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Southern Conference

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Southern Conference
(SoCon)
Southern Conference logo
Established 1921
Association NCAA
Division Division I FCS
Members 12
Sports fielded 19 (men's: 10; women's: 9)
Region Southeast
Headquarters Spartanburg, South Carolina
Commissioner John Iamarino (since 2006)
Website soconsports.com
Locations
Southern Conference locations

The Southern Conference (or SoCon) is a Division I college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 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 and Tennessee. The Southern Conference ranks as the fourth oldest major college athletic conference in the United States.1 Only the Big Ten (1896), Missouri Valley (1907) and Southwestern Athletic (1920) conferences are older.

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, three-time Division I NCAA Football champion Appalachian State Mountaineers, who stunned the fifth-ranked Michigan Wolverines 34–32 on September 1, 2007;2 and 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.3 The SoCon also frequently sees multiple teams selected to participate in the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship.4

Contents

History

Conference Commissioners
Wallace Wade 1951–60
Lloyd Jordon 1960–73
Ken Germann 1974–86
Dave Hart 1986–91
Wright Waters 1991–98
Alfred B. White 1998–2001
Danny Morrison 2001–05
John Iamarino 2006–present

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. 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, Tennessee, Tulane, and Vanderbilt) all departed the SoCon to form the Southeastern Conference (SEC). In 1953, seven 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

Other former members include the following:

In 1922, the SoCon was the first league to hold a post-season basketball tournament to decide a conference champion. 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.

Sports

Location of Southern Conference member institutions

The Southern Conference sponsors championship competition in ten men's and nine women's NCAA sanctioned sports.5 Four schools are Associate members for wrestling.

Teams in Southern Conference competition
Sport Men's Women's
Baseball
11
-
Basketball
12
11
Cross Country
11
12
Football
9
-
Golf
11
10
Soccer
8
12
Softball
-
9
Tennis
11
11
Track and Field (Indoor)
9
12
Track and Field (Outdoor)
9
12
Volleyball
-
12
Wrestling
8
-

Member schools

Current members

Conference membership increased to 12 full members when Samford joined on July 1, 2008,6 bringing the number of football playing institutions to nine. Men's basketball and volleyball are split into divisions for conference play.

  • North Division members are:
    • Appalachian State, Chattanooga, Elon, Samford, UNC Greensboro and Western Carolina
  • South Division members are:
    • The Citadel, The College of Charleston, Davidson, Furman, Georgia Southern and Wofford
Institution Location
(Population/Metro)
 Founded Type Enrollment Endowment7 Joined Nickname
North Division
Appalachian State University* Boone, North Carolina
(17,186)		 1899 Public (UNC) 17,344 (Fall 2011)8 $69.5 million 1971 Mountaineers
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Chattanooga, Tennessee
(167,674/923,460)		 1886 Public (UT) 11,438 (Fall 2011)9 $94.6 million 1976 Mocs (men's)
Lady Mocs (women's)
Elon University* Elon, North Carolina
(7,060/1,611,243)		 1889 Private 5,916 (Fall 2011)10 $120.5 million 2003 Phoenix
Samford University Homewood, Alabama
(25,167/1,309,818)		 1841 Private (Alabama Baptist Convention) 4,758 (Fall 2011)11 $246.5 million12 2008 Bulldogs
University of North Carolina at Greensboro Greensboro, North Carolina
(269,660/1,611,243)		 1891 Public (UNC) 18,478 (Fall 2010)13 $204.6 million 1997 Spartans
Western Carolina University Cullowhee, North Carolina
(9,428)		 1889 Public (UNC) 11,379 (Fall 2010)14 $51.3 million 1976 Catamounts
South Division
The Citadel Charleston, South Carolina
(124,632/697,439)		 1842 Public (Military College) 3,390 (Fall 2011)15 $208.5 million 1936 Bulldogs
College of Charleston* Charleston, South Carolina
(124,632/697,439)		 1770 Public 11,649 (Fall 2011)16 $56.2 million17 1998 Cougars
Davidson College18 Davidson, North Carolina
(10,944/2,375,675)		 1837 Private (Presbyterian) 1,756 (Fall 2011)19 $509.6 million 1936;
1992**		 Wildcats
Furman University Greenville, South Carolina
(61,674/1,362,073)		 1826 Private 3,121 (Fall 2011)20 $572.2 million 1936 Paladins
Georgia Southern University* Statesboro, Georgia
(28,422/495,745)		 1906 Public (USG) 20,212 (Fall 2011)21 $39.9 million 1991 Eagles
Wofford College Spartanburg, South Carolina
(37,013/1,362,073)		 1854 Private (United Methodist Church) 1,495 (Fall 2010)22 $161.3 million 1997 Terriers
Note

Future members

Institution Location
(Population/Metro)		 Founded Type Enrollment Joining Nickname Former Conference
East Tennessee State University Johnson City, Tennessee
(63,152 / 198,716)		 1911 Public (TBR) 15,530 2014 Buccaneers Atlantic Sun
Mercer University Macon, Georgia
(155,547 / 222,368)		 1833 Private 8,300 2014 Bears Atlantic Sun
Virginia Military Institute Lexington, Virginia
(7,042)		 1839 Public (Military College) 1,569 2014 Keydets Big South

Associate members

There are four associate member schools (wrestling only):

Institution Location Founded Type Enrollment Nickname Primary Conference
Campbell University23 Buies Creek, North Carolina 1887 Private 10,487 Fighting Camels Big South
Gardner-Webb University23 Boiling Springs, North Carolina 1905 Private 4,300 Runnin' Bulldogs Big South
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville24 Edwardsville, Illinois 1957 Public (SIU) 14,055 25 Cougars OVC
Virginia Military Institute23 Lexington, Virginia 1839 Public (Military College) 1,569 (Fall 2011)26 Keydets Big South

Upon its exit, Appalachian State is expected to become an associate member for wrestling and men's soccer.27

Former members

See also: List of former Southern Conference members

Membership timeline

Mercer University Samford University Colonial Athletic Association Elon University Colonial Athletic Association College of Charleston Wofford College University of North Carolina at Greensboro Sun Belt Conference Georgia Southern University Atlantic Sun Conference East Tennessee State University Western Carolina University University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Conference USA Mid-American Conference Marshall University Sun Belt Conference Appalachian State University American Athletic Conference Conference USA Colonial Athletic Association East Carolina University Big 12 Conference Big East Conference (1979-2013) Atlantic 10 Conference West Virginia University Furman University Atlantic-10 Conference Davidson College The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina Colonial Athletic Association Eastern College Athletic Conference College of William & Mary Atlantic 10 Conference Colonial Athletic Association Eastern College Athletic Conference University of Richmond Atlantic 10 Conference George Washington University Atlantic Coast Conference Wake Forest University Atlantic Coast Conference Duke University Big South Conference Virginia Military Institute Southern Athletic Association Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Southeastern Conference Sewanee: The University of the South Big Ten Conference Atlantic Coast Conference University of Maryland, College Park Southeastern Conference Metro Conference Atlantic Coast Conference University of South Carolina Southeastern Conference Vanderbilt University American Athletic Conference Conference USA Metro Conference Southeastern Conference Tulane University Southeastern Conference University of Mississippi Southeastern Conference Louisiana State University Southeastern Conference University of Florida Atlantic Coast Conference Big East Conference (1979-2013) Atlantic 10 Conference Metro Conference Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Old Dominion Athletic Conference Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Washington and Lee University Atlantic Coast Conference North Carolina State University Atlantic Coast Conference University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Atlantic Coast Conference Clemson University Atlantic Coast Conference University of Virginia Southeastern Conference University of Tennessee Southeastern Conference Mississippi State University Southeastern Conference University of Kentucky Atlantic Coast Conference Metro Conference Southeastern Conference Georgia Institute of Technology Southeastern Conference University of Georgia Southeastern Conference Auburn University Southeastern Conference University of Alabama

Full members Full members (except football) Other Conference Other Conference

  • Due to space limitations, one portion of Washington and Lee's affiliation history was 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 (which was split in 1973 to form today's Divisions II and III).

Facilities

School Football stadium Capacity Basketball arena Capacity Baseball stadium Capacity
Appalachian State Kidd Brewer Stadium 24,050 Holmes Center 8,325 Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium 2,000
Chattanooga Finley Stadium 20,668 McKenzie Arena 10,928 Non-baseball school
The Citadel Johnson Hagood Stadium 21,000 McAlister Field House 6,000 Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park 6,000
College of Charleston Non-football school TD Arena 5,100 CofC Baseball Stadium at Patriot's Point 2,000
Davidson Sponsors football in Pioneer League John M. Belk Arena 5,223 T. Henry Wilson, Jr. Field 700
East Tennessee State To be determined ETSU/Mountain States Health Alliance Athletic Center 6,500 Thomas Stadium 1,200
Elon Rhodes Stadium 11,250 Alumni Gym 1,544 Walter C. Latham Park 500
Furman Paladin Stadium 16,000 Timmons Arena 5,000 Latham Baseball Stadium 2,000
Georgia Southern Paulson Stadium 18,000 Hanner Fieldhouse 4,358 J.I. Clements Stadium 3,000
Mercer Moye Complex 10,200 Hawkins Arena 3,500 Claude Smith Field 500
Samford Seibert Stadium 6,700 Pete Hanna Center 4,974 Joe Lee Griffin Stadium 1,000
VMI Alumni Memorial Field 10,000 Cameron Hall 5,020 Gray–Minor Stadium 1,400
UNC Greensboro Non-football school Greensboro Coliseum (men's)
Fleming Gymnasium (women's)		 7,617
2,320		 UNCG Baseball Stadium 3,500
Western Carolina E. J. Whitmire Stadium 13,742 Ramsey Center 7,826 Hennon Stadium 1,500
Wofford Gibbs Stadium 13,000 Benjamin Johnson Arena 3,500 Russell C. King Field 2,500
  • Departing member's facilities are shown in pink.
  • Future member's facilities are shown in gray.

Conference champions

Football

This is a partial list of the last 10 champions. For the full history, see List of Southern Conference football champions.

Year Champion Record
2003 Wofford 8–0–0
2004 Furman
Georgia Southern		 6–1–0
2005 Appalachian State 6–1–0
2006 Appalachian State 7–0–0
2007 Wofford
Appalachian State+		 5–2–0
2008 Appalachian State 8–0–0
2009 Appalachian State 8–0–0
2010 Appalachian State
Wofford+		 7–1–0
2011 Georgia Southern 7–1–0
2012 Appalachian State
Georgia Southern
Wofford		 6–2–0

+Denote loser of the head-to-head battle between co-champions.

Men's basketball

This is a partial list of the last 10 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.

Year Regular Season Champion (North) Record Regular Season Champion (South) Record Tournament Champion
2002–03 Davidson
East Tennessee State
Appalachian State		 11–5 College of Charleston 13–3 East Tennessee State
2003–04 East Tennessee State 15–1 Davidson
Georgia Southern
College of Charleston		 11–5 East Tennessee State
2004–05 Davidson 16–0 College of Charleston
Georgia Southern		 10–6 Chattanooga
2005–06 Elon 13-5 Georgia Southern 11–4 Davidson
2006-07 Appalachian State 15–3 Davidson 17–1 Davidson
2007-08 Appalachian State
Chattanooga		 13–7 Davidson 20–0 Davidson
2008-09 Chattanooga
Western Carolina		 11–9 Davidson 18–2 Chattanooga
2009-10 Appalachian State 13–5 Wofford 15–3 Wofford
2010-11 Chattanooga
Western Carolina		 12–6 College of Charleston
Wofford		 14–4 Wofford
2011-12 UNC Greensboro 10–8 Davidson 16–2 Davidson
2012-13 Elon 10–8 Davidson 16–2 Davidson

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

Year Champion
2004 Chattanooga
2005 Western Carolina
2006 Chattanooga
2007 Chattanooga
2008 Chattanooga
2009 Western Carolina
2010 Chattanooga
2011 Samford
2012 Samford
2013 Chattanooga

Baseball

This is a partial list of the last 10 champions. For the full history, see Southern Conference Baseball Tournament.

Year Reg. Season Champion Tournament Champion
2004 College of Charleston The Citadel
2005 College of Charleston Furman
2006 Elon College of Charleston
2007 College of Charleston
Western Carolina		 Wofford
2008 Elon Elon
2009 Elon Georgia Southern
2010 The Citadel The Citadel
2011 Elon Georgia Southern
2012 Appalachian State
College of Charleston		 Samford
2013 Western Carolina Elon

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.28 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 2010-11 athletics season saw Appalachian State winning its 31st Commissioner's Cup and 9th Germann Cup29

Commissioner's Cup

Year Champion
1969–70 East Carolina
William & Mary
1970–71 William & Mary
1971–72 William & Mary
1972–73 William & Mary
1973–74 East Carolina
1974–75 East Carolina
1975–76 William & Mary
1976–77 East Carolina
1977–78 Appalachian State
1978–79 Appalachian State
1979–80 Appalachian State
1980–81 Appalachian State
1981–82 Appalachian State
1982–83 East Tennessee State
1983–84 Appalachian State
1984–85 Appalachian State
1985–86 Appalachian State
1986–87 Appalachian State
1987–88 Appalachian State
1988–89 Appalachian State
1989–90 Appalachian State
1990–91 Furman
1991–92 Appalachian State
1992–93 Appalachian State
1993–94 Appalachian State
1994–95 Appalachian State
1995–96 Appalachian State
1996–97 Appalachian State
1997–98 Appalachian State
1998–99 Appalachian State
1999–00 Appalachian State
2000–01 Appalachian State
2001–02 Appalachian State
2002–03 Appalachian State
2003–04 Appalachian State
2004–05 Chattanooga
2005–06 Appalachian State
2006–07 Appalachian State
2007–08 Appalachian State
2008–09 Appalachian State
2009–10 Appalachian State
2010–11 Appalachian State
2011–12 Appalachian State
2012–13 Appalachian state

Germann Cup

Year Champion
1986–87 Appalachian State
1987–88 Appalachian State
1988–89 Appalachian State
1989–90 Appalachian State
1990–91 Appalachian State
1991–92 Appalachian State
1992–93 Furman
1993–94 Furman
1994–95 Furman
1995–96 Furman
1996–97 Furman
1997–98 Furman
1998–99 Furman
1999–00 Furman
2000–01 Furman
2001–02 Furman
2002–03 Furman
2003–04 Furman
2004–05 College of Charleston
2005–06 Appalachian State
2006–07 Appalachian State
2007–08 Chattanooga
2008–09 College of Charleston
2009–10 Samford
2010–11 Appalachian State
2011–12 College of Charleston
2012–13 Appalachian State

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "The History of the Southern Conference". Southern Conference. 2008-06-30. 
  2. ^ Stewart Mandel (2007-09-01). "The Mother of All Upsets". CNNSI. 
  3. ^ Associated Press (2008-03-28). "Curry's sweet touch continues as Davidson eludes Wisconsin". ESPN. 
  4. ^ "Preseason Projected Field Of 64". BaseballAmerica.com. Retrieved 2012-03-20. 
  5. ^ http://www.soconsports.com
  6. ^ "The Southern Conference Welcomes Samford University". Southern Conference. 2008-07-01. 
  7. ^ http://www.nacubo.org/Documents/research/2011NCSEPublicTablesEndowmentMarketValues319.pdf
  8. ^ http://www1.appstate.edu/dept/irp/FB/11-12/SI/S8demographics.pdf
  9. ^ http://www.utc.edu/Administration/PlanningEvaluationAndInstitutionalResearch/documents/FACTSUMMARY2011.xlsx.pdf
  10. ^ http://www.elon.edu/e-web/about/default.xhtml
  11. ^ http://www.samford.edu/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=21474838590
  12. ^ http://www.samford.edu/workarea/downloadasset.aspx?id=21474839998
  13. ^ http://ire.uncg.edu/pages/factbook/2010-11/PDFs/history/2010Profile.PDF
  14. ^ http://www.wcu.edu/WebFiles/PDFs/12-month_Enrollment.pdf
  15. ^ http://www3.citadel.edu/instresearch/fall_11_profile.pdf
  16. ^ http://www.cofc.edu/about/ataglance/index.php
  17. ^ http://giving.cofc.edu/pv_obj_cache/pv_obj_id_FA4F20A0DBD9DA4D799C68A9AF1BD84EB8030200/filename/11282011FoundationFinalAuditRpt.pdf
  18. ^ Davidson does not compete in the SoCon for football. Instead, they compete in the Pioneer Football League.
  19. ^ http://www3.davidson.edu/cms/documents/OfficesServices/OfficeofthePresident/InstResearch/OFFPR_IR_FF1112_Fall_enrollment.pdf
  20. ^ http://www2.furman.edu/admission/EngageFurman/QuickLinks/Pages/FurmanataGlance.aspx
  21. ^ http://news.georgiasouthern.edu/pressrelease.php?id=2178
  22. ^ http://www.wofford.edu/about/fastfacts/
  23. ^ a b c >Campbell, Gardner-Webb, and VMI compete in the Big South Conference for most sports.
  24. ^ SIU Edwardsville competes in the Missouri Valley Conference for men's soccer and the Ohio Valley Conference for all other sports.
  25. ^ http://www.siue.edu/factbook/pdf/FbCurrent.pdf
  26. ^ http://www.vmi.edu/Content.aspx?id=7281
  27. ^ http://awn.theopenmat.com/2013/03/appalachian-state-moves-to-sun-belt-as-all-sports-conference-wrestling-to-stay-in-socon/
  28. ^ "Southern Conference Commissioner’s & Germann Cups". Southern Conference. 2007-06-04. 
  29. ^ "Appalachian State, Samford Win SoCon All-Sports Cups". Southern Conference. 2010-06-01. 

External links

Southern Conference
Current members
Associate Members
Future Members
Former members
Championships & awards