Misplaced Pages

#502497

47-717: The Big South Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA 's Division I . Originally a non- football conference, the Big South began sponsoring football in 2002 as part of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), and began operating the Big South–OVC Football Association in partnership with the Ohio Valley Conference in 2023. The Big South, founded in 1983,

94-495: A Division I record held jointly with Auburn University , which likewise went undefeated at home in 2013 . On July 1, 2014, Mercer University joined the Southern Conference for all sports, including football. The next change in conference membership was announced on November 14, 2016, when Campbell announced it would transition to scholarship football and add that sport to its existing Big South membership effective with

141-679: A full conference member until July 2021, it began PFL play in the spring 2021 season, rescheduled from fall 2020 due to COVID-19 . After two PFL members chose not to play in the 2020–21 school year, the conference entered into a scheduling agreement with Presbyterian that included it in the spring 2021 schedule. While PC was not eligible for the PFL title in that season, it was eligible for the league's individual awards and honors. 2019: Jacksonville drops football On December 3, 2019 Jacksonville University announced that it discontinued its football program immediately. 2021: Further expansion Presbyterian

188-780: A new football-only member effective with the 2022 season. Campbell announced on August 3 that it would join both sides of the CAA in 2023 as well. This was followed by Bryant announcing that it would join CAA Football in 2024. On November 28, it was announced that Robert Morris would also leave the association and return football to its previous home, the Northeast Conference effective after the 2023 football season. Full members  Full members (non-football)  Assoc. members (football only)  Other Conference  Other Conference  Men's varsity sports not sponsored by

235-536: A number of players to get drafted and play football professionally in the NFL . In addition to basketball games being broadcast on regional and national television, member schools of the Big South Conference are required to provide a live stream of all home games for all sports when playing teams both within and outside the conference. These streams are run by the university hosting the event. All streams are featured on

282-494: A second such sport in 2025. Unlike the other two divisions, Division III institutions cannot offer athletic scholarships. Among the other NCAA Division III requirements, schools have sports sponsorship requirements set by the NCAA. All institutions, regardless of enrollment, must sponsor at least three team sports for each sex/gender, and each playing season represented by each sex/gender. A sports sponsorship rule unique to Division III

329-545: A share of the Gulf South Conference football championship for four consecutive seasons through 2016. Three months later, Liberty announced that it would begin a transition to FBS football in July 2017 and leave the Big South football league in 2018. Liberty and the Big South agreed later in 2017 that the school would continue to house all of its non-football sports (except for field hockey and women's swimming, neither of which

376-585: A waiver to allow St. Thomas to make the jump to D-I on a five-year schedule, instead of the four years used for moves from Division II. The Tommies will not be eligible for the FCS playoffs until the transition is completed in 2026. Full members  Other Conference  Other Conference  One in-state rivalry currently exists in the PFL. A second had existed before Jacksonville discontinued its football program. Butler and Valparaiso first met in 1927, and have played every year since 1951. Since 2006,

423-1001: Is firmly rooted in the South Atlantic region of the United States, with full member institutions located in North Carolina , South Carolina , and Virginia . Associate members are located in Georgia and South Carolina. Charter members included Armstrong State (later Armstrong Atlantic State University and now merged into Georgia Southern University as its Armstrong Campus ) (1983–1987), Augusta (later Augusta State University and now merged into Augusta University ) (1983–1990), Campbell University (1983–1994; 2011–2023), Baptist College (now Charleston Southern University ) (1983–present), Coastal Carolina University (1983–2016), Radford University (1983–present) and Winthrop University (1983–present). The expansion of membership occurred during

470-504: Is sponsored by the Big South) in that conference for the immediate future. Once Liberty became a full FBS member at the start of the 2019–20 school year, it would have technically become a Big South associate member (barring the school joining an FBS conference). However, Liberty's plans would change several months later, as it instead announced in May 2018 that it would move its non-football sports to

517-592: Is that the total number of sports that must be sponsored differs by a school's full-time undergraduate enrollment. Schools with an enrollment of 1,000 or fewer must sponsor at least five sports for men and five for women; those with larger enrollments must sponsor six men's and six women's sports. As in the other divisions, teams that include both men and women are treated as men's sports for the purpose of these regulations. Conferences that sponsor football highlighted in yellow. These all-sports conferences sponsor sports which do not have D-III championships. In addition to

SECTION 10

#1732844853503

564-611: The FCS playoffs . Through the 2012 season, the NCAA did not offer the league an automatic invite to the FCS playoffs and never offered an at-large bid to any of its teams, effectively barring the league from the tournament. Starting in 2013, the Pioneer League received an automatic bid to compete in the Division I Football Championship as the playoffs expanded from 20 teams to 24. The PFL won its first playoff game in 2016, as San Diego advanced past

611-640: The Football Bowl Subdivision must meet a more stringent set of NCAA requirements than other conferences. Among these additional NCAA regulations, institutions in the Football Bowl Subdivision must be "multisport conferences" and participate in conference play in at least six men's and eight women's sports, including football, men's and women's basketball, and at least two other women's team sports. Each school may count one men's and one women's sport not sponsored by its primary conference toward

658-403: The Ohio Valley Conference in which it competes in other sports. As a result, the conference reverted to round-robin play; the divisions and championship game were abolished. On April 7, 2006, Campbell University announced the reinstatement of football effective in 2008, and on December 5, 2007, accepted an invitation to the PFL. In February 2008, Marist College announced that it would join

705-643: The Pioneer Football League to the Big South in 2018. In December 2016, the University of North Alabama, ASUN, and the Big South Conference announced that, effective in 2018, the school will leave the Division II Gulf South Conference and will join ASUN in non-football sports and the Big South in football. UNA has won three Division II NCAA national championships in football and has won at least

752-597: The Southern Conference (SoCon), which disbanded its women's lacrosse league after the 2021 season. On January 25, 2022, the Colonial Athletic Association (now the Coastal Athletic Association ) announced that Hampton University would join that conference, as well as CAA Football , its technically separate football league, on July 1, 2022. On February 22, that conference announced that North Carolina A&T State University would be leaving

799-597: The 1980s and 1990s. Some of those members are the University of North Carolina at Asheville (1984–present), Davidson College (1990–1992), Liberty University (1991–2018), the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (1992–1998), the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (1992–1997), Towson University (1992–1995), Elon University (1999–2003), High Point University (1999–present) and Birmingham–Southern College (2000–2006). The Big South Conference began sponsoring football in 2002, with Charleston Southern, Elon (at

846-476: The 2008–09 athletic year. Gardner–Webb, which had been a football-only member since 2002, joined the conference for all sports on July 1, 2008. Campbell rejoined the Big South for all sports except football in the 2011–12 athletic year. Longwood University accepted an invitation to join the Big South on January 23, 2012, and membership formally began July 1 of that year; Longwood had been independent since 2004, during their transition to Division I. In 2014, following

893-462: The 2018 season, temporarily reducing the PFL membership to 10. Barring any further changes to conference membership, the PFL would have returned to 11 members in 2021, following the November 20, 2017 announcement of Presbyterian College that it would join the conference starting with the 2021 season. Presbyterian remains in the Big South Conference for all other sports. While Presbyterian did not become

940-547: The ASUN Conference, home to Stetson since 1985. Butler and Dayton also have a rivalry based on proximity to each other. The teams have met every year since 1977 with the exception of 1991, 1992 and 2020. Dayton leads 34–14–1. (*) Due to COVID-19 , the Pioneer Football League suspended the fall 2020 football season. Dayton and Marist opted out of the spring season. Presbyterian played a full PFL schedule, but

987-514: The ASUN effective that July (except for the aforementioned field hockey and women's swimming, also not sponsored by the ASUN). In November 2017, the University of South Carolina Upstate and Hampton University announced that they would be leaving the ASUN and Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference , respectively, to join the Big South, starting in the fall of 2018. On November 19, 2017, Presbyterian College announced it would be moving its football program to

SECTION 20

#1732844853503

1034-494: The Big South Conference which are played by Big South schools: In addition to the above, Campbell counts both its male and female cheerleaders as varsity athletes. Women's varsity sports not sponsored by the Big South Conference which are played by Big South schools: In addition to the above, Campbell, Gardner–Webb, and Presbyterian consider their female cheerleaders to be varsity athletes, with Campbell also considering its male cheerleaders as such. The Big South has had

1081-412: The Big South, joining the all-sports CAA on July 1. North Carolina A&T would play Big South football in 2022 and join CAA Football on July 1, 2023. Also on February 22, the conference announced its intent to combine its football membership with the Ohio Valley Conference beginning in 2023 and operate as the Big South–OVC Football Association . The following month saw Bryant University announced as

1128-487: The MEAC as a full member, including football. At the same time, Robert Morris University was planned to join as a football-only member. North Carolina A&T joined on the originally planned schedule, but Robert Morris became a Big South football member in November 2020. COVID-19 led the conference to move its 2020 football season to spring 2021. Since two of the eight Big South football members (apart from RMU) chose to play in

1175-640: The NCAA sponsors separate championships for men and women are officially treated by the NCAA as two separate sports. Among the NCAA regulations, Division II institutions have to sponsor at least five sports for men and five for women (or four for men and six for women), with two team sports for each sex, and each playing season represented by each sex. Teams that consist of both men and women are counted as men's teams for sports sponsorship purposes. Conferences that sponsor football are highlighted in yellow. These all-sports conferences sponsor sports which do not have D-II championships. One of these conferences will add

1222-698: The PFL for the 2009 season, after the MAAC stopped sponsoring football. Although Campbell moved in 2011 from the Atlantic Sun Conference to the Big South Conference , which sponsors football, it did not join the Big South in football and remained in the PFL through the 2017 season. 2013 membership changes & automatic playoff berth On June 13, 2011, Mercer University and Stetson University were announced as league members (effective 2013) bringing membership to 12 schools. In addition, as of 2013,

1269-463: The Pioneer League consists of institutions that choose not to award athletic scholarships ("grants-in-aid") to football players. Most of the PFL's members are private schools. Morehead State University is the only public school in the conference. Following an NCAA rule change passed in January 1991, which required Division I schools to conduct all sports at the Division I level by 1993, the conference

1316-507: The South Division. The reorganization spawned a new championship system in which the best record holders from each division would play in a title game for the conference championship. 2005–2008 membership changes On April 8, 2005, Austin Peay announced its departure from the league effective after the 2005 season; Austin Peay returned to scholarship-granting competition in 2007 as a member of

1363-597: The United States. The conference participates in the NCAA 's Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) as a football -only conference. It has member schools that range from New York , North Carolina , and Florida in the east to California in the west. It is headquartered in St. Louis , in the same complex that also contains the offices of the Missouri Valley Conference and Missouri Valley Football Conference . Unlike most other Division I FCS conferences,

1410-535: The above limits, as long as that sport competes in another Division I conference. The men's and women's sports so counted need not be the same sport. In addition to competing in football, multisport conferences in the Football Championship Subdivision must still meet the general NCAA Division I requirements regarding the minimum number of men's and women's sports ( see above ). Multisport conferences that do not compete in football must still meet

1457-474: The above, two single-sport conferences that currently participate in NCAA National Collegiate sports (those whose championship events are open to members of more than one NCAA division) and previously operated both men's and women's divisions now operate as women-only leagues. Pioneer Football League The Pioneer Football League ( PFL ) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in

Big South Conference - Misplaced Pages Continue

1504-465: The conference website and are available for free. The football games broadcast on the web are branded as part of a Big South Network. List of NCAA conferences Under NCAA regulations, all Division I conferences defined as "multisport conferences" must meet the following criteria: Schools in all divisions that sponsor athletic programs for only one sex/gender need only meet the sports sponsorship requirements for that sex/gender. Conferences in

1551-511: The departure of VMI, the conference returned to a single-division structure. On September 1, 2015, Coastal Carolina announced they would leave the conference following the 2015–16 school year to transition to FBS-level football and the Sun Belt Conference . On June 30, 2016, the day before the school joined the Sun Belt, Coastal Carolina won the 2016 College World Series in baseball. This was

1598-657: The first round of the playoffs. The PFL was a participant in the NCAA Division I FCS Consensus Mid-Major Football National Championship , along with the Northeast Conference and Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference , two other conferences without automatic playoff bids. The Consensus championship has since been discontinued; the NEC first earned an automatic postseason bid in 2010, while the MAAC no longer sponsors football. Below are postseason accomplishments by past and current members prior to

1645-463: The first time in conference history that a team won an NCAA championship in any sport. In September 2016, the Big South and the ASUN Conference (ASUN) announced a football partnership that effectively combined the two conferences in that sport. Under its terms, any members of either conference that add or upgrade to scholarship football, provided they fall within the current geographic footprint of

1692-458: The formation of the Pioneer Football League. From 2006 through 2009, the PFL and Northeast Conference (NEC) staged the Gridiron Classic, an exempted postseason football game that matched the champions of the two conferences which were technically members of Division I FCS, but which were not the recipients of automatic invitations to the football championship playoff at the time. Since 2013,

1739-429: The general NCAA Division I requirements regarding the minimum number of men's and women's sports ( see above ). Division I ice hockey has a different conference structure than the above multisport conferences. These schools have memberships in other conferences for other sports. This list includes conferences in sports that the NCAA does not fully split into divisions, such as men's volleyball and rifle. Sports in which

1786-437: The league has an automatic bid into the FCS division I playoffs. Soon after its PFL membership was announced, Mercer accepted an invitation to join the Southern Conference (scholarship-granting) effective July 1, 2014. During its one season in the league, Mercer set a Division I win–loss record for start-up programs; Mercer finished the 2013 season with an overall record of 10–2 including an undefeated 8–0 record at home, also

1833-526: The league was reduced to five members when the University of Evansville downgraded football from Division I to club status. 2001 expansion In 2001, the conference nearly doubled in size and was reorganized with the five pre-2001 members forming the North Division, and newcomers Austin Peay State University , Davidson College , Jacksonville University and Morehead State University forming

1880-464: The non-scholarship Pioneer Football League. Presbyterian's last Big South football season was in 2019; the Blue Hose planned to play the 2020 season as an independent before joining the Pioneer League for 2021 and beyond. The Blue Hose remain a member of the Big South in all other sports. A more recent change to its core membership was the July 2021 arrival of North Carolina A&T State University from

1927-473: The originally scheduled fall 2020 season and a third chose not to play football at all in 2020–21, the Big South chose to bring the Colonials into the football league for spring 2021. More recently, the Big South added three new single-sport members in women's lacrosse effective with the 2022 season (2021–22 school year): Furman University , Mercer University , and Wofford College . All three are full members of

Big South Conference - Misplaced Pages Continue

1974-559: The schools have played for the Hoosier Helmet Trophy . Butler leads the all-time series 54–30. The rivalry extended to all sports when both schools were in the Horizon League from 2007 to 2012. Jacksonville and Stetson had a football rivalry that ran from 2013, when Stetson began PFL play, to 2019, after which Jacksonville dropped football. The schools have been conference rivals in other sports since 1998, when Jacksonville joined

2021-512: The time) and Liberty ( Gardner–Webb University also joined as a football-only member) fielding teams; Coastal Carolina and Virginia Military Institute (VMI) joined the conference as football-only members in 2003. In that same athletic year, VMI also joined the conference for all sports, but left to re-join the Southern Conference in 2014. Presbyterian College joined the conference in 2007, moving up from Division II , and became eligible for regular-season championships and conference honors during

2068-550: The two leagues, automatically join Big South football. At the time of announcement, the only ASUN member that played scholarship football, Kennesaw State, was already a Big South football member. The partnership also provides a guaranteed football home to the leagues' non-scholarship football programs (at that time, Campbell from the Big South, and Jacksonville and Stetson from the ASUN) should they upgrade to scholarship status. In November 2016, Campbell announced that it would begin offering scholarships and move its football program from

2115-437: Was formed by charter members Butler University , the University of Dayton , Drake University , the University of Evansville , and Valparaiso University . The University of San Diego joined in 1992, and the league played its first season in 1993. The six original schools which played in the 1993 season had previously sponsored football at the Division I, Division II and Division III levels. Original contraction In 1997,

2162-602: Was ineligible for the conference title, and its games were not counted in PFL standings. – Won in PFL Championship Game × – played in spring 2021 Italics – Co-champions The Pioneer Football League has had alliances with the Gridiron Classic and the Sports Network Cup. In addition, league members are allowed to accept at-large invitations to other college bowl games and teams are eligible to compete in

2209-731: Was joined as a new PFL member in 2021 by the University of St. Thomas , a Twin Cities school that had been expelled from its longtime Division III home of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) effective in 2021–22. Shortly after the MIAC announced St. Thomas' expulsion, the Summit League , a non-football Division I conference, offered the Tommies membership. The NCAA announced on July 15, 2020 that it had granted

#502497