Big South Conference

Not to be confused with Conference South, Conference League South, or Southern Conference.

Big South Conference

Established	1983
Association	NCAA
Division	Division I FCS
Members	10
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 (1983–2016), Radford University (1983–present) and Winthrop University (1983–present).

The expansion of membership occurred during the 1980s and '90s. 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] On June 30, 2016, the day before the school joined the Sun Belt, Coastal Carolina won the 2016 College World Series in baseball. This was the first time in conference history that a team won an NCAA championship in any sport.

In September 2016, the Big South and the ASUN Conference announced a football partnership that will effectively combine the two conferences in that sport. Under its terms, any members of either conference that add or upgrade to scholarship football, provided they fall within the current geographic footprint of the two leagues, will automatically join Big South football. At the time of announcement, the only ASUN member that played scholarship football, Kennesaw State, was already a Big South football member. The partnership will provide a guaranteed football home to the leagues' current three non-scholarship football programs (Campbell from the Big South, and Jacksonville and Stetson from the ASUN) should they upgrade to scholarship status.^[6]

In November 2016, Campbell announced that it would begin offering scholarships and move its football program from the Pioneer Football League to the Big South in 2018.

Member schools

Current full members

Institution	Location	Founded	Joined	Type	Enrollment	US News Ranking	Endowment	Nickname
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
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

↑ 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. Campbell football will join in 2018.

Current associate members

Institution	Location	Founded	Joined	Type	Enrollment	Primary Conference	Nickname	Big South Sport(s)	Colors
Kennesaw State University	Kennesaw, Georgia	1963	2015^[7]	Public	35,507	ASUN	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.^[8] He also said the Big South Basketball Tournaments will be held at a single, neutral location. The divisional setup was as follows:

North Division

South Division

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)
Coastal Carolina University	Conway, South Carolina	1954	1983	2016	Public	10,263	Chanticleers	Sun Belt
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

↑ 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

Augusta State was merged into Georgia Regents University in January 2013; the merged school renamed itself Augusta University in 2015.

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 has competed as an associate member in men's lacrosse, but left in 2014 when the school joined the lacrosse-sponsoring Atlantic 10 Conference. Stony Brook has competed as an associate in football, but left in 2013 for membership in the Colonial Athletic Association.^[9]^[10] Two schools, Monmouth and Kennesaw State, are currently associates in football, respectively joining in 2014 and 2015.

Teams in Big South competition
Sport	Men's	Women's
Baseball	10	-
Basketball	10	10
Cross Country	10	10
Football	6	-
Golf	9	8
Lacrosse	-	8
Soccer	9	10
Softball	-	8
Tennis	8	9
Track and Field (Indoor)	8	8
Track and Field (Outdoor)	7	8
Volleyball	-	9

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	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	8
Charleston Southern	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	Y	Y	7
Gardner–Webb	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
High Point	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	7
Liberty	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
Longwood	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	N	N	6
Presbyterian	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	7
Radford	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	N	N	6
UNC Asheville	Y	Y	Y	N	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	7
Winthrop	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	8
Totals	10	10	10	4+2	9	9	8	7	7	76
Affiliate Members
Kennesaw State	N	N	N	Y	N	N	N	N	N	1
Monmouth	N	N	N	Y	N	N	N	N	N	1

^¿ = Campbell's football team does not currently participate in the Big South; it instead plays in the Pioneer Football League. Campbell football will join the Big South in 2018.

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	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	10
Charleston Southern	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
Gardner–Webb	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	10
High Point	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	Y	Y	Y	8
Liberty	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	9
Longwood	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	N	7
Presbyterian	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	Y	8
Radford	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	10
UNC Asheville	Y	Y	N	N	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	7
Winthrop	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	10
Totals	10	10	8	8	10	8	9	8	8	9	88

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

School	Field Hockey	Swimming
Campbell	No	CCSA
Gardner–Webb	No	CCSA
Liberty	Big East	CCSA
Longwood	MAC	No
UNC Asheville	No	CCSA

Notes

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, North Carolina
2013	Charleston Southern, High Point (12-4)	Liberty	HTC Center, Conway, South Carolina
2014	High Point (12-4)	Coastal Carolina	HTC Center, Conway, South Carolina
2015	Charleston Southern, High Point (13–5)	Coastal Carolina	HTC Center, Conway, South Carolina
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

^†Former member of the Big South

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)
2005	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)
2009	Liberty	5–1 (8–3)
2010	Coastal Carolina*	5–1 (6–5) Won the Big South Conference NCAA Division I Football Championship (playoffs) bid
	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) Won the Big South Conference NCAA Division I Football Championship (playoffs) bid
	Stony Brook	5–1 (9–2)
	Liberty	5–1 (6–5)
2013	Coastal Carolina	4–1 (10–2)
2013	Liberty	4–1 (8–4)
2014	Liberty*	4–1 (8–4) Won the Big South Conference NCAA Division I Football Championship (playoffs) bid
2014	Coastal Carolina	4–1 (11–1)
2015	Charleston Southern	6–0 (9–2)

Broadcasters (Big South Network)

Main article: Big South Tournament broadcasters

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.

National Champions

School	Sport	Coach	Year	Opponent	Opponent's Conference
Coastal Carolina	Baseball	Gilmore, GaryGary Gilmore	2016	Arizona	Pac-12

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
Gardner–Webb	Ernest W. Spangler Stadium	7,800	Paul Porter Arena	3,500	John Henry Moss Stadium	700	Greene–Harbison Stadium	7003100000000000000♠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	7003100000000000000♠1,000
Longwood	Non-football school		Willett Hall	1,807	Bolding Stadium	500	Longwood University Athletics Complex	7002350000000000000♠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	7002500000000000000♠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

Charleston Southern uses the CSU Field House for all conference basketball games. Home games against local rivals or major-conference teams are played at the North Charleston Coliseum when available.

References

↑ Big South Conference (2007-08-01). "Big South Conference History". Big South Sports.
1 2 Big South Conference (2008-07-01). "Gardner–Webb Officially Joins Big South". Big South Sports.
↑ Big South Conference (2012-01-23). "Big South Conference Adds Longwood University As Full Member". Big South Sports.
1 2 Stretlow, Bret (28 October 2014). "Title race in balanced Big South again tough to predict". The Fayetteville Observer. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
↑ "Statement from Big South Commissioner Kyle B. Kallander on Coastal Carolina" (Press release). Big South Conference. September 1, 2015. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
↑ "Big South and ASUN Conference Establish FCS Membership Partnership" (Press release). ASUN Conference. September 13, 2016. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
↑ "Kennesaw State Football Joins Big South Conference as Associate Member" (Press release). Kennesaw State Athletics. September 4, 2013. Retrieved October 6, 2013.
↑ Big South Conference Adds Longwood; Goes to Divisional Play for 2012-13 Season
↑ http://www.bigsouthsports.com/HomePage.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4800
↑ http://www.bigsouthsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4800&ATCLID=205672104

External links

Official website

Big South Conference

Full members	Campbell Fighting Camels and Lady Camels (football joining in 2018) Charleston Southern Buccaneers Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs High Point Panthers Liberty Flames and Lady Flames Longwood Lancers Presbyterian Blue Hose Radford Highlanders UNC Asheville Bulldogs Winthrop Eagles

Football-only members	Monmouth Hawks Kennesaw State Owls

NCAA Division I FCS conferences

Big Sky Conference Big South Conference Colonial Athletic Association Ivy League Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Missouri Valley Football Conference Northeast Conference Ohio Valley Conference Patriot League Pioneer Football League Southern Conference Southland Conference Southwestern Athletic Conference Independents

NCAA Division I Football Championship

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