, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tulane, and Vanderbilt joined the conference. The first year of competition for the conference was in 1922, effective January 1.[9][10] The new rules banned freshman play.[11] Later additions included Sewanee (1923), Virginia Military Institute (1924), and Duke (1929).
The SoCon is particularly notable for having spawned two other major conferences. In 1932, the 13 schools located south and west of the Appalachians (Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi, Mississippi State, University of the South(Sewanee), Tennessee, Tulane, and Vanderbilt) all departed the SoCon to form the Southeastern Conference (SEC). In 1953, seven additional schools (Clemson, Duke, Maryland, North Carolina, North Carolina State, South Carolina, and Wake Forest) withdrew from the SoCon to form the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).[1] The SEC and ACC have gone on to surpass their parent conference in prestige; while the SEC and ACC are considered "power" conferences in Division I FBS (formerly Division I-A), the SoCon dropped to Division I-AA (FCS) in 1982, four years after the top division was split into two levels in 1978.
The SoCon became the first league to hold a post-season basketball tournament to decide a conference champion. Although first played in 1921, it did not become "official" until 1922, and in its first few years included teams which were not conference members.[12] Held at the Municipal Auditorium in Atlanta from February 24 – March 2, 1922, the first meeting was won by North Carolina who defeated non-member Mercer in the Finals 40–25.[13] The SoCon Basketball Tournament continues as the nation's oldest conference tournament. The next-oldest tournament overall is the SEC Men's Basketball Tournament, founded in 1933, but that event was suspended after its 1952 edition and did not resume until 1979. With the demise of the Division II West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in 2013, whose tournament had been continuously held since 1936, the next-oldest conference tournament in continuous existence is now the ACC Men's Basketball Tournament, first held in 1954.
Member schools
Current members
The all-sports membership changed to 10 schools in 2014 following the departure of Appalachian State, Davidson, Elon, and Georgia Southern, plus the arrival of East Tennessee State (ETSU), Mercer, and VMI. The current football membership stands at nine. UNC Greensboro does not sponsor football, while ETSU, which relaunched its previously dormant football program in 2015,[14] rejoined SoCon football in 2016 after one season as an independent.
Institution
Location
Founded
Joined
Type
Enrollment
Nickname
Colors
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Chattanooga, Tennessee
1886
1976
Public (UT system)
11,388
Mocs
The Citadel
Charleston, South Carolina
1842
1936
Public (Military College)
3,400
Bulldogs
East Tennessee State University
Johnson City, Tennessee
1911
1978[a 1] 2014
Public (TBR)
14,587
Buccaneers
Furman University
Greenville, South Carolina
1826
1936
Private
2,668
Paladins
Mercer University
Macon, Georgia
1833
2014
Private
8,603
Bears
Samford University
Homewood, Alabama
1841
2008
Private (ABC)
5,206
Bulldogs
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Greensboro, North Carolina
1891
1997
Public (UNC system)
19,393
Spartans
Virginia Military Institute
Lexington, Virginia
1839
1924[a 2] 2014
Public (Military College)
1,717
Keydets
Western Carolina University
Cullowhee, North Carolina
1889
1976
Public (UNC system)
10,340
Catamounts
Wofford College
Spartanburg, South Carolina
1854
1997
Private (UMC)
1,613
Terriers
^ETSU had previously been a SoCon member from 1978 to 2005.[14]
^VMI had previously been a SoCon member from 1924 to 2003.[14]
Associate members
On January 9, 2014, the SoCon and Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN) announced a new alliance in lacrosse that took effect with the 2014–15 school year (2015 lacrosse season). Under its terms, sponsorship of men's lacrosse shifted from the ASUN to the SoCon, while women's lacrosse sponsorship remained with the ASUN. Bellarmine, which had announced it would join the ASUN for men's lacrosse for the 2015 season, instead joined the SoCon.[15] The alliance remains in full effect in men's lacrosse, but the leagues amicably ended their full alliance in women's lacrosse once the SoCon began sponsoring that sport in the 2018 season.[16]
The most recent additions to the associate membership came with the start of the 2017–18 school year, when three schools joined for women's lacrosse.[16]
In the table below, the "Joined" column denotes the start of the school year in which the institution became an associate member, which for spring sports differs from the first season of competition.
Institution
Location
Founded
Type
Enrollment
Nickname
Primary Conference
Joined
SoCon Sport
United States Air Force Academy
Colorado Springs, Colorado
1954
Federal (Service academy)
4,417
Falcons
Mountain West
2015
men's lacrosse
Appalachian State University
Boone, North Carolina
1899
Public (UNC)
17,589
Mountaineers
Sun Belt
2013[a]
wrestling
Bellarmine University[15]
Louisville, Kentucky
1950
Private (Catholic Church)
3,846
Knights
GLVC (NCAA Division II)
2014
men's lacrosse
Belmont University
Nashville, Tennessee
1890
Private
8,080
Bruins
OVC
2018
men's soccer
Campbell University[17]
Buies Creek, North Carolina
1887
Private
11,241
Fighting Camels
Big South
2011
wrestling
Central Michigan University
Mount Pleasant, Michigan
1892
Public
27,693
Chippewas
MAC
2017
women's lacrosse
Davidson College
Davidson, North Carolina
1837
Private (Presbyterian Church (USA))
1,850
Wildcats
Atlantic 10
2014[b]
wrestling
Delaware State University
Dover, Delaware
1891
Public
3,400
Hornets
MEAC
2017
women's lacrosse
University of Detroit Mercy
Detroit, Michigan
1877
Private (Catholic Church)
5,700
Titans
Horizon League
2017
women's lacrosse
Gardner–Webb University[17]
Boiling Springs, North Carolina
1905
Private (BSCNC)
5,000
Runnin' Bulldogs
Big South
2011
wrestling
Georgia Southern University[18]
Statesboro, Georgia
1906
Public (USG)
20,517
Eagles
Sun Belt Conference
2016
rifle
High Point University[15]
High Point, North Carolina
1924
Private (United Methodist Church)
4,500
Panthers
Big South
2014
men's lacrosse
Jacksonville University[15]
Jacksonville, Florida
1934
Private
3,741
Dolphins
Atlantic Sun (ASUN)
2014
men's lacrosse
University of North Georgia[18]
Dahlonega, Georgia
1873/2013
Public (USG) (Military College)
16,064
Nighthawks
Peach Belt Conference (NCAA Division II)
2016
rifle
University of Richmond[15]
Richmond, Virginia
1830
Private
4,361
Spiders
Atlantic 10 (A-10)
2014
men's lacrosse
University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) [18]
Birmingham, Alabama
1969
Public (UA)
18,568
Blazers
Conference USA
2016
rifle
Notes
^The 2013 date reflects the departure of Appalachian State from the SoCon to join the Sun Belt Conference. The Mountaineers have competed in SoCon wrestling continuously since the league first sponsored the sport in 1993–94.
^The 2014 date reflects the departure of Davidson from the SoCon to join the Atlantic 10 Conference. The Wildcats have competed in SoCon wrestling continuously since the league first sponsored the sport in 1993–94.
Future associate members
Institution
Location
Founded
Type
Enrollment
Nickname
Primary Conference
SoCon Sport(s)
Joins
Presbyterian College
Clinton, South Carolina
1880
Private/Presbyterian
1,403
Blue Hose
Big South Conference
Men's wrestling
2019
Former members
See also: List of former Southern Conference members
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