Big South Conference

Big South Conference
Established 1983
Association NCAA
Division Division I FCS
Members 11
Sports fielded 19 (men's: 9; women's: 10)
Region South Atlantic States
Headquarters Charlotte, North Carolina
Commissioner Kyle Kallander (since 1996)
Website www.bigsouthsports.com
Locations

The Big South Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I. Originally a non-football conference, the Big South began sponsoring football in 2002. Its football teams are part of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). The Big South, founded in 1983, is firmly rooted in the South Atlantic region of the United States, with full member institutions located in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia with affiliates in Georgia and New Jersey.[1]

History

Charter members included Armstrong State (now Armstrong Atlantic State University) (1983–1987), Augusta (later Augusta State University and now merged into Augusta University) (1983–1990), Campbell University (1983–1994; 2011–present), Baptist College (now Charleston Southern University) (1983–present), Coastal Carolina University (1983–present), Radford University (1983–present) and Winthrop University (1983–present).

The expansion of membership occurred during the 80's and 90's. Some of those members are the University of North Carolina at Asheville (1984–present), Davidson College (1990–1992), Liberty University (1991–present), the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (1992–1998), the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (1992–1997), Towson University (1992–1995), Elon University (1999–2003), High Point University (1999–present) and Birmingham–Southern College (2000–2007).

The Big South Conference began sponsoring football in 2002, with Charleston Southern, Elon (at the time) and Liberty (Gardner–Webb University also joined as a football-only member) fielding teams; Coastal Carolina and Virginia Military Institute (VMI) joined the conference as football-only members in 2003. In that same athletic year, VMI also joined the conference for all sports, but left to re-join the Southern Conference in 2014. Presbyterian College joined the conference in 2007, moving up from Division II, and became eligible for regular-season championships and conference honors during the 2008-09 athletic year.[2] Gardner–Webb, which had been a football-only member since 2002, joined the conference for all sports on July 1, 2008.[2] Campbell rejoined the Big South for all sports except football in the 2011-12 athletic year. Longwood University accepted an invitation to join the Big South on January 23, 2012, and membership formally began July 1 of that year; Longwood had been independent since 2004, during their transition to Division I.[3] In 2014, following the departure of VMI, the conference returned to a single-division structure.[4] On September 1, 2015, Coastal Carolina announced they would leave the conference following the 2015–16 school year to transition to FBS-level football and the Sun Belt Conference.[5]

Member schools

Current full members

Red denotes members leaving following the 2015–16 school year.

Institution Location Founded Joined Type Enrollment US News Ranking Endowment Nickname Colors
Campbell University Buies Creek, North Carolina 1887 1983,
2011[note 1]
Private
(Baptist)
10,471 31
(Regional: South)
$210 million Fighting Camels          
Charleston Southern University North Charleston, South Carolina 1964 1983 Private
(Southern Baptist)
3,269 Not Published/Tier 2
(Regional: South)
$13 million Buccaneers          
Coastal Carolina University Conway, South Carolina 1954 1983[note 2] Public 9,478 57
(Regional: South)
$25.5 million Chanticleers               
Gardner–Webb University Boiling Springs, North Carolina 1905 2008 Private
(Baptist)
4,617 34
(Regional: South)
$55.5 million Runnin' Bulldogs          
High Point University High Point, North Carolina 1924 1999 Private
(United Methodist)
4,199 1
(Regional: South)
$42.7 million Panthers          
Liberty University Lynchburg, Virginia 1971 1991 Private
(Southern Baptist)
77,329 80
(Regional: South)
$101.8 million Flames & Lady Flames               
Longwood University Farmville, Virginia 1839 2012 Public 4,960 30
(Regional: South)
$57.7 million Lancers          
Presbyterian College Clinton, South Carolina 1880 2007 Private 1,433 124
(National Liberal Arts)
$83.4 million Blue Hose          
Radford University Radford, Virginia 1910 1983 Public 9,928 34
(Regional: South)
$40.6 million Highlanders          
University of North Carolina at Asheville Asheville, North Carolina 1927 1984 Public
(UNC)
3,897 159
(National Liberal Arts)
$33.9 million Bulldogs          
Winthrop University Rock Hill, South Carolina 1886 1983 Public 6,130 25 (Regional: South) $36.2 million Eagles          
Notes
  1. Campbell was a founding member of the Big South Conference in 1983. The Fighting Camels left in 1994 and rejoined in 2011 for all sports, except for their football program, which remains in the Pioneer Football League.
  2. Coastal Carolina will depart after 2016 for the Sun Belt Conference.

Current associate members

Institution Location Founded Joined Type Enrollment Primary Conference Nickname Big South Sport(s) Colors
Kennesaw State University Kennesaw, Georgia 1963 2015[6] Public 30,100 Atlantic Sun (A-Sun) Owls football          
Monmouth University West Long Branch, New Jersey 1933 2014 Private 7,440 Metro Atlantic (MAAC) Hawks football          

Divisional realignment, 2012–2014

With the additions of Campbell and Longwood to the Big South in 2011 and 2012, Big South commissioner Kyle Kallander stated the conference will break up into two divisions of six teams each beginning in 2012–2013.[7] He also said the Big South Basketball Tournaments will be held at a single, neutral location. The divisional setup was as follows:

In men's and women's basketball, teams played the five other divisional opponents twice, one home and one away (ten games). They will play teams outside of the division once each (six games). This cuts the number of conference games to sixteen, as opposed to eighteen in previous years.

Following the departure of VMI for the Southern Conference in 2014, the conference returned to a single-division structure, and the basketball conference schedule returned to eighteen games.[4]

Former members

Institution Location Founded Joined Left Type Enrollment Nickname Current
Conference
Armstrong State University Savannah, Georgia 1935 1983 1987 Public 7,538 Pirates Peach Belt
(NCAA Division II)
Augusta University[n 1] Augusta, Georgia 1785 1983 1990 Public 6,919 Jaguars Peach Belt
(NCAA Division II)
Birmingham–Southern College Birmingham, Alabama 1856 2000 2007 Private 1,600 Panthers SAA
(NCAA Division III)
Davidson College Davidson, North Carolina 1837 1990 1992 Private 1,756 Wildcats Atlantic 10
Elon University Elon, North Carolina 1889 1999 2003 Private 6,720 Phoenix CAA
University of Maryland, Baltimore County Catonsville, Maryland 1966 1992 1998 Public 13,637 Retrievers America East
University of North Carolina at Greensboro Greensboro, North Carolina 1891 1992 1997 Public 18,502 Spartans SoCon
Towson University Towson, Maryland 1866 1992 1995 Public 21,950 Tigers CAA
Virginia Military Institute Lexington, Virginia 1839 2003 2014 Public 1,500 Keydets SoCon

Former associate members

Institution Location Founded Joined Left Type Enrollment Nickname Sport Primary
Conference
Current
Conference
(former
BSC Sport)
Davidson College Davidson, North Carolina 1837 2012 2014 Private 1,756 Wildcats Women's lacrosse Atlantic 10
Stony Brook University Stony Brook, New York 1957 2008 2013 Public 24,607 Seawolves Football America East CAA
University of North Carolina at Wilmington Wilmington, North Carolina 1947 2000 2004 Public 14,918 Seahawks Women's golf CAA
  1. Formerly known as Augusta State University until January 2013, when it merged with another Augusta institution (Georgia Health Sciences University) to create Georgia Regents University. At the time of the merger, only GRU (as Augusta State) had an athletic program, and GRU's sports teams continued to compete as "Augusta State" through the end of the 2012–13 school year. The school changed its name again to the current Augusta University in 2015.

Membership timeline

Kennesaw State University Monmouth University Longwood University Stony Brook University Presbyterian College Southern Conference Virginia Military Institute Gardner–Webb University Southern Athletic Association Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Birmingham–Southern College High Point University Colonial Athletic Association Southern Conference Elon University America East Conference Northeast Conference University of Maryland, Baltimore County Southern Conference University of North Carolina at Greensboro Colonial Athletic Association America East Conference Towson University Liberty University Atlantic 10 Conference Southern Conference Davidson College University of North Carolina at Asheville Winthrop University Radford University Sun Belt Conference Coastal Carolina University Charleston Southern University Atlantic Sun Conference Campbell University Peach Belt Conference Augusta University Peach Belt Conference Armstrong State University

Sports

Locations of Big South Conference full member institutions, from 2014 through 2016. Colors indicate previous divisional affiliations.

The Big South sponsors championship competition in nine men's and ten women's NCAA sanctioned sports. Davidson competes as an associate in lacrosse. Stony Brook has competed as an associate in football, but left in 2013 for membership in the Colonial Athletic Association.[8][9] Monmouth became a football associate in 2014, and Kennesaw State did the same in 2015.

Teams in Big South competition
SportMen'sWomen's
Baseball
11
-
Basketball
11
11
Cross Country
11
11
Football
7
-
Golf
10
9
Lacrosse
-
9
Soccer
10
11
Softball
-
9
Tennis
9
10
Track and Field (Indoor)
8
9
Track and Field (Outdoor)
8
9
Volleyball
-
10

Men's sponsored sports by school

School Baseball Basketball Cross Country Football Golf Soccer Tennis Track & Field
(Indoor)
Track & Field
(Outdoor)
Total Big South Sports
Campbell
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Red X
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
8
Charleston Southern
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Red X
Red X
Green tick
Green tick
7
Coastal Carolina
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Red X
Green tick
8
Gardner–Webb
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
9
High Point
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Red X
Green tick
Green tick
Red X
Green tick
Green tick
7
Liberty
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
9
Longwood
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Red X
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Red X
Red X
6
Presbyterian
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Red X
Red X
7
Radford
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Red X
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Red X
Red X
6
UNC Asheville
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Red X
Red X
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
7
Winthrop
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Red X
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
8
Totals
11
11
11
5+2
10
10
9
8
8
91
Affiliate Members
Kennesaw State
Red X
Red X
Red X
Green tick
Red X
Red X
Red X
Red X
Red X
1
Monmouth
Red X
Red X
Red X
Green tick
Red X
Red X
Red X
Red X
Red X
1

¿ = Campbell's football team does not participate in the Big South; it currently plays in the Pioneer Football League.

Men's varsity sports not sponsored by the Big South Conference which are played by Big South schools:

School Lacrosse Swimming Wrestling
Campbell No No Southern
Gardner–Webb No CCSA Southern
High Point Southern No No

Women's sponsored sports by school

School Basketball Cross Country Golf Lacrosse Soccer Softball Tennis Track & Field
(Indoor)
Track & Field
(Outdoor)
Volleyball Total Big South Sports
Campbell
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
10
Charleston Southern
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Red X
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
9
Coastal Carolina
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
10
Gardner–Webb
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
10
High Point
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Red X
Red X
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
8
Liberty
Green tick
Green tick
Red X
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
9
Longwood
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Red X
Red X
Red X
7
Presbyterian
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Red X
Red X
Green tick
8
Radford
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
10
UNC Asheville
Green tick
Green tick
Red X
Red X
Green tick
Red X
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
7
Winthrop
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
Green tick
10
Totals
11
11
9
9
11
9
10
9
9
10
98

Women's varsity sports not sponsored by the Big South Conference which are played by Big South schools:

School Beach Volleyball Field Hockey Swimming
Campbell No No CCSA
Coastal Carolina CCSA No No
Gardner–Webb No No CCSA
Liberty No Independent[w 1] CCSA
Longwood No MAC No
UNC Asheville No No CCSA
Notes
  1. Liberty field hockey will join the Big East Conference in July 2016.[10]

Football - players drafted to the NFL

The Big South has had a number of players to get drafted and play football professionally in the NFL.

Name Position School Draft year Draft pick NFL team
Tyler Thigpen QB Coastal Carolina 2007 Round 7, Pick 217 Vikings
Jerome Simpson WR Coastal Carolina 2008 Round 2, Pick 46 Bengals
Brian Johnston DE Gardner–Webb 2008 Round 7, Pick 210 Chiefs
Rashad Jennings RB Liberty 2009 Round 7, Pick 250 Jaguars
Josh Norman CB Coastal Carolina 2012 Round 5, Pick 143 Panthers
Justin Bethel S Presbyterian 2012 Round 6, Pick 177 Cardinals
Walt Aikens CB Liberty 2014 Round 4, Pick 125 Dolphins
NFL Draftees from the Big South Conference

Conference champions

Men's basketball

Season Regular Season Champion Tournament Champion Tournament final location
1986 Charleston Southern (5–1) Charleston Southern Savannah Civic Center, Savannah, Georgia
1987 Charleston Southern (12–2) Charleston Southern Savannah Civic Center
1988 Coastal Carolina (9–3) Winthrop Winthrop Coliseum, Rock Hill, South Carolina
1989 Coastal Carolina (9–3) UNC Asheville Winthrop Coliseum
1990 Coastal Carolina (11–1) Coastal Carolina Winthrop Coliseum
1991 Coastal Carolina (13–1) Coastal Carolina Civic Center of Anderson, Anderson, South Carolina
1992 Radford (12–2) Campbell Civic Center of Anderson
1993 Towson State (14–2) Coastal Carolina North Charleston Coliseum, North Charleston, South Carolina
1994 Towson State (15–3) Liberty North Charleston Coliseum
1995 UNC Greensboro (14–2) Charleston Southern Vines Center, Lynchburg, Virginia
1996 UNC Greensboro (11–3) UNC Greensboro Vines Center
1997 UNC Asheville (11–3) Charleston Southern Vines Center
1998 UNC Asheville (11–1) Radford Vines Center
1999 Winthrop (9–1) Winthrop Asheville Civic Center, Asheville, North Carolina
2000 Radford (12–2) Winthrop Asheville Civic Center
2001 Radford (12–2) Winthrop Roanoke Civic Center, Roanoke, Virginia
2002 Winthrop (10–4) (#1 seed)

UNC Asheville (10–4)

Winthrop Roanoke Civic Center
2003 Winthrop (11–3) UNC Asheville Vines Center (semis & finals only)
2004 Liberty (12–4) Liberty Vines Center (finals only)
2005 Winthrop (15–1) Winthrop Winthrop Coliseum (finals only)
2006 Winthrop (13–3) Winthrop Winthrop Coliseum (semis & finals only)
2007 Winthrop (14–0) Winthrop Winthrop Coliseum (semis & finals only)
2008 UNC Asheville (10–4)(#1 seed)

Winthrop (10–4)

Winthrop Justice Center, Asheville (semis & finals only)
2009 Radford (15-3) Radford Dedmon Center, Radford, Virginia (finals only)
2010 Coastal Carolina (15–3) Winthrop Kimbel Arena, Conway, South Carolina (semis & finals only)
2011 Coastal Carolina (16-2) UNC Asheville Kimbel Arena (semis & finals only)
2012 UNC Asheville (16-2) UNC Asheville Kimmel Arena (quarters, semis & final), Asheville, NC
2013 Charleston Southern, High Point (12-4) Liberty HTC Center, Conway, SC
2014 High Point (12-4) Coastal Carolina HTC Center, Conway, SC
2015 Charleston Southern, High Point (13–5) Coastal Carolina HTC Center, Conway, SC
2016 High Point, Winthrop (13–5) UNC Asheville Gore Arena, Buies Creek, North Carolina

Basketball Tournament Championships by school

School # of Tournament Championships Last Tournament Championship
Winthrop 10 2010
Coastal Carolina 5 2015
UNC Asheville 5 2016
Charleston Southern 4 1997
Liberty 3 2013
Radford 2 2009
Campbell 1 1992
UNC Greensboro 1 1996
Main articles: Big South Conference Men's Basketball Tournament and Big South Conference Women's Basketball Tournament

Football

Season Champion Record
2002 Gardner–Webb 3–0
2003 Gardner–Webb 4–0
2004 Coastal Carolina 4–0 (10–1)
2005 Charleston Southern 3–1 (7–4)
Coastal Carolina 3–1 (9–2)
2006 Coastal Carolina 4–0 (9–3)
2007 Liberty 4–0 (8–3)
2008 Liberty 5–0 (10–2)
2009 Stony Brook 5–1 (6–5)
Liberty 5–1 (8–3)
2010 Coastal Carolina* 5–1 (6–5)
Stony Brook 5–1 (6–5)
Liberty 5–1 (8–3)
2011 Stony Brook 6-0 (8-3)
2012 Coastal Carolina* 5–1 (7–4)
Stony Brook 5–1 (9–2)
Liberty 5–1 (6–5)
2013 Coastal Carolina 4–1 (10–2)
Liberty 4–1 (8–4)
2014 Liberty* 4–1 (8–4)
Coastal Carolina 4–1 (11–1)
2015 Charleston Southern 6–0 (9–2)

Broadcasters (Big South Network)

In addition to basketball games being broadcast on regional and national television, member schools of the Big South Conference are required to provide a live stream of all home games for all sports when playing teams both within and outside of the conference. These streams are run by the university hosting the event. All streams are featured on the conference website and are available for free. The football games broadcast on the web are branded as part of a Big South Network.

Facilities

School Football stadium Capacity Basketball arena Capacity Baseball stadium Capacity Soccer stadium Capacity
Campbell Sponsors football in Pioneer League John W. Pope, Jr. Convocation Center 3,095 Jim Perry Stadium 630 Eakes Athletic Complex 1,000
Charleston Southern Buccaneer Field 4,000 CSU Field House
North Charleston Coliseum
790
11,475
Buccaneer Ballpark 1,500 Buccaneer Field 4,000
Coastal Carolina Brooks Stadium 9,214 HTC Center 3,600 Charles Watson Stadium 2,200 CCU Soccer Field 2,200
Gardner-Webb Ernest W. Spangler Stadium 7,800 Paul Porter Arena 3,500 John Henry Moss Stadium 700 Greene–Harbison Stadium 1,000
High Point Non-football school Millis Athletic Convocation Center 1,750 George S. Erath Field at Coy O. Williard Baseball Stadium 700 Vert Track and Soccer Stadium 1,100
Kennesaw State Fifth Third Bank Stadium 8,300 Football-only member
Liberty Williams Stadium 19,200 Vines Center 8,085 Liberty Baseball Stadium 5000+ Osborne Stadium 1,000
Longwood Non-football school Willett Hall 1,807 Bolding Stadium 500 Longwood University Athletics Complex 350
Monmouth Kessler Field 4,600 Football-only member
Presbyterian Bailey Memorial Stadium 6,500 Templeton Physical Education Center 2,300 Presbyterian College Baseball Complex 500 Martin Stadium at Edens Field 400
Radford Non-football school Dedmon Center 3,205 Radford University Baseball Stadium 700 Patrick D. Cupp Stadium 5,000
UNC Asheville Non-Football School Kimmel Arena 3,200 Greenwood Baseball Field,
McCormick Field
300,
4,000
Greenwood Field 1,000
Winthrop Non-football school Winthrop Coliseum 6,100 Winthrop Ballpark 1,989 Eagle Field 1,500
Notes

References

  1. Big South Conference (2007-08-01). "Big South Conference History". Big South Sports.
  2. 1 2 Big South Conference (2008-07-01). "Gardner–Webb Officially Joins Big South". Big South Sports.
  3. Big South Conference (2012-01-23). "Big South Conference Adds Longwood University As Full Member". Big South Sports.
  4. 1 2 Stretlow, Bret (28 October 2014). "Title race in balanced Big South again tough to predict". The Fayetteville Observer. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  5. "Statement from Big South Commissioner Kyle B. Kallander on Coastal Carolina" (Press release). Big South Conference. September 1, 2015. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  6. "Kennesaw State Football Joins Big South Conference as Associate Member" (Press release). Kennesaw State Athletics. September 4, 2013. Retrieved October 6, 2013.
  7. Big South Conference Adds Longwood; Goes to Divisional Play for 2012-13 Season
  8. http://www.bigsouthsports.com/HomePage.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4800
  9. http://www.bigsouthsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4800&ATCLID=205672104
  10. "BIG EAST Adds Liberty, Quinnipiac For Field Hockey" (Press release). Big East Conference. December 8, 2015. Retrieved January 17, 2016.

External links

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