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Southern Conference

{{short description|American collegiate athletic conference}}

{{distinguish|Conference South|Big South Conference|Conference League South|Southern Conference (NJCAA)}}

{{Infobox sports league

| name = Southern Conference

| color = #001489; {{box-shadow border|a|#DA291C|2px}}

| font_color = white

| logo = PrimaryBlue SoCon.svg

| logo_size =

| founded = {{start date and age|1921}}

| association = NCAA

| division = Division I

| subdivision = FCS

| teams = 10

| sports = 21

| mens = 11

| womens = 9

| coed = 1

| region = Southeast

| headquarters = Spartanburg, South Carolina

| commissioner = Michael Cross

| since = 2023

| website = {{URL|https://soconsports.com/}}

| map = File:Southern Conference Map version 1.1revised03092021.png

| map_size = 250

}}

The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. 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, 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.{{Cite news |date=2008-06-30 |title=The History of the Southern Conference |publisher=Southern Conference |url=https://soconsports.com/sports/2008/6/30/177772.aspx |access-date=2023-09-12}}Among conferences currently in operation, the Big Ten (1896) and Missouri Valley (1907) 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 (SWC) 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 Southern Conference is considered one of the stronger football conferences in the Football Championship Subdivision and is considered a mid-major conference in basketball. The three-time Division I NCAA Football champion Appalachian State Mountaineers were a member of the conference when they stunned the fifth-ranked Michigan Wolverines 34–32 on September 1, 2007.{{Cite news|title=The Mother of All Upsets|author=Stewart Mandel|publisher=CNNSI|date=2007-09-01|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/si_blogs/football/ncaa/2007/09/mother-of-all-upsets.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071209050011/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/si_blogs/football/ncaa/2007/09/mother-of-all-upsets.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 9, 2007}} The Davidson Wildcats reached the Elite Eight in the 2008 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament by upsetting power programs Gonzaga, Georgetown, and Wisconsin.{{Cite news|title=Curry's sweet touch continues as Davidson eludes Wisconsin|agency=Associated Press|publisher=ESPN|date=2008-03-28|url=https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=284000014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170128102328/http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap?gameId=284000014|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 28, 2017}} 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.{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2013/11/23/florida-falls-to-georgia-southern-to-lose-its-sixth-in-a-row/3686607/|title=Florida falls to FCS opponent, won't be bowl eligible|author=David Jones|website=USA Today|access-date=2014-03-20}} 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. On September 4, 2021, East Tennessee State University stunned Vanderbilt 23–3 in their opening game. The SoCon also frequently sees multiple teams selected to participate in the NCAA Division I baseball championship.{{cite web|url=http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/season-preview/2011/2611286.html|title=Preseason Projected Field Of 64|publisher=BaseballAmerica.com|access-date=2012-03-20}}

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 (MTSU), where Ronnie Carr shot the historic shot from {{convert|22|ft}} away and the Catamounts won 77–70.{{cite web |title=A First in NCAA Basketball |website=catamountsports.com |url=http://www.catamountsports.com/genrel/011205abc.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140225104015/http://www.catamountsports.com/genrel/011205abc.html |archive-date=2014-02-25 |access-date=2014-02-16}}{{cite web |date= |title=Rivals.com |url=http://collegebasketball.rivals.com/content.asp?cid=675171 |accessdate=2022-03-13 |publisher=Collegebasketball.rivals.com}}

History

{{OSM Location map

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| height = 500

| coord = {{coord|34.5547|-82.1885}}

| nolabels = 1

| title = Southern Conference

| mark-coord = {{coord|35.0458 | -85.2999}} |mark-size=10 |label=Chattanooga |label-pos = left | mark = Blue pog.svg | label-color = black

| mark-coord1 = {{coord|32.7917 | -79.9567}} |mark-size1=10 |label1=Citadel |label-pos1 = left | mark1 = Blue pog.svg | label-color1 = black

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| mark-coord3 = {{coord|34.9260 | -82.4401}} |mark-size3=10 |label3=Furman |label-pos3 = left | mark3 = Blue pog.svg | label-color3 = black

| mark-coord4 = {{coord|32.8288 | -83.6498}} |mark-size4=10 |label4=Mercer |label-pos4 = top | mark4 = Blue pog.svg | label-color4 = black

| mark-coord5 = {{coord|33.5020 | -86.8064}} |mark-size5=10 |label5=UAB |label-pos5 = top | mark5 = Red pog.svg | label-color5 = black

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| mark-coord7 = {{coord|37.7915 | -79.4354}} |mark-size7=10 |label7=VMI |label-pos7 = top | mark7 = Blue pog.svg | label-color7 = black

| mark-coord8 = {{coord|35.3090 | -83.1864}} |mark-size8=10 |label8=Western Carolina |label-pos8 = left | mark8 = Blue pog.svg | label-color8 = black

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| mark-coord11 = {{coord|36.2136 | -81.6843}} |mark-size11=10 |label11=Appalachian |labela11=State |label-pos11 = top | mark11 = Red pog.svg | label-color11 = black

| mark-coord12 = {{coord|38.2185 | -85.7055}} |mark-size12=10 |label12=Bellarmine |label-pos12 = bottom | mark12 = Red pog.svg | label-color12 = black

| mark-coord13 = {{coord|35.4083 | -78.7394}} |mark-size13=10 |label13=Campbell |label-pos13 = right | mark13 = Red pog.svg | label-color13 = black

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| mark-coord16 = {{coord|32.4205 | -81.7865}} |mark-size16=10 |label16=Georgia Southern |label-pos16 = bottom | mark16 = Red pog.svg | label-color16 = black

| mark-coord19 = {{coord|34.5279 | -83.9844}} |mark-size19=10 |label19=North Georgia |label-pos19 = bottom | mark19 = Red pog.svg | label-color19 = black

| mark-coord20 = {{coord|34.4652 | -81.8776}} |mark-size20=10 |label20=Presbyterian |label-pos20 = right | mark20 = Red pog.svg | label-color20 = black

| zoom = 6

| caption = Location of SoCon members: 10px full member, 10px associate member

}}

class="floatright" style="font-size: 95%; border: 1px solid #a2a9b1; color: black; padding: 0.2em; background-color: #f8f9fa;"

|+ style="font-size: 1.15em;" |Conference Commissioners

Wallace Wade

|1951–1960

Lloyd Jordon

|1960–1973

Ken Germann

|1974–1986

Dave Hart

|1986–1991

Wright Waters

|1991–1998

Alfred B. White

|1998–2001

Danny Morrison

|2001–2005

John Iamarino

|2006–2019

Jim Schaus

|2019–2023

Michael Cross

| 2023–present

{{Further|1955 All-Southern Conference football team}}

Talks of a new conference for Southern athletics had started as early as fall of 1920.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3021318/the_charlotte_observer/|work=The Charlotte Observer|title=Southern Conference Talked By College Men|page=8|date=February 28, 1921|access-date=August 16, 2015|via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}} 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.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3021327/the_charlotte_observer/|title=Southern Conference, With 15 Colleges as Members, Is Formed At Atlanta Meeting|page=24|date=February 27, 1921|work=The Charlotte Observer|access-date=August 16, 2015|via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}}{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3023590/news_and_observer/|work=News and Observer|date=October 16, 1921|page=15|title=Too Many Practice Games And Too Few Real Battles|author=Fuzzy Woodruff|access-date=August 16, 2015|via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}} The new rules banned freshman play.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3021335/the_atlanta_constitution/|page=2|work=The Atlanta Constitution|title=Drastic Rules Are Adopted By New Southern Conference To Keep College Sports Clean|access-date=August 16, 2015|date=February 27, 1921|via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}} Later additions included Sewanee (1924), 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 (Sewanee), Tennessee, Tulane, and Vanderbilt) all departed the SoCon to form the Southeastern Conference (SEC). In 1953, seven additional 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). The ACC and SEC have gone on to surpass their parent conference in prestige; while the ACC and SEC are considered "power" conferences in Division I FBS (formerly Division I-A), the SoCon dropped to Division I-AA (FCS) 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.{{cite web |url=http://issuu.com/soconsports/docs/2014-15_mbk_media_guide/0 |title=2014-15 Southern Conference men's basketball media guide |date=Dec 17, 2014 |website=Issuu |publisher=Southern Conference |access-date=August 16, 2015}} Held at the Municipal Auditorium in Atlanta from February 24 to March 2, 1922, the first meeting was won by North Carolina who defeated non-member Mercer in the Finals 40–25.{{cite web |url=http://www.soconsports.com/fls/4000/socon/files/bktny/all_time_mbk_tny_results.pdf?DB_OEM_ID=4000 |title=Southern Conference Tournament Results |website=Southern Conference}} 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 full 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 (ETSU), Mercer, and VMI. The current football membership stands at nine. UNC Greensboro does not sponsor football, while ETSU relaunched its previously dormant football program in 2015 and rejoined SoCon football in 2016 after one season as an independent.{{Cite press release|url=http://www.soconsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=209526451&DB_OEM_ID=4000 |title=SoCon Welcomes ETSU, Mercer and VMI |publisher=Southern Conference |date=July 1, 2014 |access-date=July 2, 2014}}

{{Clear right}}

The 10 members of the Southern Conference are:

class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
InstitutionLocationFoundedJoinedTypeEnrollmentEndowment
(millions)		Nicknameclass="unsortable"|Colors
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

| Chattanooga, Tennessee

| 1886

| 1976

| Public

| 11,728

|$195

| Mocs

| {{college color boxes|Chattanooga Mocs}}

The Citadel

| Charleston, South Carolina

| 1842

| 1936

| Senior Military College

| 3,693

|$423.6

| Bulldogs

| {{college color boxes|Citadel Bulldogs}}

East Tennessee State University

| Johnson City, Tennessee

| 1911

| 2014{{efn|group=cm|ETSU was previously a Southern Conference member from 1978 to 2005.}}

| Public

| 9,151

|$87.8

|Buccaneers

|{{college color boxes|East Tennessee State Buccaneers}}

Furman University

|Greenville, South Carolina

| 1826

| 1936

| rowspan="3"|Private

| 2,629

|$812

|Paladins

|{{college color boxes|Furman Paladins}}

Mercer University

|Macon, Georgia

|1833

|2014

|9,026

|$502

|Bears

|{{college color boxes|Mercer Bears}}

Samford University

|Homewood, Alabama

|1841

|2008

|5,729

|$403.5

|Bulldogs

|{{college color boxes|Samford Bulldogs}}

University of North Carolina at Greensboro

|Greensboro, North Carolina

|1891

|1997

|Public

|19,764

|$368.6

|Spartans

|{{college color boxes|UNC Greensboro Spartans}}

Virginia Military Institute
(VMI)

| Lexington, Virginia

| 1839

| 2014{{efn|group=cm|VMI was previously a Southern Conference member from 1924 to 2003.}}

| Senior Military College

| 1,772

|$703.1

|Keydets

|{{college color boxes|VMI Keydets}}

Western Carolina University

|Cullowhee, North Carolina

| 1889

| 1976

| Public

| 12,243

|$130

|Catamounts

|{{college color boxes|Western Carolina Catamounts}}

Wofford College

|Spartanburg, South Carolina

| 1854

| 1997

| Private

| 1,773

|$417.4

|Terriers

|{{college color boxes|Wofford Terriers}}

;Notes

{{notelist|group=cm}}

=Associate members=

On January 9, 2014, the SoCon and Atlantic Sun Conference, now known as the ASUN Conference, announced a new alliance in lacrosse that took effect with the 2015 spring season (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 spring season, instead joined the SoCon.{{cite press release |url=http://www.soconsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=4000&ATCLID=209368200&SPID=1790&SPSID=21983 |title=SoCon, A-Sun Partner to Enhance Lacrosse |publisher=Southern Conference |date=January 9, 2014 |access-date=March 31, 2014 |archive-date=April 7, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407052929/http://www.soconsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=4000&ATCLID=209368200&SPID=1790&SPSID=21983 |url-status=dead }} The alliance remains in 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 spring season (2017–18 school year).{{cite press release|url=http://www.soconsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=1161510&SPID=186908&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=211445189&DB_OEM_ID=4000 |title=SoCon to Add Women's Lacrosse as 22nd Sport |publisher=Southern Conference |date=January 31, 2017 |access-date=November 5, 2017}} However, the conferences maintained their working relationship in women's lacrosse, with the SoCon adding Coastal Carolina as an associate member effective with the 2021 spring season (2020–21 school year) in order to keep both conferences at five women's lacrosse members for 2021.{{cite press release|url=https://goccusports.com/news/2020/2/7/womens-lacrosse-to-move-to-socon-beginning-in-2021.aspx |title=Women's Lacrosse to Move to SoCon Beginning in 2021 |publisher=Coastal Carolina Chanticleers |date=February 7, 2020 |accessdate=October 1, 2021}} Coastal was intended to play in SoCon women's lacrosse in the 2022 spring season (2021–22 school year) as well, but the SoCon decided to drop the sport after the 2021 spring season (2020–21 school year). While no formal announcement was made, the SoCon–ASUN women's lacrosse partnership definitively ended at that time, as the three full SoCon members who sponsored women's lacrosse moved that sport to the Big South Conference. Coastal and Delaware State both returned women's lacrosse to the ASUN Conference.{{cite press release|url=https://asunsports.org/sports/wlax/2021-22/releases/20210706esyw90 |title=Coastal Carolina and Delaware State Set to Rejoin ASUN Conference Women's Lacrosse |publisher=ASUN Conference |date=July 7, 2021 |accessdate=October 1, 2021}}

The men's lacrosse partnership took a slightly different form from the 2022 spring season (2021–22 school year) forward, as the ASUN reinstated its men's lacrosse league. The two full ASUN members with men's lacrosse programs separated, with Jacksonville remaining in SoCon men's lacrosse while Bellarmine joined the ASUN men's lacrosse league. SoCon associate Air Force also left for ASUN men's lacrosse.{{cite press release |url=https://asunsports.org/general/2020-21/releases/20210205djyk6a |title=ASUN Conference Announces Formation of Men's Lacrosse League |publisher=ASUN Conference |date=February 5, 2021 |accessdate=February 6, 2021 |archive-date=February 5, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205181350/https://asunsports.org/general/2020-21/releases/20210205djyk6a |url-status=dead }} The SoCon maintained its automatic NCAA tournament berth with the addition of Hampton.{{cite press release |url=https://soconsports.com/news/2021/2/5/hampton-joining-socon-as-associate-member-for-mens-lacrosse.aspx |title=Hampton joining SoCon as associate member for men's lacrosse |publisher=Southern Conference |date=February 5, 2021 |accessdate=February 6, 2021 |archive-date=February 5, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205180343/https://soconsports.com/news/2021/2/5/hampton-joining-socon-as-associate-member-for-mens-lacrosse.aspx |url-status=dead }}

Before the addition of Hampton men's lacrosse, the most recent addition to the associate membership was Presbyterian wrestling, which joined during summer 2019.{{cite press release|url=http://www.gobluehose.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=18100&ATCLID=211688877 |title=PC Adds Men's and Women's Wrestling; Men to Join Southern Conference |publisher=Presbyterian Blue Hose |date=December 7, 2017 |access-date=May 8, 2018}} Two women's lacrosse members, Central Michigan and Detroit Mercy, left after the 2020 season (2019–20 school year) to join the new women's lacrosse league of Central's full-time home of the Mid-American Conference;{{cite press release|url=https://getsomemaction.com/news/2019/11/5/general-womens-lacrosse-coming-in-2020-21-detroit-mercy-youngstown-state-as-affiliates.aspx |title=Women's Lacrosse Coming in 2020-21; Detroit Mercy & Youngstown State As Affiliates |publisher=Mid-American Conference |date=November 6, 2019 |access-date=February 8, 2020}} this move contributed to the eventual demise of the SoCon women's lacrosse league.

Men's soccer member Belmont left the SoCon after the 2021–22 school year when it joined the Missouri Valley Conference, which sponsors that sport.{{cite press release|url=https://mvc-sports.com/news/2021/9/27/general-belmont-accepts-invitation-to-join-mvc.aspx |title=Belmont to Join MVC in 2022–23 |publisher=Missouri Valley Conference |date=September 28, 2021 |accessdate=October 2, 2021}} At the same time, Hampton moved men's lacrosse to its new full-time home of the Colonial Athletic Association, now known as the Coastal Athletic Association.{{cite press release|url=https://caasports.com/news/2022/1/24/football-caa-welcomes-hampton-university-monmouth-university-and-stony-brook-university-as-new-members.aspx |title=CAA Welcomes Hampton University, Monmouth University and Stony Brook University as New Members |publisher=Colonial Athletic Association |date=January 25, 2022 |access-date=January 25, 2022}}

The addition of men's lacrosse by the Atlantic 10 Conference, announced on May 23, 2022,{{cite press release|url=https://atlantic10.com/news/2022/5/23/atlantic-10-conference-adds-mens-lacrosse-as-22nd-championship-sport.aspx |title=Atlantic 10 Conference Adds Men's Lacrosse as 22nd Championship Sport |publisher=Atlantic 10 Conference !date=May 23, 2022 |access-date=May 23, 2022}} led to the demise of the SoCon men's lacrosse league after the 2022 season. In addition to Hampton joining the CAA, SoCon associate members High Point and Richmond (the latter a full A-10 member) moved to the A-10, and Jacksonville returned to ASUN men's lacrosse.

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.

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

!Location

!Founded

!Joined

!Type

!Enrollment

!Nickname

!class="unsortable"|Colors

!Sport

!Primary conference

{{sort|UAB|University of Alabama at Birmingham}} (UAB)

| Birmingham, Alabama

| 1969

| 2016

| rowspan="2|Public

| 18,568

| Blazers

| {{college color boxes|UAB Blazers}}

| rifle

| The American

Appalachian State University

| Boone, North Carolina

| 1899

| 2014{{efn|group=am|The 2014 date reflects the departure of Appalachian State from the SoCon to join the Sun Belt Conference. The Mountaineers have competed in SoCon wrestling continuously since the league first sponsored the sport in 1993–94.}}

| 20,641

| Mountaineers

| {{college color boxes|Appalachian State Mountaineers}}

| wrestling

| Sun Belt

Bellarmine University

| Louisville, Kentucky

| 1950

| 2020

| rowspan=4 | Private

| 3,846

| Knights

| {{college color boxes|Bellarmine Knights}}

| wrestling

| ASUN

Campbell University

| Buies Creek, North Carolina

| 1887

| 2011

| 11,241

| Fighting Camels

| {{college color boxes|Campbell Fighting Camels}}

| wrestling

| CAA

Davidson College

| Davidson, North Carolina

| 1837

| 2014{{efn|group=am|The 2014 date reflects the departure of Davidson from the SoCon to join the Atlantic 10 Conference. The Wildcats have competed in SoCon wrestling continuously since the league first sponsored the sport in 1993–94.}}

| 1,850

| Wildcats

| {{college color boxes|Davidson Wildcats}}

| wrestling

| Atlantic 10

Gardner–Webb University

| Boiling Springs, North Carolina

| 1905

| 2011

| 5,000

| Runnin' Bulldogs

| {{college color boxes|Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs}}

| wrestling

| Big South

Georgia Southern University

| Statesboro, Georgia

| 1906

| 2016

| Public

| 20,517

| Eagles

| {{college color boxes|Georgia Southern Eagles}}

| rifle{{cite web |url=http://www.soconsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=4000&ATCLID=210573189&SPID=1790&SPSID=21983 |title=Southern Conference to Add Rifle as 21st Sport |publisher=Southern Conference |date=December 9, 2012 |access-date=December 12, 2015}}

| Sun Belt

{{sort|North Georgia|University of North Georgia}}

| Dahlonega, Georgia

| 1873{{efn|group=am|On January 10, 2012, the University System of Georgia approved the consolidation of North Georgia College and State University and Gainesville State College to form a new institution, the University of North Georgia in January 2013.}}

| 2016

| Public

| 16,064

| Nighthawks

| {{college color boxes|North Georgia Nighthawks}}

| rifle

| Peach Belt{{efn|group=former|name=D2|Currently an NCAA Division II athletic conference.}}

Presbyterian College

| Clinton, South Carolina

| 1880

| 2019

| Private

| 1,403

| Blue Hose

| {{college color boxes|Presbyterian Blue Hose}}

| wrestling

| Big South

;Notes:

{{notelist|group=am}}

=Former full members=

Most former members are currently members of either the Southeastern Conference or the Atlantic Coast Conference. Two of the former full members, Appalachian State and Davidson, maintain SoCon associate membership in wrestling. A third former full member, Georgia Southern, became an associate member in rifle when the SoCon added the sport for the 2016–17 school year.

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

!Location

!Founded

!Joined

!Left

!Nickname

!class="Unsortable"|Colors

!Current
conference

{{sort|Alabama|University of Alabama}}

|Tuscaloosa, Alabama

|1831

|1921

|1932

|Crimson Tide

|{{college color boxes|Alabama Crimson Tide}}

|SEC

Appalachian State University

|Boone, North Carolina

|1899

|1971

|2014

|Mountaineers

|{{college color boxes|Appalachian State Mountaineers}}

|Sun Belt

Auburn University

|Auburn, Alabama

|1856

|1921

|1932

|Tigers

|{{college color boxes|Auburn Tigers}}

|SEC

{{sort|Charleston|College of Charleston}}

|Charleston, South Carolina

|1770

|1998

|2013

|Cougars

|{{college color boxes|College of Charleston Cougars}}

|CAA

Clemson University

|Clemson, South Carolina

|1889

|1921

|1953

|Tigers

|{{college color boxes|Clemson Tigers}}

|ACC

rowspan="2"|Davidson College

|rowspan="2"|Davidson, North Carolina

|rowspan="2"|1837

|1936

|1988

|rowspan="2"|Wildcats

|rowspan="2"|{{college color boxes|Davidson Wildcats}}

|rowspan="2"|Atlantic 10

1992

|2014

Duke University

|Durham, North Carolina

|1838

|1928

|1953

|Blue Devils

|{{college color boxes|Duke Blue Devils}}

|ACC

East Carolina University

|Greenville, North Carolina

|1907

|1964

|1976

|Pirates

|{{college color boxes|East Carolina Pirates}}

|The American

Elon University

|Elon, North Carolina

|1889

|2003

|2014

|Phoenix

|{{college color boxes|Elon Phoenix}}

|CAA

{{sort|Florida|University of Florida}}

|Gainesville, Florida

|1853

|1922

|1932

|Gators

|{{college color boxes|Florida Gators}}

|SEC

George Washington University

|Washington, D.C.

|1821

|1941

|1970

|Colonials{{efn|group=ffm|George Washington's nickname throughout its SoCon tenure was Colonials. The current nickname of Revolutionaries was adopted in 2023.}}

|{{college color boxes|George Washington Revolutionaries}}

|Atlantic 10

{{sort|Georgia|University of Georgia}}

|Athens, Georgia

|1785

|1921

|1932

|Bulldogs

|{{college color boxes|Georgia Bulldogs}}

|SEC

Georgia Southern University

|Statesboro, Georgia

|1906

|1992

|2014

|Eagles

|{{college color boxes|Georgia Southern Eagles}}

|Sun Belt

{{sort|Georgia Tech|Georgia Institute of Technology}}

|Atlanta, Georgia

|1885

|rowspan="2"|1921

|rowspan="3"|1932

|Yellow Jackets

|{{college color boxes|Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets}}

|ACC

{{sort|Kentucky|University of Kentucky}}

|Lexington, Kentucky

|1865

|Wildcats

|{{college color boxes|Kentucky Wildcats}}

|rowspan="2"|SEC

Louisiana State University

|Baton Rouge, Louisiana

|1860

|1922

|Tigers

|{{college color boxes|LSU Tigers}}

Marshall University

|Huntington, West Virginia

|1837

|1976

|1997

|nowrap|Thundering Herd

|{{college color boxes|Marshall Thundering Herd}}

|Sun Belt

{{sort|Maryland|University of Maryland, College Park}}

|College Park, Maryland

|1856

|1923

|1953

|Terrapins

|{{college color boxes|Maryland Terrapins}}

|Big Ten

{{sort|Mississippi|University of Mississippi}}

|Oxford, Mississippi

|1848

|1922

|rowspan="2"|1932

|Rebels

|{{college color boxes|Ole Miss Rebels}}

|rowspan="2"|SEC

Mississippi State University

|Starkville, Mississippi

|1878

|rowspan="3"|1921

|Bulldogs

|{{college color boxes|Mississippi State Bulldogs}}

{{sort|North Carolina|University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill}}

|Chapel Hill, North Carolina

|1789

|rowspan="2"|1953

|Tar Heels

|{{college color boxes|North Carolina Tar Heels}}

|rowspan="2"|ACC

North Carolina State University

|Raleigh, North Carolina

|1887

|Wolfpack

|{{college color boxes|NC State Wolfpack}}

{{sort|Richmond|University of Richmond}}

|Richmond, Virginia

|1830

|1936

|1976

|Spiders

|{{college color boxes|Richmond Spiders}}

|Atlantic 10

Sewanee: The University
of the South

|Sewanee, Tennessee

|1857

|1923

|1932

|Tigers

|{{college color boxes|Sewanee Tigers}}

|nowrap|SAA{{efn|group=former|name=D3|Currently an NCAA Division III athletic conference.}}

{{sort|South Carolina|University of South Carolina}}

|Columbia, South Carolina

|1801

|1922

|1953

|Gamecocks

|{{college color boxes|South Carolina Gamecocks}}

|rowspan="2"|SEC

{{sort|Tennessee|University of Tennessee}}

|Knoxville, Tennessee

|1794

|1921

|rowspan="3"|1932

|Volunteers

|{{college color boxes|Tennessee Volunteers}}

Tulane University

|New Orleans, Louisiana

|1834

|rowspan="2"|1922

|Green Wave

|{{college color boxes|Tulane Green Wave}}

|The American

Vanderbilt University

|Nashville, Tennessee

|1873

|Commodores

|{{college color boxes|Vanderbilt Commodores}}

|SEC

{{sort|Virginia|University of Virginia}}

|Charlottesville, Virginia

|1819

|rowspan="2"|1921

|1937

|Cavaliers

|{{college color boxes|Virginia Cavaliers}}

|rowspan="3"|ACC

Virginia Polytechnic Institute
and State University

|Blacksburg, Virginia

|1872

|1965

|Hokies

|{{college color boxes|Virginia Tech Hokies}}

Wake Forest University

|Winston-Salem, North Carolina

|1834

|1936

|1953

|Demon Deacons

|{{college color boxes|Wake Forest Demon Deacons}}

Washington and Lee University

|Lexington, Virginia

|1749

|1921

|1958

|Generals

|{{college color boxes|Washington and Lee Generals}}

|ODAC{{efn|group=former|name=D3|Currently an NCAA Division III athletic conference.}}

West Virginia University

|Morgantown, West Virginia

|1867

|1950

|1968

|Mountaineers

|{{college color boxes|West Virginia Mountaineers}}

|Big 12

{{sort|William & Mary|College of William & Mary}}

|Williamsburg, Virginia

|1693

|1936

|1977

|Tribe

|{{college color boxes|William & Mary Tribe}}

|CAA

{{notelist|group=ffm}}

== Former associate members ==

In the table below, the "Joined" and "Left" columns denotes the calendar year in which each school joined and left the SoCon. For fall sports, the year of departure differs from the final year of competition. For spring sports, the year of arrival differs from the first season of competition.

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

!Location

!Founded

!Joined

!Left

!Type

!Enrollment

!Nickname

!class="unsortable"|Colors

!SoCon
sport

!Primary
conference
during SoCon
associate membership

!Current
conference
in former
SoCon sport

{{sort|Air Force|United States Air Force Academy}}

| Colorado Springs, Colorado

| 1954

| 2015

| 2021

| Federal
{{Small|(Military)}}

| 4,417

| Falcons

| {{college color boxes|Air Force Falcons}}

| lacrosse (m)

| Mountain West

| ASUN

Bellarmine University

| Louisville, Kentucky

| 1950

| 2014

| 2021

| Private

| 3,369

| Knights

| {{college color boxes|Bellarmine Knights}}

| lacrosse (m)

| GLVC{{efn|group=former|name=D2|Currently an NCAA Division II athletic conference.}},
ASUN{{efn|group=fam|Bellarmine had been a member of the Division II Great Lakes Valley Conference from that league's formation in 1978 until moving to Division I in 2020 as a new member of the Atlantic Sun Conference.}}

| ASUN

Belmont University

| Nashville, Tennessee

| 1890

| 2018

| 2022

| Private

| 8,080

| Bruins

| {{college color boxes|Belmont Bruins}}

| soccer (m)

| OVC

| MVC

Central Michigan University

| Mount Pleasant, Michigan

| 1892

| 2017

| 2020

| Public

| 21,705

| Chippewas

| {{college color boxes|Central Michigan Chippewas}}

| lacrosse (w)

| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| MAC

Coastal Carolina University

| Conway, South Carolina

| 1954

| 2020

| 2021

| Public

| 10,484

| Chanticleers

| {{college color boxes|Coastal Carolina Chanticleers}}

| lacrosse (w)

| Sun Belt

| ASUN

Delaware State University

| Dover, Delaware

| 1891

| 2017

| 2021

| Public
{{small|(HBCU)}}

| 5,054

| Hornets

| {{college color boxes|Delaware State Hornets}}

| lacrosse (w)

| MEAC

| Northeast

{{sort|Detroit|University of Detroit Mercy}}

| Detroit, Michigan

| 1870

| 2017

| 2020

| Private

| 5,700

| Titans

| {{college color boxes|Detroit Mercy Titans}}

| lacrosse (w)

| Horizon

| MAC

Hampton University

| Hampton, Virginia

| 1868

| 2021

| 2022

| Private

| 4,321

| Pirates

| {{college color boxes|Hampton Pirates}}

| lacrosse (m)

| Big South

| CAA

High Point University

| High Point, North Carolina

| 1924

| 2014

| 2022

| Private

| 4,500

| Panthers

| {{college color boxes|High Point Panthers}}

| lacrosse (m)

| Big South

| Atlantic 10

Jacksonville University

| Jacksonville, Florida

| 1934

| 2014

| 2022

| Private

| 3,741

| Dolphins

| {{college color boxes|Jacksonville Dolphins}}

| lacrosse (m)

| colspan="2"|ASUN

{{sort|Richmond|University of Richmond}}

| Richmond, Virginia

| 1830

| 2014

| 2022

| Private

| 4,361

| Spiders

| {{college color boxes|Richmond Spiders}}

| lacrosse (m)

| colspan="2"|Atlantic 10

{{notelist|group=fam}}

=SoCon membership timeline=

DateFormat = yyyy

ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:20

Period = from:1921 till:2026

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:Full from:1921 till:1933 text:Alabama (1921–1933)

bar:1 shift:(50) color:OtherC1 from:1933 till:end text:SEC

bar:2 color:Full from:1921 till:1933 text:Auburn (1921–1933)

bar:2 shift:(50) color:OtherC1 from:1933 till:end text:SEC

bar:3 color:Full from:1921 till:1933 text:Georgia (1921–1933)

bar:3 shift:(50) color:OtherC1 from:1933 till:end text:SEC

bar:4 color:Full from:1921 till:1933 text:Georgia Tech (1921–1933)

bar:4 shift:(50) color:OtherC1 from:1933 till:1964 text:SEC

bar:4 color:OtherC2 from:1964 till:1975 text:Independent

bar:4 color:OtherC1 from:1975 till:1979 text:Metro

bar:4 color:OtherC2 from:1979 till:end text:ACC

bar:5 color:Full from:1921 till:1933 text:Kentucky (1921–1933)

bar:5 shift:(50) color:OtherC1 from:1933 till:end text:SEC

bar:6 color:Full from:1921 till:1933 text:Mississippi A&M/State (1921–1933)

bar:6 shift:(50) color:OtherC1 from:1933 till:end text:SEC

bar:7 color:Full from:1921 till:1933 text:Tennessee (1921–1933)

bar:7 shift:(50) color:OtherC1 from:1933 till:end text:SEC

bar:8 color:Full from:1921 till:1937 text:Virginia (1921–1937)

bar:8 color:OtherC2 from:1937 till:1953 text:Independent

bar:8 color:OtherC1 from:1953 till:end text:ACC

bar:9 color:Full from:1921 till:1953 text:Clemson (1921–1953)

bar:9 color:OtherC1 from:1953 till:end text:ACC

bar:10 color:Full from:1921 till:1953 text:North Carolina (1921–1953)

bar:10 color:OtherC1 from:1953 till:end text:ACC

bar:11 color:Full from:1921 till:1953 text:North Carolina State (1921–1953)

bar:11 color:OtherC1 from:1953 till:end text:ACC

bar:12 color:Full from:1921 till:1953 text:Maryland (1921–1953)

bar:12 color:OtherC1 from:1953 till:2014 text:ACC

bar:12 color:OtherC2 from:2014 till:end text:Big Ten

bar:13 color:Full from:1921 till:1958 text:Washington and Lee (1921–1958)

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 (1921–1965)

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 shift:(20) color:OtherC2 from:2004 till:end text:ACC

bar:15 color:Full from:1922 till:1933 text:Florida (1922–1933)

bar:15 shift:(50) color:OtherC1 from:1933 till:end text:SEC

bar:16 color:Full from:1922 till:1933 text:LSU (1922–1933)

bar:16 shift:(50) color:OtherC1 from:1933 till:end text:SEC

bar:17 color:Full from:1922 till:1933 text:Ole Miss (1922–1933)

bar:17 shift:(50) color:OtherC1 from:1933 till:end text:SEC

bar:18 color:Full from:1922 till:1933 text:Tulane (1922–1933)

bar:18 shift:(50) color:OtherC1 from:1933 till:1966 text:SEC

bar:18 color:OtherC2 from:1966 till:1975 text:Independent

bar:18 color:OtherC1 from:1975 till:1995 text:Metro

bar:18 color:OtherC2 from:1995 till:2014 text:C-USA

bar:18 color:OtherC1 from:2014 till:end text:AAC

bar:19 color:Full from:1922 till:1933 text:Vanderbilt (1922–1933)

bar:19 shift:(50) color:OtherC1 from:1933 till:end text:SEC

bar:20 color:Full from:1922 till:1953 text:South Carolina (1922–1953)

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:Sewanee (1923–1933)

bar:21 shift:(30) color:OtherC1 from:1933 till:1940 text:SEC

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 (1924–2003; 2014–present)

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 (1928–1953)

bar:23 color:OtherC1 from:1953 till:end text:ACC

bar:24 color:Full from:1936 till:1953 text:Wake Forest (1936–1953)

bar:24 color:OtherC1 from:1953 till:end text:ACC

bar:25 color:Full from:1936 till:end text:Furman (1936–present)

bar:26 color:Full from:1936 till:1976 text:Richmond (1936–1976)

bar:26 color:OtherC2 from:1976 till:1979 text:Ind.

bar:26 shift:(-2) color:OtherC1 from:1979 till:1983 text:ECAC S.

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 (1936–1977)

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 (1936–present)

bar:29 color:Full from:1936 till:2014 text:Davidson (1936–2014)

bar:29 color:OtherC1 from:1988 till:1990

bar:29 color:OtherC2 from:1990 till:1992

bar:29 color:FullxF from:1992 till:2014:(1992–2014)

bar:29 color:OtherC1 from:2014 till:end text:A-10

bar:30 color:Full from:1941 till:1967 text:George Washington (1941–1970)

bar:30 color:FullxF from:1967 till:1970

bar:30 color:OtherC2 from:1970 till:1976 text:Ind.

bar:30 color:OtherC1 from:1976 till:end text:A-10

bar:31 color:Full from:1950 till:1968 text:West Virginia (1950–1968)

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 (1964–1977)

bar:32 shift:(20) color:OtherC2 from:1977 till:1981 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 color:OtherC1 from:2014 till:end text:AAC

bar:33 color:Full from:1971 till:2014 text:Appalachian State (1971–2014)

bar:33 color:OtherC1 from:2014 till:end text:Sun Belt

bar:34 color:Full from:1976 till:1997 text:Marshall (1976–1997)

bar:34 color:OtherC1 from:1997 till:2005 text:MAC

bar:34 color:OtherC2 from:2005 till:2022 text:C-USA

bar:34 color:OtherC1 from:2022 till:end text:Sun Belt

bar:35 color:Full from:1976 till:end text:Chattanooga (1976–present)

bar:36 color:Full from:1976 till:end text:Western Carolina (1976–present)

bar:37 color:Full from:1978 till:2004 text:East Tennessee State (1978–2005; 2014–present)

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 (1992–2014)

bar:38 color:OtherC1 from:2014 till:end text:Sun Belt

bar:39 color:FullxF from:1997 till:end text:UNC Greensboro (1997–present)

bar:40 color:Full from:1997 till:end text:Wofford (1997–present)

bar:41 color:FullxF from:1998 till:end text:Charleston (1998–2013)

bar:41 color:OtherC1 from:2013 till:end text:CAA

bar:42 color:Full from:2003 till:end text:Elon (2003–2014)

bar:42 color:OtherC1 from:2014 till:end text:CAA

bar:43 color:Full from:2008 till:end text:Samford (2008–present)

bar:44 color:Full from:2014 till:end text:Mercer (2014–present)

ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:5 start:1925

TextData =

fontsize:L

textcolor:black

pos:(0,30) tabs:(400-center)

text:^"Southern Conference membership history"

  1. > If the chart uses more than one bar color, add a legend by selecting the appropriate fields from the following six options (use only the colors that are used in the graphic.) 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. {{Font color||{{RGB|190|186|218}}|Full members}} {{Font color||{{RGB|141|211|199}}|Full members (non-football)}} {{Font color||{{RGB|251|128|114}}|Assoc. members (football only)}} {{Font color||{{RGB|128|177|211}}|Assoc. member (list sports)}} {{Font color||{{RGB|255|255|179}}|Other Conference}} {{Font color||{{RGB|253|180|98}}|Other Conference}} <#

{{Font color||{{RGB|190|186|218}}|Full members}} {{Font color||{{RGB|141|211|219}}|Full members (except football)}} {{Font color||{{RGB|255|255|179}}|Other Conference}} {{Font color||{{RGB|253|180|98}}|Other Conference}}

  • 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 (which was split in 1973 to form today's Divisions II and III).

Sports

The Southern Conference sponsors championship competition in 11 men's, 9 women's, and one co-educational NCAA-sanctioned sports.{{cite web|url=http://soconsports.com/index.aspx|title=Southern Conference|website=Southern Conference}}{{better source needed|date=June 2021}} Five schools are associate members for wrestling. Under a cooperative agreement with the ASUN Conference, the SoCon began sponsoring men's lacrosse in the 2014–15 school year (2015 season) with three full members (Furman, Mercer, VMI) and four associates (Bellarmine, High Point, Jacksonville, Richmond). 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 co-ed teams all compete against each other.{{cite web|url=http://ung.edu/news/articles/2015/11/southern-conference-to-add-rifle-as-21st-sport.php|publisher=University of North Georgia|title=Southern Conference to add rifle as 21st sport|date=December 9, 2015|access-date=December 9, 2015|archive-date=December 10, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151210232925/http://ung.edu/news/articles/2015/11/southern-conference-to-add-rifle-as-21st-sport.php|url-status=dead}} Women's lacrosse was added as the 22nd sport for 2017–18, but was dropped after the 2020–21 school year.{{cite press release|url=https://bigsouthsports.com/news/2021/6/7/big-south-adds-three-associate-members-in-womens-lacrosse.aspx |title=Big South Adds Three Associate Members in Women's Lacrosse |publisher=Big South Conference |date=June 7, 2021 |accessdate=October 1, 2021}}

The SoCon dropped men's lacrosse after the 2022 season. Affiliate member Hampton joined the Colonial Athletic Association, which sponsors that sport, and the Atlantic 10 Conference, full-time home to men's lacrosse affiliate Richmond, launched a men's lacrosse league in the 2023 season, also taking in another SoCon affiliate in High Point. With SoCon men's lacrosse being gutted by these changes, VMI moved that sport to its former men's lacrosse home of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, and the two remaining men's lacrosse members, Jacksonville and Mercer, moved that sport to the ASUN.{{cite press release|url=https://maacsports.com/news/2022/4/4/virginia-military-institute-rejoins-maac-mens-lacrosse-league.aspx |title=Virginia Military Institute Rejoins MAAC Men's Lacrosse League |publisher=Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference |date=April 4, 2022 |access-date=May 10, 2022}}{{cite press release|url=https://asunsports.org/sports/mlax/2021-22/releases/202203300adgdf |title=Jacksonville, Lindenwood & Mercer Joining #ASUNMLAX for 2023 Season |publisher=ASUN Conference |date=March 30, 2022 |access-date=May 11, 2022}}

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

|+ Teams in Southern Conference competition

!Sport

Men'sWomen'sCo-ed
align="left"|Baseball8––
align="left"|Basketball108–
align="left"|Cross Country1010–
align="left"|Football9––
align="left"|Golf89–
align="left"|Rifle233
align="left"|Soccer610–
align="left"|Softball–8–
align="left"|Tennis88–
align="left"|Track and Field (Indoor)99–
align="left"|Track and Field (Outdoor)910–
align="left"|Volleyball–9–
align="left"|Wrestling9––

{{notelist|group=t}}

=Men's sponsored sports by school=

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; width:80%;"
SchoolBaseballBasketballCross countryFootballGolfRifle{{efn|group=m|align="left"|Rifle is technically a men's sport, but men's, women's, and co-ed teams all compete against each other.}}SoccerTennisTrack & field
(indoor)		Track & field
(outdoor)		WrestlingTotal SoCon sports
Chattanooga{{no}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{no}}{{no}}{{yes}}{{no}}{{no}}{{yes}}6
The Citadel{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{no}}{{yes}}{{efn|group=m|name=MR|Men's rifle team; school also fields a women's team.}}{{no}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}9
East Tennessee State{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{no}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{no}}{{yes}}{{no}}8
Furman{{no}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{no}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{no}}8
Mercer{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{no}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{no}}{{no}}{{no}}8
Samford{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{no}}{{no}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{no}}8
UNC Greensboro{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{no}}{{yes}}{{no}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{no}}8
VMI{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{no}}{{yes}}{{efn|group=m|name=MR}}{{yes}}{{no}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}10
Western Carolina{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{no}}{{no}}{{no}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{no}}7
Wofford{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{efn|group=m|Co-ed rifle team}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{no}}10
Totals81010983+2{{efn|group=m|Associates North Georgia and UAB, both with co-ed teams}}68893+6{{efn|group=m|Associates Appalachian State, Bellarmine, Campbell, Davidson, Gardner–Webb, and Presbyterian}}82+8

;Notes:

{{notelist|group=m}}

Men's varsity sports not sponsored by the Southern Conference which are played by SoCon schools:

class="wikitable"
SchoolLacrosseSwimming &
diving
MercerASUNNo
VMINECAmerica East

{{notelist|group=mn}}

=Women's sponsored sports by school=

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; width:80%;"

! School!! Basketball !! Cross country !! Golf !! Rifle{{efn|group=w|align="left"|Rifle is technically a men's sport, but men's, women's, and co-ed teams all compete against each other.}} !! Soccer !! Softball !! Tennis !! Track & field
(indoor) !! Track & field
(outdoor) !! Volleyball !! Total SoCon teams

Chattanooga{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{no}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}9
The Citadel{{no}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{efn|group=w|name=WR|Women's rifle team; school also fields a men's team.}}{{yes}}{{no}}{{no}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}7
East Tennessee State{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{no}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}9
Furman{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{no}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}10
Mercer{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{no}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{no}}{{yes}}{{yes}}9
Samford{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{no}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}9
UNC Greensboro{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{no}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}9
VMI{{no}}{{yes}}{{no}}{{yes}}{{efn|group=w|name=WR|Women's rifle team; school also fields a men's team.}}{{yes}}{{no}}{{no}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{no}}5
Western Carolina{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{no}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}9
Wofford{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{efn|group=w|Co-ed rifle team}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}{{yes}}10
Totals81093+3{{efn|group=w|Associate members Georgia Southern (women-only team), North Georgia (co-ed team), and UAB (co-ed team)}}1088910987+4

;Notes

{{notelist|group=w}}

Women's varsity sports not sponsored by the Southern Conference which are played by SoCon schools:

class="wikitable"
SchoolBeach volleyballLacrosseSwimming &
diving		Water polo
ChattanoogaOVCNoNoNo
FurmanNoBig SouthNoNo
MercerSun BeltBig SouthNoNo
VMINoNoAmerica EastMAAC
WoffordNoBig SouthNoNo

{{notelist|group=wn}}

Facilities

class="wikitable"
{{CollegePrimaryHeader|border=2|team=Southern Conference | School | Football stadium | Capacity | Basketball arena | Capacity | Baseball stadium | Capacity | Softball stadium | Capacity | Soccer field | Capacity }}
style="text-align:center; {{CollegePrimaryStyle|Chattanooga Mocs |color=#FFFFFF}}"| Chattanooga Mocs

|Finley Stadium

|20,668

|McKenzie Arena

|10,928

| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| Non-baseball school

|Jim Frost Stadium

|3,000

|Finley Stadium

|20,668

style="text-align:center; {{CollegePrimaryStyle|Citadel Bulldogs |color=#FFFFFF}}"| The Citadel Bulldogs

|Johnson Hagood Stadium

|11,500

|McAlister Field House

|6,000

|Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park

|6,000

| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| Non-softball school

| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| Non-soccer school

style="text-align:center; {{CollegePrimaryStyle|East Tennessee State Buccaneers |color=#FFFFFF}}"| East Tennessee State Buccaneers

|William B. Greene Jr. Stadium

|7,694{{efn|group=f|Seated capacity; 10,000+ with standing room}}

|Freedom Hall Civic Center

|8,500

|Thomas Stadium

|1,200

|Betty Basler Field

|500+

|Summers-Taylor Stadium

|2,000+

style="text-align:center; {{CollegePrimaryStyle|Furman Paladins |color=#FFFFFF}}"| Furman Paladins

|Paladin Stadium

|16,000

|Timmons Arena

|5,000

| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| Non-baseball school

|Pepsi Softball Stadium

|300

|Eugene E. Stone III Stadium

|3,000

style="text-align:center; {{CollegePrimaryStyle|Mercer Bears |color=#FFFFFF}}"| Mercer Bears

|Five Star Stadium

|10,200

|Hawkins Arena

|3,500

|Claude Smith Field

|500

|Sikes Field

|300

|Betts Stadium

|500

style="text-align:center; {{CollegePrimaryStyle|Samford Bulldogs |color=#FFFFFF}}"| Samford Bulldogs

|Pete Hanna Stadium

|6,700

|Pete Hanna Center

|4,974

|Joe Lee Griffin Stadium

|1,000

|J.T. Haywood Field House

|200

|Samford Track and Soccer Complex

|1,200

style="text-align:center; {{CollegePrimaryStyle|UNC Greensboro Spartans |color=#FFFFFF}}"| UNC Greensboro Spartans

| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| Non-football school

|First Horizon Coliseum (men's)
Fleming Gymnasium (women's)

|7,617
2,320

|UNCG Baseball Stadium

|3,500

|UNCG Softball Stadium

|500+

|UNCG Soccer Stadium

|3,540

style="text-align:center; {{CollegePrimaryStyle|VMI Keydets |color=#FFFFFF}}"| VMI Keydets

|Alumni Memorial Field

|10,000

|Cameron Hall

|5,020

|Gray–Minor Stadium

|1,400

| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| Non-softball school

|Patchin Field

|1,000

style="text-align:center; {{CollegePrimaryStyle|Western Carolina Catamounts |color=#FFFFFF}}"| Western Carolina Catamounts

|E. J. Whitmire Stadium

|13,742

|Ramsey Center

|7,826

|Hennon Stadium

|1,500

|Catamount Softball Complex

|250+

|Catamount Athletic Complex

|1,000

style="text-align:center; {{CollegePrimaryStyle|Wofford Terriers |color=#FFFFFF}}"| Wofford Terriers

|Gibbs Stadium

|13,000

|Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium

|3,400

|Russell C. King Field

|2,500

| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| Non-softball school

|Snyder Field

|2,250

;Notes

{{notelist|group=f}}

Conference champions

=Football=

{{See also|College Football All-Southern Team}}

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

class="wikitable"
Year

!Champion

!Record

2014

|Chattanooga

| style="text-align:center;"|7–0

2015

|Chattanooga†
The Citadel

| style="text-align:center;"|6–1

2016

|The Citadel†

| style="text-align:center;"|8–0

2017

|Wofford†

| style="text-align:center;"|7–1

2018

|East Tennessee State
Furman
Wofford†

| style="text-align:center;"|6–2

2019

|Wofford†

|align=center | 7–1

2020

|VMI†

|align=center | 6–1

2021

|East Tennessee State†

|align=center | 7–1

2022

| Samford†

| align=center | 8–0

2023

| Furman†

| align=center | 7–1

2024

| Mercer†

| align=center | 10–2

† Automatic bid to NCAA Division I Football Championship

=Men's basketball=

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.

class="wikitable"
Year

!Regular season champion

!Record

!Tournament champion

style="text-align:center;"|2015–16

| Chattanooga

| 15–3

| Chattanooga

style="text-align:center;"| 2016–17

| East Tennessee State{{efn|group=mbc|name=seedorder|Listed in order of seeding in the conference tournament}}
UNC Greensboro
Furman

| 14–4

| East Tennessee State

style="text-align:center;"| 2017–18

| UNC Greensboro

| 15–3

| UNC Greensboro

style="text-align:center;"| 2018–19

| Wofford

| 18–0

| Wofford

2019–20

|East Tennessee State

|16–2

|East Tennessee State

2020–21

|UNC Greensboro

|13–5

|UNC Greensboro

2021–22

|Chattanooga

|14–4

|Chattanooga

2022–23

| Furman{{efn|group=mbc|name=seedorder}}
Samford

| 15–3

| Furman

2023–24

| Samford

| 15–3

| Samford

2024–25

| Chattanooga

| 15–3

| Wofford

{{notelist|group=mbc}}

=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

class="wikitable"
Year

!Champion

2016

| Chattanooga

2017

| Chattanooga

2018

| Mercer

2019

| Mercer

2020

| Samford

2021

| Mercer

2022

| Mercer

2023

| Chattanooga

2024

| Chattanooga

2025

| UNC Greensboro

=Baseball=

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

class="wikitable"
Year

!Reg. season champion

!Tournament champion

align=center | 2014

| {{cbsb link|year=2014|team=Western Carolina Catamounts|title=Western Carolina}}

| {{cbsb link|year=2014|team=Georgia Southern Eagles|title=Georgia Southern}}

align=center | 2015

| {{cbsb link|year=2015|team=Mercer Bears|title=Mercer}}

| Mercer

align=center | 2016

| {{cbsb link|year=2016|team=Mercer Bears|title=Mercer}}

| {{cbsb link|year=2016|team=Western Carolina Catamounts|title=Western Carolina}}

align=center | 2017

| {{cbsb link|year=2017|team=Mercer Bears|title=Mercer}}

| {{cbsb link|year=2017|team=UNC Greensboro Spartans|title=UNC Greensboro}}

align=center | 2018

| {{cbsb link|year=2018|team=UNC Greensboro Spartans|title=UNC Greensboro}}

| {{cbsb link|year=2018|team=Samford Bulldogs|title=Samford}}

align=center | 2019

| {{cbsb link|year=2019|team=Samford Bulldogs|title=Samford}}

| {{cbsb link|year=2019|team=Mercer Bears|title=Mercer}}

align=center | 2020

| colspan=2 align=center | Season canceled due to COVID-19

align=center | 2021

| {{cbsb link|year=2021|team=Wofford Terriers|title=Wofford}}

| Samford

align=center | 2022

| Wofford

| UNC Greensboro

align=center | 2023

| Samford

| Samford

align=center | 2024

| {{cbsb link|year=2024|team=UNC Greensboro Spartans|title=UNC Greensboro}}

| {{cbsb link|year=2024|team=Wofford Terriers|title=Wofford}}

=Rifle=

class="wikitable" style="width:30%;"
Year

!Air rifle champion

!Smallbore champion

!Overall champion

style="text-align:center;"|2017

|Georgia Southern

|North Georgia

|North Georgia

style="text-align:center;"|2018

|North Georgia

|North Georgia

|North Georgia

style="text-align:center;"|2019

|Georgia Southern

|UAB

|UAB

style="text-align:center;"|2020

|North Georgia

|UAB

|UAB

style="text-align:center;"|2021

| North Georgia

| Georgia Southern

| North Georgia

align=center|2022

| Georgia Southern

| Georgia Southern

| North Georgia

align=center|2023

| Georgia Southern

| Georgia Southern

| The Citadel

align=center|2024

| Georgia Southern

| Georgia Southern

| Georgia Southern

align=center|2025

| Georgia Southern

| Georgia Southern

| Georgia Southern

=Men's Lacrosse=

class="wikitable"
Year

!Champion

2015

|High Point

2016

|Air Force

2017

|Air Force

2018

|Richmond

2019

|Richmond

2020

|Not Held

2021

|High Point

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.{{cite web|title=Southern Conference Commissioner's & Germann Cups|publisher=Southern Conference|date=2007-06-04|url=http://www.soconsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4000&KEY=&ATCLID=264425}} 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.{{cite web | url=http://www.soconsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4000&ATCLID=264425 | title=Southern Conference }}

class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
Year ||Commissioner's Cup || Germann Cup
1969–70East Carolina
William & Mary		—
1970–71William & Mary—
1971–72| William & 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
1999–00

|Appalachian State

Furman
2000–01Appalachian StateFurman
2001–02Appalachian StateFurman
2002–03Appalachian StateFurman
2003–04Appalachian StateFurman
2004–05

|Chattanooga

College of Charleston
2005–06Appalachian StateAppalachian State
2006–07Appalachian StateAppalachian State
2007–08

|Appalachian State

Chattanooga
2008–09

|Appalachian State

College of Charleston
2009–10

|Appalachian State

Samford
2010–11

|Appalachian State

Appalachian State
2011–12

|Appalachian State

College of Charleston
2012–13

| Appalachian State

Appalachian State
2013–14

|Appalachian State

Furman
2014–15

|Chattanooga

Samford
2015–16

| East Tennessee State

Furman
2016–17

| East Tennessee State

Furman
2017–18

| East Tennessee State

Furman
2018–19

| East Tennessee State

Furman
2020–21

| Furman

Samford
2021–22

| East Tennessee State

Samford
2022–23

| Samford

Samford
2023–24

| Samford

Samford

See also

Relevant literature

  • Iamarino, John. 2020. A Proud History of Athletic History. Mercer University Press.

Notes

References

{{Reflist|30em}}

External links

{{commons cat}}

  • {{Official website}}

{{Southern Conference navbox}}

{{NCAA Division I all-sports conferences}}

{{NCAA Division I FCS conference navbox}}

{{Authority control}}

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Category:Organizations based in South Carolina

Category:Sports in the Southern United States

Category:Sports organizations established in 1921

Category:Articles which contain graphical timelines

Category:College rifle conferences in the United States