The Samford Bulldogs are the 17 varsity teams (8 men's and 9 women's) that represent Samford University in NCAA Division I athletics. The men's basketball team made its first NCAA Tournament appearances in 1999 and 2000 . They were led by Reed Rawlings, Marc Salyers, and Chris Weaver. The women's basketball team made its initial NCAA tournament appearance in the 2011 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament and made its second consecutive appearance in the tournament in 2012. The baseball team made its first NCAA tournament appearance in the 2012 NCAA Division I baseball tournament , reaching the finals of the Tallahassee Regional.
73-784: Additionally, the softball team made its first NCAA Tournament Appearance in 2016. For the first time in history, the Lady Bulldogs won the regular-season championship as well as the Tournament Championship to cap off a record high of 40 wins on the season. The school is a member of the Southern Conference in Division I of the NCAA (FCS in football), after moving from the Ohio Valley Conference in 2008. The Samford Athletics staff
146-597: 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
219-511: A home-and-home basis. Each of the 14 members in the conference in 2023 will play either Oklahoma or Texas in 2024 and '25, but not both. Whether the conference schedule stays at 8 games or expands to 9 after 2025, each team will be guaranteed of playing all other conference teams home and away in a four-year cycle. The requirement of scheduling at least one Power Four (the Pac-12 lost all but two of its members, Oregon State and Washington State , before
292-603: A joint letter, Texas president Jay Hartzell and Oklahoma president Joseph Harroz Jr. wrote, "We believe that there would be mutual benefit to the Universities on the one hand, and the SEC on the other hand, for the Universities to become members of the SEC." On July 29, 2021, the presidents of the current 14 schools of the SEC voted unanimously to extend an offer of admission to Oklahoma and Texas. The boards of regents for both institutions on July 30, 2021, accepted conference membership, and
365-724: A payout to the SEC conference. ^ The Sugar Bowl is contractually obligated to select the SEC champion if that team is not participating in the College Football Playoff. In years where the champion is unavailable the Playoff Committee will assign another SEC team to participate in the Sugar. Alternatively, in years where the Sugar hosts a playoff game the SEC Champion will be sent to the Fiesta, Cotton, or Peach Bowl if not selected for
438-400: A spinal cord injury suffered during a football practice before ever playing a game, while Dillard suffered a career-altering injury before getting a chance to play for Vanderbilt's varsity and transferred to Eastern Michigan . The remaining two both played in the 1967–68 school year. Northington made his overall debut against Indiana on September 23, 1967 and his SEC debut against Ole Miss
511-406: A telegram to the state's Board of Regents requesting Georgia Tech not to engage in racially integrated events, Georgia Tech's president Blake R. Van Leer rejected the request and threatened to resign. The game went on as planned. The 1959 Mississippi State men's basketball team, led by all-American Bailey Howell , finished its season 24–1, winning the conference title. They did not participate in
584-438: A uniform 6-game schedule from 1974 to 1987, and added a seventh conference game from 1988 to 1991. Through this period and through the earlier years each SEC school had five permanent opponents, developing some traditional rivalries between schools, and the other games rotated around the other members of the conference. After expansion to twelve programs in 1992, the SEC went to an 8-game conference schedule, with each team playing
657-485: 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 . This is a partial list of the last 10 tournament champions. For the full history, see Southern Conference women's basketball tournament This is a partial list of the last 10 champions. For the full history, see Southern Conference baseball tournament . The Commissioner's and Germann Cups are awarded each year to
730-689: Is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States . Its 16 members include the flagship public universities of 12 states, three additional public land-grant universities , and one private research university. The conference is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama . The SEC participates in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I in sports competitions. In football , it
803-540: 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. The Davidson Wildcats reached the Elite Eight in
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#1732875851369876-528: Is headed by athletic director Martin Newton, whose appointment was announced on March 9, 2011. A member of the Southern Conference , Samford sponsors teams in eight men's and nine women's NCAA sanctioned sports: Samford's intercollegiate athletics teams are nicknamed the Bulldogs, and the team is represented by a costumed bulldog, complete with spiked collar and nasty growl, at football and basketball games. "Sam", who
949-580: Is membership in the Association of American Universities . Total revenue includes ticket sales, contributions and donations, rights and licensing, student fees, school funds and all other sources including TV income, camp income, concessions, and novelties. Total expenses includes coach and staff salaries, scholarships, buildings and grounds, maintenance, utilities and rental fees, recruiting, team travel, equipment and uniforms, conference dues, and insurance. The following table shows institutional reporting to
1022-543: Is part of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A. The SEC was established in 1932 by 13 members of the Southern Conference . Three charter members left by the late 1960s, but additions in 1990 and 2012 grew the conference to 14 member institutions. The conference expanded to 16 members with the addition of the University of Oklahoma and the University of Texas in 2024. In 1992 ,
1095-606: The 1956 Sugar Bowl , when the Pitt Panthers , with African-American fullback Bobby Grier on the roster, met the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets . White southern segregationists created controversy by claiming that Grier should be barred from the game due to his race, and whether Georgia Tech should even play at all due to Georgia's Governor Marvin Griffin 's opposition to racial integration. After Griffin publicly sent
1168-613: The 2008 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament by upsetting power programs Gonzaga , Georgetown , and Wisconsin . 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. In 2015, Furman defeated UCF 16–15 and The Citadel topped South Carolina 23–22 for their second win over
1241-452: 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. The alliance remains in effect in men's lacrosse, but
1314-551: The American Athletic Conference , a Group of Five conference), BYU (before it joined the Big 12 in 2023), and Notre Dame . In 2023, the SEC announced the divisional split would be scrapped when Oklahoma and Texas join in 2024. The conference schedule will remain at 8 games in the 2024 and 2025 seasons while the SEC determines its long-term football scheduling format. Teams will play the same opponents in both seasons on
1387-469: The Appalachian Mountains left to form their own conference. Ten of the thirteen founding members have remained in the conference since its inception: the University of Alabama , Auburn University , the University of Florida , the University of Georgia , the University of Kentucky , Louisiana State University ("LSU"), the University of Mississippi ("Ole Miss"), Mississippi State University ,
1460-553: The Atlantic 10 Conference , announced on 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
1533-650: 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. The Southern Conference
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#17328758513691606-559: The Georgia Dome through 2016, and since 2017 at its replacement, Mercedes-Benz Stadium , with the current hosting contract running through 2027. The "home team" designation alternated between the division champions during the divisional era, going to the East champion in even-numbered years and the West champion in odd-numbered years. The West led 19-13 in overall wins in the championship game against
1679-472: The Georgia Dome until its closure and demolition after the 2016 season, and since 2017 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium . On September 25, 2011, the SEC Presidents and Chancellors, acting unanimously, announced that Texas A&M University would join the SEC effective July 1, 2012, to begin competition in nineteen of the twenty sports sponsored by the SEC during the 2012–13 academic year. On November 6, 2011,
1752-645: 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. 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
1825-688: The SEC Championship Game pitted the SEC West Division representative against the East Division representative in a game held after the regular season has been completed. Starting in 2024, when the SEC eliminates its football divisions, the game will feature the top two teams in the conference standings. The first two SEC Championship football games were held at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama . Since 1994, it has been played in Atlanta —first at
1898-710: The United States Department of Education as shown on the DOE Equity in Athletics website for the 2021–22 academic year. The following table shows revenue specifically from NCAA / Conference Distributions, Media Rights, and Post-Season Football reported by the Knight Commission for the 2021–22 academic year. The Southeastern Conference sponsors championship competition in nine men's and thirteen women's NCAA sanctioned sports. Under SEC conference rules reflecting
1971-621: The University of Tennessee , and Vanderbilt University ("Vandy"). The SEC had no formal headquarters during its first eight years of existence, but in 1940, former Governor of Mississippi Martin "Mike" Conner was named the conference's first president, with the league establishing its first corporate headquarters on the 13th floor of the Standard Life Building in downtown Jackson, Mississippi . The SEC office remained there until 1948, when it moved to Birmingham, Alabama , where it remains. The three founding members that have since left
2044-594: The 1967–68 school year. The first African American to compete in the SEC was Stephen Martin, who walked on to the Tulane baseball team in that school's final SEC season of 1966. In August of that same year, Kentucky enrolled Nate Northington and Greg Page on football scholarships, and Vanderbilt enrolled Godfrey Dillard and Perry Wallace on basketball scholarships. At the time, the NCAA did not allow freshmen to compete on varsity teams, which meant that these pioneers could not play until 1967. Page died from complications of
2117-524: The 2011–2012 season. Following expansion, the SEC was the first conference to receive permission from the NCAA to sponsor an annual football championship game that did not count against NCAA limits on regular-season contests, featuring the winners of the conference's Eastern and Western divisions. The 1992 and 1993 championship games were held at Legion Field in Birmingham, and all championship games from 1994 onward have been held in Atlanta —first at
2190-517: The 2015 season, but the SEC presidents voted 10–4 in April 2014 to keep the current format for an additional six to eight seasons beyond 2015. Additionally, since 2016, SEC teams have been required to schedule at least one opponent each season from the other so-called "Power Five" conferences (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, or Pac-12); games against select football independent schools also qualify, including Army (which no longer counts as of 2024 due to it joining
2263-557: 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. Women's lacrosse
Samford Bulldogs - Misplaced Pages Continue
2336-612: The 2024 season; the Beavers have meetings with Ole Miss scheduled in 2027 and 2030, while the Cougars are slated to face Mississippi State in 2030 and '31) team or Notre Dame remains in place. The championship game will feature the top two teams in the conference standings, with tiebreakers as needed. Through end of the 2023 season including SEC Championship Game. Records reflect official NCAA results, including any forfeits or win vacating. Notes: From its establishment in 1992 through 2023,
2409-550: The ASUN Conference. 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. The SoCon maintained its automatic NCAA tournament berth with
2482-456: The East during the divisional era. As of 2023, the only pre-2024 members without a Championship Game appearance are Kentucky, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, and Vanderbilt. The post-season bowl game tie-ins for the SEC for the 2014–2019 seasons are: Payout is per team for the 2014 season; if different for opposing conference, payout for the SEC team is shown. Each conference member, irrespective of bowl participation, also receives an equal split of
2555-585: 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 . 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
2628-617: The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, and the two remaining men's lacrosse members, Jacksonville and Mercer, moved that sport to the ASUN. Men's varsity sports not sponsored by the Southern Conference which are played by SoCon schools: Women's varsity sports not sponsored by the Southern Conference which are played by SoCon schools: This is a list of recent champions. For the full history, see List of Southern Conference football champions . † Automatic bid to NCAA Division I Football Championship This
2701-409: The NCAA tournament as school and state officials would not permit the team to play against Black players from northern schools. Four years later, in 1963, Loyola , with four black starters, played Mississippi State in the " Game of Change ". It was not until 1966 that African Americans first participated in an SEC athletic contest, and the first black scholarship athletes did not play in the SEC until
2774-639: The SEC Executive Committee and liaison to SECU. In an interview with Dr. Zeppos about the formation of the SECU he noted, "that the member institutions of the Southeastern Conference are committed to a shared mission of fostering research, scholarship, and achievement. The SEC Symposium represents a platform to connect, collaborate and promote a productive dialogue that will span disciplinary and institutional boundaries and allow us to work together for
2847-534: The SEC and ACC 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. Held at
2920-574: The SEC commissioner announced that the University of Missouri would also join the SEC on July 1, 2012. For football, Texas A&M was scheduled to compete in the Western Division, and Missouri in the Eastern Division. Texas A&M and Missouri both left the Big 12 Conference . On July 27, 2021, Oklahoma and Texas formally notified the SEC they were seeking "an invitation for membership". In
2993-638: The SEC was the first NCAA Division I conference to have a championship game for football and was one of the founding member conferences of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS). The conference sponsors team championships in nine men's sports and 13 women's sports. The conference distributed $ 721.8 million to its 14 schools in 2022. The SEC consists of 16 member institutions located in the U.S. states of Alabama , Arkansas , Florida , Georgia , Kentucky , Louisiana , Mississippi , Missouri , Oklahoma , South Carolina , Tennessee , and Texas . The SEC
Samford Bulldogs - Misplaced Pages Continue
3066-556: The Samford baseball team defeated Auburn in the annual game at the Hoover Met and in 2010 the Samford basketball team defeated Auburn for the third time. Samford's baseball team also defeated #21 Alabama in 2011. Southern Conference 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
3139-627: The SoCon added the sport for the 2016–17 school year. 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. Full members Full members (except football) Other Conference Other Conference The Southern Conference sponsors championship competition in 11 men's, 9 women's, and one co-educational NCAA-sanctioned sports. Five schools are associate members for wrestling. Under
3212-589: 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 SEC and ACC have gone on to surpass their parent conference in prestige; while
3285-404: The Southeastern Conference which are played by SEC schools: Source: SECSports.com. [REDACTED] For the current season, see 2024 Southeastern Conference football season . SEC teams did not play a uniform number of conference games until 1974. Prior to that, the number of conference games teams played ranged from four to eight, but most played a 6- or 7- game schedule. The league adopted
3358-505: The addition of Hampton . Before the addition of Hampton men's lacrosse, the most recent addition to the associate membership was Presbyterian wrestling, which joined during summer 2019. 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 ; this move contributed to
3431-540: The amount and type of study abroad opportunities available for students; and providing opportunities for collaboration among SEC university personnel. The Big Ten Conference , since 1958, has had a similar program, now called the Big Ten Academic Alliance . The SEC Symposium component of SECU was crafted by Vanderbilt University Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos , who at the time was the Vice President of
3504-420: 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 . The 10 members of the Southern Conference are: On January 9, 2014, the SoCon and Atlantic Sun Conference, now known as
3577-465: The betterment of society." The SEC Academic Network was created in 2009 in partnership with ESPN . The SEC Academic Network was an online library of institutionally produced videos featuring academic initiatives and stories from all Southeastern Conference institutions. The SEC Academic Network was officially merged into the SECU operation. The following table shows National University rank by U.S. News & World Report as of 2023. Also indicated
3650-414: The change so attractive match-ups between non-traditional opponents would happen twice every five years instead of twice every eight years. With the subsequent expansion to 14 members in 2012, non-permanent cross-division opponents face each other in the regular season twice in a span of twelve years. Under the format used from 2012 to 2023, each school played a total of eight conference games, consisting of
3723-452: The conference are Sewanee , who left after the 1940 season to drop all athletic scholarships and become a D-III Independent; Georgia Tech , who left after the 1963 season and became a D-I Independent; and Tulane , who left after the 1965 season and became a D-I Independent. In 1935, the SEC became the first conference to legalize athletic scholarships . White southerners committed to maintaining segregation created controversy preceding
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#17328758513693796-554: The conference. The first year of competition for the conference was in 1922, effective January 1. The new rules banned freshman play. 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
3869-571: 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. The all-sports membership changed to 10 schools in 2014 following the departure of Appalachian State, Davidson, Elon, and Georgia Southern, plus
3942-616: 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. 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 . The addition of men's lacrosse by
4015-472: The five other teams in their division and three opponents from the other division. The winners of the two divisions would then meet in the SEC Championship Game . From 1992 through 2002, each team had two permanent inter-divisional opponents, allowing many traditional rivalries from the pre-expansion era (such as Florida vs. Auburn, Kentucky vs. LSU, and Vanderbilt vs. Alabama) to continue. However, complaints from some league athletic directors about imbalance in
4088-601: The following week on September 30 (the day after Page's death ), while Wallace made his varsity debut later that year. In 1990, the SEC expanded from ten to twelve member universities with the addition of the Arkansas Razorbacks and the South Carolina Gamecocks . The two new members began SEC competition with the 1991–1992 basketball season. At the same time, the SEC organized competition for some sports into two divisions. The Western Division comprised six of
4161-843: The historic shot from 22 feet (6.7 m) away and the Catamounts won 77–70. Talks of a new conference for Southern athletics had started as early as fall of 1920. 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
4234-443: The institution became an associate member, which for spring sports differs from the first season of competition. 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
4307-449: The large number of male scholarship participants in football and attempting to address gender equity concerns (see also Title IX ), each member institution is required to provide two more women's varsity sports than men's. A similar rule was recently adopted by the NCAA for all of Division I. Men's varsity sports not sponsored by the Southeastern Conference which are played by SEC schools: Women's varsity sports not sponsored by
4380-453: 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). 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. Coastal
4453-433: The other six teams in its division, one school from the other division on a rotating basis, and one school from the other division that it plays each year. The permanent cross-division matchups were: Alabama–Tennessee ; Arkansas–Missouri ; Auburn–Georgia ; LSU–Florida ; Mississippi State–Kentucky; Ole Miss–Vanderbilt ; Texas A&M–South Carolina. The then-current scheduling arrangement was originally set to expire after
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#17328758513694526-401: The schedule (for instance, Auburn's two permanent opponents from the East were Florida and Georgia – two of the SEC's stronger football programs at the time – while Mississippi State played Kentucky and South Carolina every year) led to the SEC reducing the number of permanent inter-division opponents to one starting in the 2003 season. The TV networks televising SEC games were also pressuring for
4599-471: The schools were tentatively scheduled to join the league in 2025. On February 9, 2023, the Big 12, Texas, and Oklahoma announced they had reached a buyout agreement that allowed the schools to join the SEC in 2024. The Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners athletic teams thus began league play during the 2024–25 academic year. Full members Full members (non-football) Other Conference Other Conference The office of Commissioner
4672-600: The seven member schools in the Central Time Zone , while the Eastern Division comprised the five member schools in the Eastern Time Zone plus Vanderbilt, which is in the Central Time Zone but was placed in the Eastern Division to preserve its rivalry with Tennessee. Initially, the divisional format was used in football, baseball, and men's basketball. The divisional format was dropped for men's basketball following
4745-451: The student newspaper, The Crimson , show that many Samford students lean toward red). Samford, as the newest member of the Southern Conference, has made new rivalries with their newfound conference foes. Their geographically closest conference opponents are Chattanooga and Mercer . Samford also contends against SEC powerhouses and fellow Alabama institutions Alabama and Auburn in some sports—and often fares well. For example, in 2006
4818-425: The top men's and women's program in the conference. 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. Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference ( SEC )
4891-509: The two division winners met in the SEC Championship Game . The SEC eliminated its baseball and football divisions once Oklahoma and Texas joined in 2024. Three schools have left the SEC, all charter members: The SEC was established December 8 and 9, 1932, in Knoxville, Tennessee, at the Farragut Hotel, when the thirteen members of the large Southern Conference located west and south of
4964-652: Was added as the 22nd sport for 2017–18, but was dropped after the 2020–21 school year. 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
5037-447: Was created in 1940. In 2005, the member institutions of the Southeastern Conference formed the SEC Academic Consortium (SECAC), a collaborative endeavor designed to promote research, scholarship, and achievement amongst the universities. In 2011, the SEC Academic Consortium was relocated to the SEC headquarters in Birmingham, Alabama , from its original home on the campus of the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas , and
5110-474: Was formerly divided into East and West Divisions, although the divisional alignment was not strictly geographic, with Missouri in the East Division while being farther west than several West Division schools, and Auburn in the West Division despite being located farther east than East Division schools Missouri and Vanderbilt. These divisional groupings were applied only in football, baseball, and women's soccer, for both scheduling and standings purposes. In football,
5183-483: 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
5256-404: Was introduced in 2017 as "Spike" was retired, has also been known to appear at other competitions where Samford is competing. Even when it was Howard College, the school's colors were Red and Blue . Today, the red tends to be a bright color and the blue is usually depicted as a darker, navy blue. Both colors are primary (though, as the name of the student fan club, The Red Sea , and the name of
5329-480: Was renamed SECU. The SECU rebranded its mission to better serve as a means through which the collaborative academic endeavors and achievements of Southeastern Conference universities would be promoted and advanced. The SECU's goals included highlighting the endeavors and achievements of SEC faculty , students, and its universities; advancing the academic reputation of SEC universities; identifying and preparing future leaders for high-level service in academia ; increasing
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