Southern Conference


The Southern Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I. Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision. Member institutions are located in the states of Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.
Established in 1921, 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. Among conferences currently in operation, the Big Ten and Missouri Valley 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 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, where Ronnie Carr shot the historic shot from away and the Catamounts won 77–70.
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; from the Davidson Wildcats, who reached the Elite Eight in the 2008 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament by upsetting power programs Gonzaga, Georgetown, and Wisconsin. 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. 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.

History

Talks of a new conference for southern athletics had started as early as fall of 1920. The conference was formed on February 25, 1921 in Atlanta as fourteen member institutions split from the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association. 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. The new rules banned freshman play. Later additions included , Virginia Military Institute, and Duke.
The SoCon is particularly notable for having spawned two other major conferences. In 1932, the 13 schools located south and west of the Appalachians all departed the SoCon to form the Southeastern Conference. In 1953, seven additional schools withdrew from the SoCon to form the Atlantic Coast Conference. 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, the SoCon dropped to Division I-AA 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. 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. 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, 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, rejoined SoCon football in 2016 after one season as an independent.
InstitutionLocationFoundedJoinedTypeEnrollmentNicknameColors
University of Tennessee at ChattanoogaChattanooga, Tennessee18861976Public
11,638Mocs
The CitadelCharleston, South Carolina18421936Public
3,784Bulldogs
East Tennessee State UniversityJohnson City, Tennessee19111978
2014
Public
14,334Buccaneers
Furman UniversityGreenville, South Carolina18261936Private2,933Paladins
Mercer UniversityMacon, Georgia18332014Private8,740Bears
Samford UniversityHomewood, Alabama18412008Private
5,619Bulldogs
University of North Carolina at GreensboroGreensboro, North Carolina18911997Public
20,106Spartans
Virginia Military InstituteLexington, Virginia18391924
2014
Public
1,685Keydets
Western Carolina UniversityCullowhee, North Carolina18891976Public
11,639Catamounts
Wofford CollegeSpartanburg, South Carolina18541997Private
1,608Terriers

Associate members

On January 9, 2014, the SoCon and Atlantic Sun Conference announced a new alliance in lacrosse that took effect with the 2014–15 school year. 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. 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.
The most recent addition to the associate membership is Presbyterian wrestling, which joined during summer 2019. Two women's lacrosse members, Central Michigan and Detroit Mercy, will leave after the 2020 season to join the new women's lacrosse league of Central's full-time home of the Mid-American Conference.
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.
Departing associate members are highlighted in red.
InstitutionLocationFoundedTypeEnrollmentNicknamePrimary ConferenceJoinedSoCon Sport
Colorado Springs, Colorado1954Federal 4,417FalconsMountain West2015men's lacrosse
Appalachian State UniversityBoone, North Carolina1899Public 17,589MountaineersSun Belt2013wrestling
Bellarmine UniversityLouisville, Kentucky1950Private 3,846KnightsGLVC
2014men's lacrosse
Belmont UniversityNashville, Tennessee1890Private8,080BruinsOVC2018men's soccer
Campbell UniversityBuies Creek, North Carolina1887Private11,241Fighting CamelsBig South2011wrestling
Central Michigan UniversityMount Pleasant, Michigan1892Public27,693ChippewasMAC2017women's lacrosse
Davidson CollegeDavidson, North Carolina1837Private 1,850WildcatsAtlantic 102014wrestling
Delaware State UniversityDover, Delaware1891Public3,400HornetsMEAC2017women's lacrosse
Detroit, Michigan1877Private 5,700TitansHorizon League2017women's lacrosse
Gardner–Webb UniversityBoiling Springs, North Carolina1905Private 5,000Runnin' BulldogsBig South2011wrestling
Georgia Southern UniversityStatesboro, Georgia1906Public 20,517EaglesSun Belt Conference2016rifle
High Point UniversityHigh Point, North Carolina1924Private 4,500PanthersBig South2014men's lacrosse
Jacksonville UniversityJacksonville, Florida1934Private3,741DolphinsAtlantic Sun 2014men's lacrosse
Dahlonega, Georgia1873/2013Public
16,064NighthawksPeach Belt Conference
2016rifle
Presbyterian CollegeClinton, South Carolina1880Private 1,403Blue HoseBig South Conference2019wrestling
Richmond, Virginia1830Private4,361SpidersAtlantic 10 2014men's lacrosse
Birmingham, Alabama1969Public 18,568BlazersConference USA2016rifle

;Notes

Former members

Membership timeline


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id:Full value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports
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bar:10 color:Full from:1921 till:1953 text:North Carolina
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bar:11 color:Full from:1921 till:1953 text:North Carolina State
bar:11 color:OtherC1 from:1953 till:end text:ACC
bar:12 color:Full from:1921 till:1953 text:Maryland
bar:12 color:OtherC1 from:1953 till:2014 text:ACC
bar:12 shift: color:OtherC2 from:2014 till:end text:Big Ten
bar:13 color:Full from:1921 till:1958 text:Washington and Lee
bar:13 color:OtherC1 from:1958 till:1962
bar:13 color:OtherC2 from:1962 till:1976 text:CAC
bar:13 color:OtherC1 from:1976 till:end text:VCC/ODAC
bar:14 color:Full from:1921 till:1965 text:Virginia Tech
bar:14 color:OtherC2 from:1965 till:1978 text:Independent
bar:14 color:OtherC1 from:1978 till:1995 text:Metro
bar:14 color:OtherC2 from:1995 till:2000 text:A-10
bar:14 color:OtherC1 from:2000 till:2004 text:Big East
bar:14 color:OtherC2 from:2004 till:end shift: text:ACC
bar:15 color:Full from:1922 till:1933 text:Florida
bar:15 shift: color:OtherC1 from:1933 till:end text:SEC
bar:16 color:Full from:1922 till:1933 text:LSU
bar:16 shift: color:OtherC1 from:1933 till:end text:SEC
bar:17 color:Full from:1922 till:1933 text:Ole Miss
bar:17 shift: color:OtherC1 from:1933 till:end text:SEC
bar:18 color:Full from:1922 till:1933 text:Tulane
bar:18 shift: color:OtherC1 from:1933 till:1966 text:SEC
bar:18 color:OtherC2 from:1966 till:1975 text:Independent
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bar:18 color:OtherC2 from:1995 till:2014 text:C-USA
bar:18 shift: color:OtherC1 from:2014 till:end text:AAC
bar:19 color:Full from:1922 till:1933 text:Vanderbilt
bar:19 shift: color:OtherC1 from:1933 till:end text:SEC
bar:20 color:Full from:1922 till:1953 text:South Carolina
bar:20 color:OtherC1 from:1953 till:1971 text:ACC
bar:20 color:OtherC2 from:1971 till:1983 text:Independent
bar:20 color:OtherC1 from:1983 till:1991 text:Metro
bar:20 color:OtherC2 from:1991 till:end text:SEC
bar:21 color:Full from:1923 till:1933 text:
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bar:21 color:OtherC2 from:1940 till:1962 text:Independent
bar:21 color:OtherC1 from:1962 till:2012 text:CAC/SCAC
bar:21 color:OtherC2 from:2012 till:end text:SAA
bar:22 color:Full from:1924 till:2003 text:VMI
bar:22 color:OtherC1 from:2003 till:2014 text:Big South
bar:22 color:Full from:2014 till:end
bar:23 color:Full from:1928 till:1953 text:Duke
bar:23 color:OtherC1 from:1953 till:end text:ACC
bar:24 color:Full from:1936 till:1953 text:Wake Forest
bar:24 color:OtherC1 from:1953 till:end text:ACC
bar:25 color:Full from:1936 till:1967 text:George Washington
bar:25 color:FullxF from:1967 till:1970
bar:25 color:OtherC2 from:1970 till:1976 text:Ind.
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bar:26 color:Full from:1936 till:1976 text:Richmond
bar:26 color:OtherC2 from:1976 till:1979 text:Ind.
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bar:26 color:OtherC2 from:1983 till:2001 text:CAA
bar:26 color:OtherC1 from:2001 till:end text:A-10
bar:27 color:Full from:1936 till:1977 text:William & Mary
bar:27 color:OtherC1 from:1977 till:1983 text:ECAC S.
bar:27 color:OtherC2 from:1983 till:end text:CAA
bar:28 color:Full from:1936 till:end text:The Citadel
bar:29 color:Full from:1936 till:2014 text:Davidson
bar:29 color:OtherC1 from:1988 till:1990
bar:29 color:OtherC2 from:1990 till:1992
bar:29 color:FullxF from:1992 till:2014:
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bar:30 color:Full from:1936 till:end text:Furman
bar:31 color:Full from:1950 till:1968 text:West Virginia
bar:31 color:OtherC2 from:1968 till:1976 text:Ind.
bar:31 color:OtherC1 from:1976 till:1995 text:A-10
bar:31 color:OtherC2 from:1995 till:2012 text:Big East
bar:31 color:OtherC1 from:2012 till:end text:Big 12
bar:32 color:Full from:1964 till:1977 text:East Carolina
bar:32 color:OtherC2 from:1977 till:1981 shift: text:Ind.
bar:32 color:OtherC1 from:1981 till:2001 text:CAA
bar:32 color:OtherC2 from:2001 till:2014 text:C-USA
bar:32 shift: color:OtherC1 from:2014 till:end text:AAC
bar:33 color:Full from:1971 till:2014 text:Appalachian State
bar:33 shift: color:OtherC1 from:2014 till:end text:Sun Belt
bar:34 color:Full from:1976 till:1997 text:Marshall
bar:34 color:OtherC1 from:1997 till:2005 text:MAC
bar:34 color:OtherC2 from:2005 till:end text:C-USA
bar:35 color:Full from:1976 till:end text:Chattanooga
bar:36 color:Full from:1976 till:end text:Western Carolina
bar:37 color:Full from:1978 till:2004 text:East Tennessee State
bar:37 color:FullxF from:2004 till:2005
bar:37 color:OtherC1 from:2005 till:2014 text:A-Sun
bar:37 color:FullxF from:2014 till:2015
bar:37 color:Full from:2015 till:end
bar:38 color:Full from:1992 till:2014 text:Georgia Southern
bar:38 shift: color:OtherC1 from:2014 till:end text:Sun Belt
bar:39 color:FullxF from:1997 till:end text:UNC Greensboro
bar:40 color:Full from:1997 till:end text:Wofford
bar:41 color:FullxF from:1998 till:end text:Charleston
bar:41 shift: color:OtherC1 from:2013 till:end text:CAA
bar:42 color:Full from:2003 till:end text:Elon
bar:42 shift: color:OtherC1 from:2014 till:end text:CAA
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bar:44 shift: color:Full from:2014 till:end text:Mercer
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  1. > If the chart uses more than one bar color, add a legend by selecting the appropriate fields from the following six options Leave a blank line after the end of the timeline, then add a line with the selected values from the list, separated by a space. <#

  • Due to space limitations, one portion of Washington and Lee's affiliation history is not indicated in the table. In 1958, W&L stopped awarding athletic scholarships; from then until 1962, it was an independent in what was then the NCAA College Division.

    Sports

The Southern Conference sponsors championship competition in 11 men's, 10 women's, and one coeducational NCAA-sanctioned sports. Five schools are associate members for wrestling. Under a cooperative agreement with the Atlantic Sun Conference, the SoCon began sponsoring men's lacrosse in the 2014–15 school year with three full members and four associates. SoCon men's lacrosse has since added Air Force. Women's lacrosse was sponsored by the ASUN through the 2017 season, after which the SoCon launched its own women's lacrosse league. Beginning in the 2016–17 academic year, after a 30-year hiatus, the SoCon resumed rifle as its 21st sport. Members for conference competition are full members The Citadel, VMI, and Wofford as well as associate members UAB, Georgia Southern, and North Georgia. The SoCon is one of only two all-sports conferences to sponsor rifle, joining the Ohio Valley Conference. Rifle is technically a men's sport for NCAA purposes, but men's, women's, and coed teams all compete against each other. Women's lacrosse was added as the 22nd sport for 2017–18.
SportMen'sWomen'sCo-ed
Baseball
9
-
-
Basketball
10
8
-
Cross Country
10
10
-
Football
9
-
-
Golf
8
9
-
Lacrosse
8
6
-
Rifle
2
3
3
Soccer
6
10
-
Softball
-
7
-
Tennis
8
8
-
Track and Field
9
9
-
Track and Field
9
10
-
Volleyball
-
9
-
Wrestling
9
-
-

Men's sponsored sports by school

;Notes:
Men's varsity sports not sponsored by the Southern Conference which are played by SoCon schools:
SchoolSwimming &
Diving
VMIAmerica East

Women's sponsored sports by school

;Notes
Women's varsity sports not sponsored by the Southern Conference which are played by SoCon schools:
SchoolBeach VolleyballSwimming &
Diving
Water Polo
ChattanoogaOVCNoNo
MercerASUNNoNo
VMINoAmerica EastMAAC

Facilities

;Notes

Conference champions

Football

This is a partial list of the last 10 champions. For the full history, see List of Southern Conference football champions.
YearChampionRecord
2010Appalachian State+
Wofford
7–1
2011Georgia Southern7–1
2012Appalachian State
Georgia Southern+
Wofford
6–2
2013Chattanooga
Furman+
Samford
6–2
2014Chattanooga7–0
2015Chattanooga+
The Citadel
6–1
2016The Citadel+8–0
2017Wofford+7–1
2018East Tennessee State
Furman
Wofford+
6–2
2019Wofford+7–1

+Denotes automatic bid to NCAA Division I Football Championship
This is a partial list of the last 10 regular-season and tournament champions. For the full history, see List of Southern Conference men's basketball champions.
The Southern Conference split into a divisional format for basketball beginning with the 1994–95 season.
YearRegular Season Champion RecordRegular Season Champion RecordTournament Champion
2009–1013–5Wofford15–3Wofford
2010–11
12–6
Wofford
14–4Wofford
2011–12UNC Greensboro10–8Davidson16–2Davidson
2012–13Elon10–8Davidson17–1Davidson

However, the divisional format was abandoned beginning with the 2013–14 season.
YearRegular Season ChampionRecordTournament Champion
2013–14Davidson15–1Wofford
2014–15Wofford16–2Wofford
2015–16Chattanooga15–3Chattanooga
2016–17East Tennessee State
UNC Greensboro
Furman
14–4East Tennessee State
2017–18UNC Greensboro15–3UNC Greensboro
2018–19Wofford18–0Wofford

Women's basketball

This is a partial list of the last 10 tournament champions. For the full history, see Southern Conference Women's Basketball Tournament
YearChampion
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016Chattanooga
2017Chattanooga
2018Mercer
2019Mercer

Baseball

This is a partial list of the last 10 champions. For the full history, see Southern Conference Baseball Tournament.
YearReg. Season ChampionTournament Champion
2010The CitadelThe Citadel
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015Mercer
2016
2017
2018
2019

Commissioner's and Germann Cups

The Commissioner's and Germann Cups are awarded each year to the top men's and women's program in the conference. The Commissioner's Cup was inaugurated in 1970. The Germann Cup, named for former Southern Conference Commissioner Ken Germann, was first awarded in 1987. The completion of the 2013–2014 athletics season saw Appalachian State winning its 33rd Commissioner's Cup and Furman its 13th Germann Cup.
YearCommissioner's CupGermann Cup
1969–70East Carolina
William & Mary
1970–71William & Mary
1971–72William & Mary
1972–73William & Mary
1973–74East Carolina
1974–75East Carolina
1975–76William & Mary
1976–77East Carolina
1977–78Appalachian State
1978–79Appalachian State
1979–80Appalachian State
1980–81Appalachian State
1981–82Appalachian State
1982–83East Tennessee State
1983–84Appalachian State
1984–85Appalachian State
1985–86Appalachian State
1986–87Appalachian StateAppalachian State
1987–88Appalachian StateAppalachian State
1988–89Appalachian StateAppalachian State
1989–90Appalachian StateAppalachian State
1990–91FurmanAppalachian State
1991–92Appalachian StateAppalachian State
1992–93Appalachian StateFurman
1993–94Appalachian StateFurman
1994–95Appalachian StateFurman
1995–96Appalachian StateFurman
1996–97Appalachian StateFurman
1997–98Appalachian StateFurman
1998–99Appalachian StateFurman
1999–00Appalachian StateFurman
2000–01Appalachian StateFurman
2001–02Appalachian StateFurman
2002–03Appalachian StateFurman
2003–04Appalachian StateFurman
2004–05ChattanoogaCollege of Charleston
2005–06Appalachian StateAppalachian State
2006–07Appalachian StateAppalachian State
2007–08Appalachian StateChattanooga
2008–09Appalachian StateCollege of Charleston
2009–10Appalachian StateSamford
2010–11Appalachian StateAppalachian State
2011–12Appalachian StateCollege of Charleston
2012–13Appalachian StateAppalachian State
2013–14Appalachian StateFurman
2014–15ChattanoogaSamford
2015–16East Tennessee StateFurman
2016–17East Tennessee StateFurman
2017–18East Tennessee StateFurman
2018–19East Tennessee StateFurman