Big South Conference

Big South Conference
Name	Big South Conference
Founded	1983
Association	National Collegiate Athletic Association
Division	NCAA Division I
Subdivision	NCAA Division I FCS football
Member count	10
Region	Southeastern United States

Big South Conference The Big South Conference is a collegiate athletic conference competing in NCAA Division I, with football participating in the FCS. Founded in 1983, the conference's membership has included institutions from North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and Georgia, and it has produced participants in the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, the FCS Playoffs, and other national championships. The conference has experienced expansions, realignments, and affiliate memberships that connect it to broader reorganizations involving Atlantic Coast Conference, Southeastern Conference, Conference USA, Sun Belt Conference, and Colonial Athletic Association transitions.

History

The conference was established by leaders from Winthrop University, Coastal Carolina University, Radford University, and others seeking a regional Division I association. Early growth involved schools such as Appalachian State University (as a member before joining Southern Conference), Elon University (later moving to CAA Football), and Liberty University (which later transitioned to American Athletic Conference aspirations). The 1990s and 2000s saw sponsorship changes, including the addition of football as a sponsored sport in response to membership from institutions like Gardner–Webb University and Charterhouse University affiliate arrangements. Realignment pressures from power conferences—Big Ten Conference, Big 12 Conference, Pac-12 Conference—and mid-major shifts involving Mountain West Conference and Mid-American Conference influenced affiliate joins and departures. Expansion moves in the 2010s included partnerships with Campbell University and Presbyterian College, while recent affiliate agreements have linked the conference to institutions from Jacksonville University, Stetson University, and others for sports like baseball and soccer.

Member institutions

Full members have included traditional private and public institutions such as Winthrop University, Coastal Carolina University, Radford University, Campbell University, Gardner–Webb University, Presbyterian College, and Longwood University. Affiliate members have included specialized arrangements with North Carolina A&T State University for football, and sport-specific affiliations involving Loyola University Maryland, Mount St. Mary's University, and Liberty University during transitional periods. Recent membership shifts have been influenced by moves to conferences such as Sun Belt Conference and ASUN Conference, prompting the Big South to recruit institutions from Big South–ASUN Challenge partnerships and align with NEC (Northeast Conference) scheduling practices. Member institutions maintain rivalries with programs from Appalachian State University, UNC Asheville, College of Charleston, East Tennessee State University, and The Citadel stemming from regional proximity and postseason matchups.

Sports sponsored

The conference sponsors championship competition in sports including men's and women's basketball, baseball, softball, soccer, volleyball, cross country, track and field, golf, tennis, and football (for sponsoring members). Men's basketball teams compete for the conference automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, while baseball and softball champions often participate in the NCAA Baseball Tournament and NCAA Softball Tournament. The conference also fields participants in the FCS postseason for football-sponsoring members and in the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament. Several institutions have achieved national exposure through players and coaches who later joined professional ranks in National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball, and National Football League organizations.

Championships and postseason

Conference champions receive automatic qualification opportunities to national postseason events: the men's basketball champion secures a berth in the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, while the baseball and softball champions access their respective NCAA tournaments. Football champions who meet FCS requirements earn automatic bids to the FCS Playoffs, joining programs that have advanced against teams from Montana State University, James Madison University, and North Dakota State University in playoff competition. The conference organizes single-elimination tournaments for championship determination in basketball and conference series in baseball and softball, with all-tournament and all-conference honors recognizing standout student-athletes. Individual sport champions have earned invitations to events such as the NIT (National Invitation Tournament) and the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament.

Facilities and venues

Member institutions host competitions at stadiums, arenas, and fields such as the Winthrop Arena, the Liberty Baseball Stadium during transitional affiliations, the Barker–Lane Stadium for football at Campbell University, and the Vert Stadium at Coastal Carolina University. Baseball venues include facilities used in matchups against programs from Clemson University, University of South Carolina, and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for non-conference scheduling. Basketball arenas often serve as multiuse venues for community events and have hosted conference tournaments and neutral-site games in cities with convention centers and arenas used by Richmond Coliseum and comparable municipal facilities. Athletic departments coordinate with municipalities and campus planning offices to upgrade seating, video boards, and training complexes in line with standards seen at NCAA Division I peer institutions.

Governance and administration

The conference is governed by a commissioner and an executive office responsible for scheduling, compliance with NCAA regulations, media rights negotiations, and championship operations. Commissioners and administrators engage with athletics directors from member schools and with media partners to place games on regional and national platforms, negotiating broadcast arrangements similar to those pursued by ESPN, CBS Sports Network, and streaming services. Compliance offices coordinate with academic affairs at member institutions to satisfy NCAA Academic Progress Rate and eligibility standards, while conference legal counsel addresses matters analogous to those seen in disputes involving conference realignment and student-athlete transfer regulations. The conference operates committees for competition, officiating, awards, and health and safety, collaborating with sport-specific governing bodies such as USA Baseball and U.S. Soccer Federation for rule implementation and event sanctioning.

Category:College athletic conferences in the United States