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Collegiate Conference of the South

{{short description|Intercollegiate athletic conference in the southeastern US}}

{{Infobox sports league

| name = Collegiate Conference of the South

| logo = File:Collegiate Conference of the South.jpg

| logo_size = 200

| founded = 2022

| commissioner = Beth Vansant

| association = NCAA

| division = Division III

| teams = 9 (8 in 2026)

| sports = 14

| mens = 7

| womens = 7

| region = South

| website = [http://www.collegiateconferenceofthesouth.com collegiateconferenceofthesouth.com]

| map = File:CCoS-USA-states.png

| map_size = 250

| color = #019566; {{box-shadow border|a|#1b99d6|2px}}

| font_color = #ffffff

}}

{{OSM Location map

| float = right

| width = 400

| height = 400

| coord = {{coord|35.19|-86.84}}

| nolabels = 1

| title = Collegiate Conference of the South

| mark-coord = {{coord|33.7685|-84.2945}} |label=Agnes Scott |label-pos= bottom |mark= Blue pog.svg |mark-size=10 |label-color= black

| mark-coord1 = {{coord|37.8642|-84.6658}} |label1=Asbury |label-pos1= top |mark1= Blue pog.svg |mark-size1=10 |label-color1= black

| mark-coord2 = {{coord|32.320391|-90.170047}} |label2=Belhaven |label-pos2= bottom |mark2= Blue pog.svg |mark-size2=10 |label-color2= black

| mark-coord3 = {{coord|34.966|-85.374}} |label3=Covenant |label-pos3= top |mark3= Blue pog.svg |mark-size3=10 |label-color3= black

| mark-coord4 = {{coord|32.352914|-86.288495}} |label4=Huntingdon |label-pos4= bottom |mark4= Blue pog.svg |mark-size4=10 |label-color4= black

| mark-coord5 = {{coord|33.026601|-85.044205}} |label5=LaGrange |label-pos5= bottom |mark5= Blue pog.svg |mark-size5=10 |label-color5= black

| mark-coord6 = {{coord|35.749103|-83.963815}} |label6=Maryville |label-pos6= bottom |mark6= Red pog.svg |mark-size6=10 |label-color6= black

| mark-coord7 = {{coord|34.560295|-83.543711}} |label7=Piedmont |label-pos7= bottom |mark7= Blue pog.svg |mark-size7=10 |label-color7= black

| mark-coord8 = {{coord|32.8750|-83.7142}} |label8=Wesleyan |label-pos8= bottom |mark8= Blue pog.svg |mark-size8=10 |label-color8= black

| zoom = 6

| caption = Location of CCS members:
10px Current Members
10px Departing Members

}}

The Collegiate Conference of the South (CCS) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the Division III ranks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Member schools are located in Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky.{{cite news |title=USA South Announces Conference Restructuring |url=https://www.usasouth.net/general/2021-22/releases/20220215h90h97 |access-date=February 26, 2022 |publisher=USA South Athletic Conference |date=February 18, 2022 |archive-date=February 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220221165722/https://usasouth.net/general/2021-22/releases/20220215h90h97 |url-status=dead }}

While competitive CCS play began immediately during the 2022–23 school year, the CCS will not be eligible for automatic NCAA Division III tournament bids until 2024.{{cite web |last1=Coleman |first1=Pat |last2=McHugh |first2=Dave |title=USA South Athletic Conference to split in two |url=https://www.d3sports.com/notables/2022/02/usa-south-to-split-in-two |website=D3Sports |access-date=April 9, 2022 |date=February 16, 2022}} The conference sponsors 14 championship sports. Football, women's golf, and men's and women's lacrosse teams sponsored by CCS members continue to compete in the USA South as associate members.{{cite web |title=Collegiate Conference of the South approved by the NCAA, following USA South separation |url=https://ascscotties.com/news/2022/2/18/general-collegiate-conference-of-the-south-approved-by-the-ncaa-following-usa-south-separation.aspx |website=Agnes Scott Scotties |access-date=July 1, 2022 |date=February 18, 2022}}

History

=Chronological timeline=

  • 2022 – The College Conference of the South was founded and established after a decision to split the 19-member USA South Athletic Conference (USA South) into two smaller, geographically oriented leagues. Charter members included Agnes Scott College, Belhaven University, Berea College, Covenant College, Huntingdon College, LaGrange College, Maryville College, Piedmont University and Wesleyan College; beginning the 2022–23 academic year.
  • 2023:
  • Berea left the CCS to accept an invitation to the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference as a full member, to join the HCAC during the 2024–25 school year.{{cite web |title=HCAC Welcomes Berea College as its Newest Member |url=https://heartlandconf.org/news/2023/6/1/general-hcac-welcomes-berea-college-as-its-newest-member.aspx |website=heartlandconf.org |publisher=HCAC |access-date=23 July 2024}}
  • Asbury University accepted as a full member, to join the CCS during the 2024–25 school year.{{cite web |title=Asbury Joins Division III Collegiate Conference of the South |url=https://asburyeagles.com/news/2023/10/6/asbury-joins-division-iii-collegiate-conference-of-the-south.aspx |website=asburyeagles.com |publisher=Asbury University athletics |access-date=23 July 2024}}
  • 2024 – Maryville (Tenn.) will leave the CCS to accept to the Southern Athletic Association as a full member, to join the SAA during the 2026–27 school year.{{cite web |title=Maryville College Approved for Full SAA Membership |url=https://saa-sports.com/news/2024/7/17/general-maryville-college-approved-for-full-saa-membership.aspx |website=saa-sports.com |publisher=SAA |access-date=23 July 2024}}

Member schools

=Founding members=

The CCS began with nine full members, all private and faith-based schools. The only members not tied to one or more specific Christian denominations are current member Asbury and former member Berea, although Asbury is historically associated with the Methodist movement.

class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"

! Institution

! Location

! Founded

! Affiliation

! Enrollment

! Nickname

! Joined{{efn|group=full|Represents the calendar year when fall sports competition begins.}}

! Football?

Agnes Scott College{{efn|group=full|name=women|This institution is a women's college, therefore it does not compete in men's sports.}}

| Decatur, Georgia

| 1889

| Presbyterian
{{small|(PCUSA)}}

| 914

| Scotties

| 2022

| No

Asbury University

| Wilmore, Kentucky

| 1890

| Christian
{{small|(unaffiliated)}}

| 1,054

| Eagles

| 2024{{cite news |author1=TeamAU |title=Asbury Joins Division III Collegiate Conference of the South |url=https://asburyeagles.com/news/2023/10/6/asbury-joins-division-iii-collegiate-conference-of-the-south.aspx |access-date=October 22, 2023 |work=Asbury Eagles |date=October 6, 2023}}

| No

Belhaven University

| Jackson, Mississippi

| 1883

| Presbyterian
{{small|(PCUSA)}}

| 3,245

| Blazers

| 2022

| Yes

Covenant College

| Lookout Mountain, Georgia

| 1955

| Presbyterian
{{small|(PCA)}}

| 1,282

| Scots &
Lady Scots

| 2022

| No

Huntingdon College

| Montgomery, Alabama

| 1854

| United
Methodist

| 900

| Hawks

| 2022

| Yes

LaGrange College

| LaGrange, Georgia

| 1831

| United
Methodist

| 1,137

| Panthers

| 2022

| Yes

bgcolor=#ffa0a0

| Maryville College

| Maryville, Tennessee

| 1819

| Presbyterian
{{small|(PCUSA)}}

| 1,103

| Scots

| 2022

| Yes

Piedmont University

| Demorest, Georgia

| 1897

| United Church of Christ &
Congregationalist

| 2,640

| Lions

| 2022

| No

Wesleyan College{{efn|group=full|name=women|This institution is a women's college, therefore it does not compete in men's sports.}}

| Macon, Georgia

| 1836

| United
Methodist

| 550

| Wolves

| 2022

| No

;Notes:

{{notelist|group=full}}

=Former members=

The CCS has one former full member, which was also a private school:

class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"

! Institution

! Location

! Founded

! Affiliation

! Enrollment

! Nickname

! Joined{{efn|group=former|Represents the calendar year when fall sports competition begins.}}

! Left{{efn|group=former|Represents the calendar year when spring sports competition ends.}}

! Current
conference

Berea College

| Berea, Kentucky

| 1855

| Christian
{{small|(unaffiliated)}}

| 1,613

| Mountaineers

| 2022

| 2024

| Heartland (HCAC)

;Notes:

{{notelist|group=former}}

=Membership timeline=

DateFormat = yyyy

ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:20

Period = from:2020 till:2030

TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal

PlotArea = right:20 left:0 bottom:50 top:5 #> to display a count on left side of graph, use "left:20" to suppress the count, use "left:20"<#

Colors =

id:barcolor value:rgb(0.99,0.7,0.7)

id:line value:black

id:bg value:white

id:Full value:rgb(0.742,0.727,0.852) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports

id:FullxF value:rgb(0.551,0.824,0.777) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports except for football

id:AssocF value:rgb(0.98,0.5,0.445) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for football only

id:AssocOS value:rgb(0.5,0.691,0.824) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in some sports, but not all (consider identifying in legend or a footnote)

id:OtherC1 value:rgb(0.996,0.996,0.699) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to another conference

id:OtherC2 value:rgb(0.988,0.703,0.383) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to another conference where OtherC1 has already been used, to distinguish the two

PlotData=

width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s

bar:1 color:OtherC1 from:2020 till:2022 text:USA South

bar:1 color:FullxF from:2022 till:end text:Agnes Scott (2022–present)

bar:2 color:OtherC1 from:2020 till:2022 text:ASC

bar:2 color:FullxF from:2022 till:end text:Belhaven (2022–present)

bar:3 color:OtherC1 from:2020 till:2022 text:USA South

bar:3 color:FullxF from:2022 till:2024 text:Berea (2022–2024)

bar:3 color:OtherC1 from:2024 till:end text:Heartland

bar:4 color:OtherC1 from:2020 till:2022 text:USA South

bar:4 color:FullxF from:2022 till:end text:Covenant (2022–present)

bar:5 color:OtherC1 from:2020 till:2022 text:USA South

bar:5 color:FullxF from:2022 till:end text:Huntingdon (2022–present)

bar:6 color:OtherC1 from:2020 till:2022 text:USA South

bar:6 color:FullxF from:2022 till:end text:LaGrange (2022–present

bar:7 color:OtherC1 from:2020 till:2022 text:USA South

bar:7 color:FullxF from:2022 till:2026 text:Maryville (Tenn.) (2022–2026)

bar:7 color:OtherC1 from:2026 till:end text:SAA

bar:8 color:OtherC1 from:2020 till:2022 text:USA South

bar:8 color:FullxF from:2022 till:end text:Piedmont (2022–present)

bar:9 color:OtherC1 from:2020 till:2022 text:USA South

bar:9 color:FullxF from:2022 till:end text:Wesleyan (Ga.) (2022–present)

bar:10 color:OtherC1 from:2020 till:2021 text:RSC (NAIA)

bar:10 color:OtherC2 from:2021 till:2024 text:D-III Independent

bar:10 color:FullxF from:2024 till:end text:Asbury (2024–present)

ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:1 start:2020

Sports

The CCS sponsors championships in the following sports:

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

|+ Conference sports

!Sport

Men'sWomen's
align="left"|Baseball{{Y}}
align="left"|Basketball{{Y}}{{Y}}
align="left"|Cross Country{{Y}}{{Y}}
align="left"|Golf{{Y}}
align="left"|Soccer{{Y}}{{Y}}
align="left"|Softball{{Y}}
align="left"|Tennis{{Y}}{{Y}}
align="left"|Track and field (outdoor){{Y}}{{Y}}
align="left"|Volleyball{{Y}}

Conference facilities

All CCS members with football teams play that sport in the USA South.

class="wikitable sortable"
rowspan=2|School

!colspan=2|Football

!colspan=2|Basketball

Stadium

!Capacity

!Arena

!Capacity

Agnes Scott

|Non-football school

|align=right|—

|Woodruff Athletic Complex

|align=right|—

Asbury

| Non-football school

| align=right | —

| Luce Center Gym

| align=right | 1,500

Belhaven

|Belhaven Bowl

|align=right|1,200

|Charles R. Rugg Arena

|align=right|500

Covenant

|Non-football school

|align=right|—

|Barnes Physical Education Center

|align=right|650

Huntingdon

|Charles Lee Field at Samford Stadium

|align=right|2,500

|Catherine Dixon Roland Arena

|align=right|976

LaGrange

|Callaway Stadium

|align=right|5,000

|Mariotti Gymnasium

|align=right|500

Maryville

|Lloyd L. Thornton Stadium

|align=right|3,000

|Boydson-Baird Gymnasium

|align=right|2,000

Piedmont

|Non-football school

| align="right" |—

|Johnny Mize Athletic Center and Cave Arena{{cite web|title=Johnny Mize Athletic Center with Video|url=http://piedmontlions.com/sports/2011/2/14/GEN_0214110641.aspx?tab=johnnymizeathleticcenter|work=Piedmont Lions|publisher=Piedmont College|access-date=April 9, 2022}}

|align=right|1,500

Wesleyan

|Non-football school

|align=right|—

|Porter Gymnasium

|align=right|586

See also

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

{{ccat}}

  • {{oweb}}

{{Collegiate Conference of the South navbox}}

{{NCAA Division III conference navbox}}